Transcript Antonio Vivaldi - Juhee Lee`s ePortfolio

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.
2013.
 "Antonio Vivaldi." Last.fm. Last.fm Ltd, 15 Jan.
2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.
 "Antonio Vivaldi." Wikipedia. Wikimedia
Foundation, 29 Mar. 2011. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.
 baroquemusic.org

WORK CITED
Michael Talbot, Vivaldi (London: J.M. Dent &
Sons, Ltd, 1978), 93.
 "The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)." Wikipedia.
Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Feb. 2007. Web. 24
Feb. 2013.
 "VIVALDI: "Four Seasons" Sonnets Texts in
Italian & English." VIVALDI: "Four Seasons"
Sonnets Texts in Italian & English. Michael
Sartorius, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.
