The final concerto in the set depicts the unique features of the coldest season of the year. The opening Allegro illustrates the chill of being outside in unrelenting winds and frosty snow, while the pleasure of sitting by the warm hearth is the subject of the Largo. Contentment gives way to the hazards of the season as the finale depicts cautious steps across the ice, sudden slips and falls, and finally Sirocco, Boreas, and all the winds at war. As the sonnet concludes (perhaps somewhat wryly), “this is winter, yet a winter that brings joy.”
I. Allegro
Aggiacciato tremar trà nevi algenti | To shiver, frozen, amid the icy snow, |
| Al Severo Spirar d’ orrido Vento, | In the bitter blast of a dreadful wind; |
| Correr battendo i piedi ogni momento; | To run, stamping one’s feet at every moment, |
| E pel Soverchio gel batter i denti; | And in the excessive cold to chatter one’s teeth. |
II. Largo
| Passar al foco i dì quieti e contenti | To pass quiet, contented days beside the fire |
| Mentre la pioggia fuor bagna ben cento. | While outside the rain drenches everyone. |
III. Allegro
Caminar Sopra ’l giaccio, e à passo lento | To walk upon the ice, and with slow steps |
| Per timor di cader girsene intenti; | Move carefully for fear of falling; |
| Gir forte Sdruzziolar, cader à terra | To turn quickly, slip, and fall to the ground; |
| Di nuovo ir Sopra ’l giaccio e correr forte | To go again upon the ice and run fast |
| Sin ch’ il giaccio si rompe, e si disserra; | Until the ice cracks open and breaks; |
| Sentir uscir dalle ferrate porte | To hear, bursting through the iron gates, |
| Sirocco Borea, e tutti i Venti in guerra | Sirocco, Boreas, and all the winds at war— |
| Quest’ è ’l verno, mà tal, che | This is winter, yet a winter that |
| gioia apporte. | brings joy. |