SEMESTER PROJECT -ANTONIO VIVALDI Juhee Lee

CONTENTS Biography of Antonio Vivaldi History of “The four seasons” Listening guide of “The four seasons”

ABOUT ANTONIO VIVALDI - CHILDHOOD Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice. Since he had red hair he was called “The red Priest.” In fact, the red hair was a hereditary gift from his father, but his father did not give only red hair. His father was a professional violinist, so Vivaldi learned to play violin from his father. Hence, he was considered to be a violinist rather than a composer.

ABOUT ANTONIO VIVALDI - LIFE AND CHARACTER OF HIS MUSIC In late 1706, he became maestro di violino at an orphanage in Venice. He worked at this orphanage over the next thirty years. While Vivaldi worked as composer, he earned lots of money, and the music which he wrote at that time made him a very famous person. “Vivaldi's music was innovative. He brightened the formal and rhythmic structure of the concerto, in which he looked for harmonic contrasts and innovative melodies and themes; many of his compositions are flamboyantly, almost playfully, exuberant” (Talbot, 93).

ABOUT ANTONIO VIVALDI - HIS FAMOUS MUSIC “THE FOUR SEASONS” The Four Seasons are considered one of the most famous pieces of music in the world. It is divided into four parts, and each part indicates a season: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Also each part describes each season very well. For instance, in the four seasons, he indicated singing birds, storms, even a barking dog. He represented everything in each part of the four seasons.

ABOUT ANTONIO VIVALDI - LATE LIFE AND DEATH Like many composer, Vivaldi spent hard time in his last part of lifetime because of financial difficulties. People’s musical taste changed quickly, so Vivaldi left Venice. No one knows why Vivaldi left Venice, but it might be he tried to meet Emperor Charles VI. However, he did not meet Emperor Charles VI. Antonio Vivaldi died in 1741, July. At that time, his age was 63. Even though Vivaldi died, still many people love his music.

HISTORY OF “THE FOUR SEASONS” The composer of The Four Seasons, Antonio Vivaldi, wrote this concerto in 1717, when he lived in the countryside around Mantua. Hence, he got inspiration from the environment, and when people listen to this concerto, they feel it. For example, when people listen to supper of the four seasons, they can realize that violin sound expressed summer scene such as storms or wind gently blowing.

HISTORY OF “THE FOUR SEASONS” - APPRAISAL OF HIS WORKS Antonio Vivaldi’s four seasons are a popular program among the baroque period. “Vivaldi wrote the individual Sonnets to go along with each movement of the Four Seasons. What's amazing is how accurately Vivaldi musically portrays each Sonnet without losing the overall quality and balance of the work” (Green).

LISTENING GUIDE OF “THE FOUR SEASONS” Compared to spring and autumn of the four seasons, summer and winter sounds are magnificent because summer plays G-minor and winter plays as F-minor. Thus summer and winter sound darker than spring and autumn. Antonio Vivaldi wrote the individual sonnets for each part, seasons. One of the reasons why composers wrote sonnets for their pieces was because they wanted to help the listener to understand their piece. In the four seasons, each concerto has three movements such as fast-slow-fast. So, there are three sonnets in each season.

LISTENING GUIDES OF “THE FOUR SEASONS” - THE SUMMER The first sonnet of summer is that in the hot summer, men, flocks, even plants are tired because of hot weather. A cuckoo starts to call. “Zephyr [the west wind] gently blows, but Boreas [the north wind] suddenly enters into a contest with its neighbor, and the little shepherd weeps for he hears the awesome threatening storm and his fate” (Aaron). In the second part of summer, suddenly, lightning and thunder appear, and the shepherd feels feared. In the last part of summer, in the sky, there are thunder and lightning, and hail cuts down the grain.

LISTENING GUIDE OF “THE FOUR SEASONS” - THE WINTER The first sonnet of winter is freezing snow and harsh wind blows. Due to extreme cold, people feel their teeth chatter. In the second part of winter, people feel warm and cozy sitting by the fire, but it is rainy outside. In the third part of winter, “Walking on ice, and moving cautiously, with slow steps, for fear of falling, spinning around, slipping, falling down, again walking on ice and running fast until the ice cracks and splits; hearing Sirocco, Boreas, and all the winds at war burst forth from the bolted doors - this is winter, but it also brings joy” (Green).

WORK CITED "Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons: Notes, Historical Information, and Sonnets." About.com Classical Music. Aaron Green, n.d. Web. 24 Feb "Antonio Vivaldi." Last.fm. Last.fm Ltd, 15 Jan Web. 24 Feb "Antonio Vivaldi." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Mar Web. 24 Feb baroquemusic.org

WORK CITED Michael Talbot, Vivaldi (London: J.M. Dent & Sons, Ltd, 1978), 93. "The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Feb Web. 24 Feb "VIVALDI: "Four Seasons" Sonnets Texts in Italian & English." VIVALDI: "Four Seasons" Sonnets Texts in Italian & English. Michael Sartorius, n.d. Web. 24 Feb