The Four Seasons is a piece composed by Antonio Vivaldi. Vivaldi was born in Venice on March 4, 1678, but died in Vienna, July 28, 1741. He was the son of a professional violinist who played at St. Marks, the center of Italian composition at the time (Boynik Par.1 ). Originally, Vivaldi was ordained a priest in the Catholic Church, but for reasons that are still unclear, he resigned from the position. (Boynik Par. 1). He became popular with even his first publications, and was the first composer to use ritornello form regularly in fast movements, and his use of it became a model for later composers. (Boynik Par. 2). He also initiated the fast-slow-fast pattern in his works. His use of thematic unity and sequence were widely copied and set the precedence for Italian music during the Baroque Period. Not only did Vivaldi excel in configuring instrumental music, he also engaged in vocal music (Boynick Par. 3). As Vivaldi is known as a "difficult man,"(Boynick Par. 3) it is no doubt that his work in The Four Seasons set a higher standard for composers during the Baroque Period to live up to.
The first movement of The Four Seasons is called Spring. The music during the Baroque period often times conveyed a mood or emotion. The mood does not shift in music of the Baroque era. In Spring, the mood stayed at an uplifting, cheery, type mood and never shifted. The predominant instrument, as it sounds, is the violin. The organ may be used to play certain chords on notes in the melody in hopes to sound pleasing to the ear. .
Vivaldi's Spring is in ternary form. The first section matches the last section and the second section stands different and in the middle. Because this piece carries one melody at a time, it would be assumed that it is monophonic. Because chords accompany the melody line (probably given by the organ), the first movement of this piece is homophonic. The dynamics of Spring change frequently as the music gets louder in the second section but gets softer again in the first and second sections.
