Despite all of his achievements, Vivaldi is best known for four concertos collectively known as The Four Seasons (Le Quattro Stagiorni). Paul Everett says the following: “For many people, the very name ‘Vivaldi’ is synonymous with The Four Seasons, to the exclusion of all else.” (Everett, xi). Being perhaps the most popular and frequently performed works of Vivaldi, The Four Seasons are a highlight in the history of program music. (Everett, xi)
This work, taken from Op. 8, a collection of twelve violin concertos, furnishes much debate about its composition. (Sciannameo, 1) The earliest edition of Opus 8, Il cimento dell’ armonia e dell’ inventione, from which The Four Seasons is taken, was published in Amsterdam around the end of 1725. (Everett, …show more content…
(Everett, 85) This piece is in F major, which is typically associated with hunting and pastoral settings, because it is the natural key of the corn da caccia (hunting horn). (Everett, 68) In this piece we find the “most sustained displays of extrovert virtuosity” (Everett, 85), fitting to the characteristics of the season as portrayed here. (Everett, 86) The first movement consists of a repetitive ritornello, which at first appears to have rather “primitive” harmony. Sadly, Vivaldi plays with the theme of the inebriate throughout this movement, so that the music reflects his increasing inebriation. The solo’s sole focus in on the drunkard, who eventually falls to sleep. (Everett, 86) The second movement incorporates frequent dissonance and unpredictable phrasing, representing numerous drunks sleeping in troubled, restless sleep. Finally, the third moment, “La caccia,” the hunt, visualizes an “outdoor romp,” complementing the first movement in character and reflecting the harmonies of the ritornello in the double-stopping solo. The details of the hunt are shown in measures 76-96: the wild beast flees (solo, measures 76-81), and then the orchestra sounds the gunfire as the wounded, confused animal falls down (measure 82-86, 92-96). (Everett, 74,75, 87,
This work, taken from Op. 8, a collection of twelve violin concertos, furnishes much debate about its composition. (Sciannameo, 1) The earliest edition of Opus 8, Il cimento dell’ armonia e dell’ inventione, from which The Four Seasons is taken, was published in Amsterdam around the end of 1725. (Everett, …show more content…
(Everett, 85) This piece is in F major, which is typically associated with hunting and pastoral settings, because it is the natural key of the corn da caccia (hunting horn). (Everett, 68) In this piece we find the “most sustained displays of extrovert virtuosity” (Everett, 85), fitting to the characteristics of the season as portrayed here. (Everett, 86) The first movement consists of a repetitive ritornello, which at first appears to have rather “primitive” harmony. Sadly, Vivaldi plays with the theme of the inebriate throughout this movement, so that the music reflects his increasing inebriation. The solo’s sole focus in on the drunkard, who eventually falls to sleep. (Everett, 86) The second movement incorporates frequent dissonance and unpredictable phrasing, representing numerous drunks sleeping in troubled, restless sleep. Finally, the third moment, “La caccia,” the hunt, visualizes an “outdoor romp,” complementing the first movement in character and reflecting the harmonies of the ritornello in the double-stopping solo. The details of the hunt are shown in measures 76-96: the wild beast flees (solo, measures 76-81), and then the orchestra sounds the gunfire as the wounded, confused animal falls down (measure 82-86, 92-96). (Everett, 74,75, 87,