Antonio Vivaldi Danielle Rawson

Antonio’s musical destiny as a remarkable composer began from the very beginning of his life. Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice, Italy on March 4, 1678 to his father who was a skilled violinist and musician. His father spent a great amount of time at the St. Mark’s church in Venice which had an impact on Antonio’s religious career. Religion was prominent in Antonio’s upbringing; it resulted in him being ordained a priest at the age of 15. An interesting fact, Antonio was known as the “Red Priest” because of the color of his hair. ("Antonio Vivaldi Biography") Although it was for only a short time he held that position, he then later resigned due to unpredictable health issues and his pursuit of music. Early Life Born in 1678 on March 4 in Venice, Italy Father was a skilled musician and spent a lot of time at the church Vivaldi was ordained a priest at the age of 15. Known as the “Red Priest” Resigned due to his health conditions and pursuing of music

In Italy, there were four main orphanages for girls in the city called Ospedali’s, and Vivaldi worked in a facility named Ospedale della Pietà, ("Antonio Vivaldi").The residents who lived there were illegal, or daughters born out of unlawful circumstances, of highly honored men. Vivaldi spent a majority of his time with them. He was an instructor and music teacher with young violinists. His musical journey was still in its early stage at this time of his life and he was only beginning his legacy. Ospedale della Pietà

Vivaldi is known for his compositions with his trio-sonatas, violin sonatas, and his concertos. He also had a passion for vocal compositions. His vocal compositions were composed with him thinking of the young girls in the facility where he had worked before. In fact, Vivaldi made contributions throughout his career to the home of these girls. In 1793, Vivaldi wrote his first opera titled Ottone in Villa. ("Antonio Vivaldi") After this production had been successful, Vivaldi was flourishing in his popularity and style. He was then asked to compose various types of music for different performances. He found great pleasure when one of his compositions was to be sung by a famous singer or if a renowned musician were to play his pieces

Anne Giraud had the gift of singing Vivaldi and Giraud lived together but only has musical friends according to Vivaldi Vivaldi had a young woman who lived with him named Anne Giraud that was also musically inclined. She had the gift of singing. It is not said anywhere for certain if these two were cohabitants or had an intimate relationship, but Vivaldi always assured people that were wondering that she was just a friend, just as any other woman he knows. ("Antonio Vivaldi")

He died in poverty in 1741 on July 28 in Vienna, Italy. Antonio’s dreams of a lavish life from his compositions were not attained He died in poverty in 1741 on July 28 in Vienna, Italy. As he became increasingly popular throughout his career, he was continually busy travelling to different locations producing and writing operas. Antonio’s hopes and desire of earning a comfortable living through music was not attained throughout his career. Towards the end of his life until his death, he was living in poverty. Antonio Vivaldi passed away in Vienna on the date of July 28, 1741.

Antonio Vivaldi’s compositions are still well known in cultures today Antonio Vivaldi’s compositions are still well known in cultures today. His compositions are familiar to the general pupil and only a few of these well-known compositions of his are The Four Seasons, Opus 3, and La Stravaganza.

Allegro Written roughly in the year of 1729 Today this piece is written in various keys and numbers Vivaldi was a skilled violinist and composed many pieces of music for the violin. His allegro was written roughly in the year of 1729 ("Six Violin Concertos, Op 12 (Vivaldi)"). There are many different numbers of this piece as well as this piece being written in different keys.

…listen… 0:00 The music is introduced in the dynamic of forte and begins with three strong legato beats. Rhythm is quick eighth notes, texture gives a lively touch that makes the melody feel lighthearted, two part harmony is heard on the first introduction of the song   0:03 Tempo and melody speed up; more strings join the composition, harmony is: higher strings are playing quick triplets upward and the lower strings are playing strong beats on a consistent note below the higher strings. 0:06 Strong down beat, all instruments play the same note 0:07 Strong legato notes go down in pitch, Forte dynamic, Melody goes high; low strings play triplet beats beneath 0:11 Verse one begins: Trumpets join the strings playing triplets, strings play triples in a lower key echoing the trumpet. Strings play higher pitch, woodwinds come in playing 4 quarter notes while the strings are moving lower in pitch. The rhythm is quick, the texture is the same as the introduction (lively) and dynamic is in forte. 0:31 Chorus Lower strings play phrases going down in pitch, higher strings repeat the same as the lower strings previous. While higher strings are dominant of melody the lower strings play quick notes beneath but pianissimo dynamic. : trumpets play higher notes in triplets. Trumpets go down the scales after reaching one higher note then playing quick eighth notes. Beneath the melody of the trumpets the lower strings are playing. 1:11 trumpets play notes in forte going up in triplet set of notes. Quick eighth notes played by lower strings. The trumpet’s melody is playing sixteenth notes and plays the same note until the last pitch and goes higher. Once the trumpet has reached its max pitch in the composition, it begins to go back down, with the strings harmonizing to the melody. 1:25 Verse two begins: Higher strings play the familiar legato notes going down in pitch. Quick eighth notes going higher while the lower strings playing a strong beat supporting the melody. The two sections (lower and higher strings) echoing each other 1:40 higher strings playing quick eighth notes followed by quick notes from the lower strings. Melody is energetic and makes the texture seem powerful. 1:53 the melody goes to the piano dynamic, then repeats the same melody but in a forte dynamic 2:03 Verse 3 begins: Trumpets take over melody in a forte manner, the play triplet notes going up in scale and then there is a harmony within the trumpets. Some are playing higher triplet notes and others are playing a lower set of notes that creates the harmony. Quick eighth notes of one section of the trumpet is supportive of the forte melody played by one trumpet. 2:30 Chorus 3:02 coda

Written by Vivaldi in the year of 1725 Spring Written by Vivaldi in the year of 1725 Spring was written by Vivaldi and published in the year of 1725 as part of a complete composition of Antonio’s Four Seasons (Green). The musical piece The Four Seasons has different and unique concertos written specific to the seasons. There is a specific composition for winter as there is summer. Spring was written in a concerto form, as well. The evidence of it being a concerto is the three movements within the unique section itself.

