As the “Nostalgic Italian,” I would be wrong to not mention that today is the 346th birthday of Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi. He (along with GF Handel and JS Bach) is considered to be one of the greatest Baroque composers of all time. His work consisted of many concertos for violin, choral works, and even operas. To me, he will forever be known for one amazing work of music – The Four Seasons.

He was born in Venice, one of six children. He had some issues with his health, which many say was what we’d call asthma today. While this prevented him from playing wind instruments, it did not stop him from becoming a virtuoso violinist. It also did not stop him from composing music.

It is estimated that he wrote The Four Seasons somewhere between 1717-1720. The entire piece features 4 concertos featuring 3 movements each. It begins with the season of Spring, then Summer, Autumn and finally Winter. Wikipedia describes the piece:

They were a revolution in musical conception: Vivaldi represented flowing creeks, singing birds (of different species, each specifically characterized), a shepherd and his barking dog, buzzing flies, storms, drunken dancers, hunting parties from both the hunters’ and the prey’s point of view, frozen landscapes, and warm winter fires.

Unusually for the period, Vivaldi published the concerti with accompanying sonnets (possibly written by the composer himself) that elucidated what it was in the spirit of each season that his music was intended to evoke. The concerti therefore stand as one of the earliest and most detailed examples of what would come to be called program music—in other words, music with a narrative element. Vivaldi took great pains to relate his music to the texts of the poems, translating the poetic lines themselves directly into the music on the page. For example, in the middle section of “Spring”, when the goatherd sleeps, his barking dog can be heard in the viola section. The music is elsewhere similarly evocative of other natural sounds. Vivaldi divided each concerto into three movements (fast–slow–fast), and, likewise, each linked sonnet into three sections.

The Four Seasons is one of the best known pieces of classical music. It truly is an amazing work. I had heard it hundreds of times before, but it wasn’t until I set aside about an hour one day and listened to it in headphones that I truly gained a real appreciation for the piece. I recall sitting with my eyes closed and envisioning what season the movement was about. The images that the music conjured up in my mind was something I cannot begin to describe. It really was an amazing experience.

Here is one of MANY recordings of the entire piece:

There is a lot of debate as to whether the concerto was written to go with the sonnets that were written or the other way around. No one knows for sure who wrote the sonnets, but it is believed that Vivaldi wrote them.

As you listen to each concerto, read the sonnets and see if you can picture the things alluded to in them.

Spring

Allegro
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.

Largo
On the flower-strewn meadow, with leafy branches
rustling overhead, the goat-herd sleeps,
his faithful dog beside him.

Allegro
Led by the festive sound of rustic bagpipes,
nymphs and shepherds lightly dance
beneath spring’s beautiful canopy.

Summer

Allegro non molto
Under a hard season, fired up by the sun
Languishes man, languishes the flock and burns the pine
We hear the cuckoo’s voice;
then sweet songs of the turtledove and finch are heard.
Soft breezes stir the air, but threatening
the North Wind sweeps them suddenly aside.
The shepherd trembles,
fearing violent storms and his fate.

Adagio e piano – Presto e forte
The fear of lightning and fierce thunder
Robs his tired limbs of rest
As gnats and flies buzz furiously around.

Presto
Alas, his fears were justified
The Heavens thunder and roar and with hail
Cut the head off the wheat and damages the grain.

Autumn

Allegro
Celebrates the peasant, with songs and dances,
The pleasure of a bountiful harvest.
And fired up by Bacchus’ liquor,
many end their revelry in sleep.

Adagio molto
Everyone is made to forget their cares and to sing and dance
By the air which is tempered with pleasure
And (by) the season that invites so many, many
Out of their sweetest slumber to fine enjoyment

Allegro
The hunters emerge at the new dawn,
And with horns and dogs and guns depart upon their hunting
The beast flees and they follow its trail;
Terrified and tired of the great noise
Of guns and dogs, the beast, wounded, threatens
Languidly to flee, but harried, dies.

Winter

Allegro non molto
To tremble from cold in the icy snow,
In the harsh breath of a horrid wind;
To run, stamping one’s feet every moment,
Our teeth chattering in the extreme cold

Largo
Before the fire to pass peaceful,
Contented days while the rain outside pours down.

Allegro
We tread the icy path slowly and cautiously,
for fear of tripping and falling.
Then turn abruptly, slip, crash on the ground and,
rising, hasten on across the ice lest it cracks up.
We feel the chill north winds course through the home
despite the locked and bolted doors…
this is winter, which nonetheless
brings its own delights.

Happy Birthday, Antonio Vivaldi!!