Antonio Vivaldi was born in 1678 in Venice, Italy. He began violin lessons with his father from an early age before deciding to become ordained as a priest in 1702. He spent much of his career teaching music for a local orphanage and composing unendingly. In fact, Vivaldi has over 500 concerti in total attributed to him and is considered to be the source for much of what has become standard practice in composing concerti, such as the introduction of the three-movement structure.
The Four Seasons is, by far, Vivaldi’s most immediately recognizable works. It is a collection of four violin concerti, with each season of the year being represented musically. Rather unusually for the time period, Vivaldi published a number of brief and possibly self-written poems to accompany each movement of the work as a whole. Because of this accompanying literary material, some musicologists go so far as to say this is the earliest ever example of programmatic music, or music with a narrative goal/element.
Throughout this collection, Vivaldi references the text of the sonnets within the instrumental music. In Spring, for example, a bird can be heard in a celebratory solo violin passage and a murmuring stream can be found in the languid movements of the string accompaniment.
Spring (La Primavera)
I. Allegro--
Festive Spring has arrived,
The birds salute it with their happy song.
And the brooks, caressed by little Zephyrs,
Flow with a sweet murmur.
The sky is covered with a black mantle,
And thunder, and lightning, announce a storm.
When they are silent, the birds
Return to sing their lovely song.
II. Largo e pianissimo sempre--
And in the meadow, rich with flowers,
To the sweet murmur of leaves and plants,
The goatherd sleeps, with his faithful dog at his side.
III. Danza pastorale. Allegro--
To the festive sound of pastoral bagpipes,
Dance nymphs and shepherds,
At Spring's brilliant appearance.
Summer (L'Estate)
I. Allegro non molto--
Under the heat of the burning summer sun,
Languish man and flock; the pine is parched.
The cuckoo finds its voice, and suddenly,
The turtledove and goldfinch sing.
A gentle breeze blows,
But suddenly, the north wind appears.
The shepherd weeps because, overhead,
Lies the fierce storm, and his destiny.
II. Adagio; Presto--
His tired limbs are deprived of rest
By his fear of lightning and fierce thunder,
And by furious swarms of flies and hornets.
III. Presto--
Alas, how just are his fears,
Thunder and lightening fill the Heavens, and the hail
Slices the tops of the corn and other grain.
Autumn (L'Autunno)
I. Allegro--
The peasants celebrate with dance and song,
The joy of a rich harvest.
And, full of Bacchus's liquor,
They finish their celebration with sleep.
II. Adagio molto--
Each peasant ceases his dance and song.
The mild air gives pleasure,
And the season invites many
To enjoy a sweet slumber.
III. Allegro--
The hunters, at the break of dawn, go to the hunt.
With horns, guns, and dogs they are off,
The beast flees, and they follow its trail.
Already fearful and exhausted by the great noise,
Of guns and dogs, and wounded,
The exhausted beast tries to flee, but dies.
Winter (L'Inverno)
I. Allegro non molto--
Frozen and trembling in the icy snow,
In the severe blast of the horrible wind,
As we run, we constantly stamp our feet,
And our teeth chatter in the cold.
II. Largo--
To spend happy and quiet days near the fire,
While, outside, the rain soaks hundreds.
III. Allegro--
We walk on the ice with slow steps,
And tread carefully, for fear of falling.
Symphony, If we go quickly, we slip and fall to the ground.
Again we run on the ice,
Until it cracks and opens.
We hear, from closed doors,
Sirocco, Boreas, and all the winds in battle.
This is winter, but it brings joy.