Springtime is upon us.  The birds celebrate her return with festive song, and murmuring streams are softly caressed by the breezes. Thunderstorms, those heralds of Spring, roar, casting their dark mantle over heaven, Then they die away to silence, and the birds take up their charming songs once more . This piece of music is familiar to many people’s ears and it is due to the Ritornello composition. What is a Ritornello someone might ask? When someone thinks of this song and what they can recall, they are likely to recognize the melody that is repeated more often than the rest of the musical components. This is due to the Ritornello form. In addition to each part of the composition, there was a verse or poem that correlated with each season. The words written for Spring are as follows:

Vivaldi illustrated vivid images that represented the sonnets by playing specific musical instruments. When the listener hears the flutes play quick, fluttery notes, it is almost expected to envision birds flying out into the spring sky after a dark and cold winter. Vivaldi does this imagery throughout his whole composition of The Four Seasons.

Spring 0:00 Introduction: Strings play melody with 3 quarter notes and one eighth note and then proceeds to play one higher note. Repeats melody in the piano dynamic then the melody becomes messo forte.   :20 chorus: The melody has a legato connection between the two rising notes with an accent as well. Tempo and rhythm are quick and the melody gives the feeling of happiness or hope. It repeats the chorus again. (Ritornello) :035 verse one begins: One instrument begins in the piano dynamic. Another instrument joins in and creates a harmony. One is playing higher quick note and the other is playing quick triplet notes downward in pitch after the previous phrase. The rhythm is quick and allows the listener in easily in vision a bird flying in the spring. 1:05 chorus (Ritornello) 1:12: Lower instruments play quick rhythm that is pianissimo. Higher instruments join in creating a harmony in a piano dynamic. This part of the music sounds like the fluttering of butterfly’s wings. 1:26: Legato melody with piano dynamic with legato movements between the notes. 1:33 chorus

1:33 chorus   1:40 Verse 2 begins: Quick eighth notes in a forte dynamic being played by the higher strings going higher (3x) quickly. The higher strings are followed by the lower strings again. Notes begin played are 16th notes from higher strings while strong quick notes from lower instruments playing when the higher strings are not. They are progressively moving along the scale. 2:02 chorus: A pianissimo dynamic 2:11 Verse 3 begins: Solo by instrument and decrescendos into pianissimo. Two instruments perform a due creating a harmony. 2:34: chorus: Melody becomes faster; more instruments are playing than verse 3 2:57 chorus: (ritornello) Piano dynamic and faster tempo 3:11 pause in music 3:21: One lower strum from instrument, higher instrument has the melody. They perform a duet. This texture gives the music a more sadden feel, maybe like a rainy day. The dynamic is mezzo piano. The rhythm is slow and legato. 4:24: Repeats once again

5:15: Decrescendos with two strong beats from lower instrument   5:38 Verse 4 begins: Light hearted happy music. Legato, sounds similar to the chorus. Mezzo forte. This allows the imagery of another sunny day in spring. 6:11: Quick tempo begins, higher melody played in eighth notes and goes down in pitch. 6:28 chorus: (Ritornello) Lower strings play the chorus, it is a lower pitch and different key. It is legato with emphasis on the last note. The texture makes this part of the music sound majestic. 7:00: Quicker tempo, light hearted music 7:09: Slows tempo down, maybe as the spring sunset begins, things start to rest for the evening 7:20: Few instruments playing softly, picks up melody with a few other instruments. The texture of this part of music makes it possibly to visualize a bee flying around or another creature moving quickly. 7:36: Crescendos with quick notes again 7:44: chorus (Ritornello) 7:54 : Chorus changes the key, lower instruments are dominant 8:15: Instruments slowly go up scales in a pianissimo forte. Then back down up to one high note. Quickly with eighth notes repeats the same scale.

8:40 chorus 9:04 coda

Bibliography "Antonio Vivaldi." Baroque Composers and Musicians . Internet Arton Publications. Web. 20 Jun 2013. <http://www.baroquemusic.org/bqxvivaldi.html>.   "Antonio Vivaldi Biography." Biography.com. A E Networks, n.d. Web. 20 Jun 2013. <http://www.biography.com/people/antonio-vivaldi-9519560?page=2>. "Educational Resources Educational Biographies." Great Performances. Macmillan Publishers Ltd.. Web. 20 Jun 2013.  Green, Aaron. "Vivaldi's Four Seasons: Notes and Historical Information." About.com classical music. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Jul 2013. <http://classicalmusic.about.com/od/baroqueperiod/ss/fourseasons_5.htm>. "Six Violin Concertos, Op 12 (Vivaldi)." Wikepedia. N.p., 14 Mar 2013. Web. 1 Jul 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Violin_Concertos,_Op._12_(Vivaldi)>.