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Music 1010 Semester Paper
Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Vivaldi, The Red Priest, was born in 1678 in the city of Venice. Venice was, at
the time, the center of an empire beginning a steady decline. There was an earthquake on the
day he was born, which probably led to his mother, Camilla Calicchio, dedicating him to the
priesthood at birth. His father, Giovanni Vivaldi, was a well-known violinist who shaped Antonio
to be proficient with the instrument from a very early age. They toured together across Venice,
establishing Antonios reputation as a great player while he was still a child.

True to his mothers wishes, Vivaldi entered study for the priesthood at 15, being
ordained at 25. It was at this point he gained the nickname The Red Priest, a reference to his
flame-red hair. His health, though, was always shaky at best. His symptoms, as well as can be
made out over so long a gap of time, describe what was most likely asthma (tightness of the
chest.) This led to his withdrawal from his priestly service, though he remained a priest, as well
as causing him never to learn to play woodwind instruments.

The same year as his ordination, 1703, saw Vivaldi serving as the master of violin at the
Ospedale della Piet, the Devout Hospital of Mercy, an orphanage. This appointment would be his
for thirty years, as well as that of viol teacher. However, he was voted out of the orphanage in 1709
and spent a year as a freelancer before being called back by unanimous vote. After this, his value to
the orphanage was never questioned again. The first collection of his compositions was released in
1705, when he was only 27 years old.

Vivaldi was made music director at the Ospedale in 1716. He worked extremely hard during
his time at the Orphanage, composing a great number of vocal works for the children in addition to

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his duties as a strings teacher. The children of the orphanage gained their own reputation for musical
excellence under his ministrations, and Vivaldis own fame grew further as a result.

Despite Antonios obvious dedication to the orphanage, he left his place there for a short time
around 1718 to serve as the master of the orchestra under the prince Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt,
who was the governor of Mantua. He produced several operas there, leaving in 1722 for Rome to
present his new cutting-edge operas. While there, he was invited by the newly-raised pope Benedict
XIII to perform for him.

This is when vivaldi composed his most renowned work, The Four Seasons, a stunning
symphony based on a poem which he may have also written himself. It is the second movement of
this work, Spring, which we will analyze later on.

Antonio moved back to Venice in 1725 and produced four operas that same year. At this
point, Vivaldi was recognized as one of the greatest musicians and composers of his time. He spent
the last decade or so of his life, from around 1731, travelling between cities and noble houses, even
royal houses, to perform and compose commissioned works. He finally moved to Vienna in 1740
after returning to Venice to find his beloved Ospedale in severe economic decline and resigning his
position there.

Not long after, late in the July of 1741, he died of some form of infection in his chest and was
buried very modestly.
The Four Seasons, Composition History

Vivaldi wrote the Four Seasons, a set of four violin concertos based on a poem,
possibly written by Vivaldi himself, about the countryside around Mantua and the features of the
seasons there. The composition was done in 1723, when Vivaldi was in Venice, but was not

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published until two years later. The four concertos are, appropriately, named Spring, Summer,
Autumn, and Winter. The sonnets accompanying each seasons music were included at publication.

Summer is the work Ive chosen for this report. It is a three-movement concerto, and Ive
included the accompanying sonnet here in both its original and a translated version.
Italian original

English translation

Sotto dura Staggion dal Sole accesa

Langue l' huom, langue 'l gregge, ed arde il
Pino;
Scioglie il Cucco la Voce, e tosto intesa
Canta la Tortorella e 'l gardelino.
Zeffiro dolce Spira, m contesa
Muove Borea improviso al Suo vicino;
E piange il Pastorel, perche sospesa
Teme fiera borasca, e 'l suo destino;
Toglie alle membra lasse il Suo riposo
Il timore de' Lampi, e tuoni fieri
E de mosche, e mossoni il Stuol furioso!

Beneath the blazing sun's relentless heat

men and flocks are sweltering,
pines are scorched.
We hear the cuckoo's voice; then sweet songs
of the turtle dove and finch are heard.
Soft breezes stir the air.but threatening north
wind sweeps them suddenly aside. The
shepherd trembles, fearful of violent storm and
what may lie ahead.

Toglie alle membra lasse il Suo riposo

Il timore de' Lampi, e tuoni fieri
E de mosche, e mossoni il Stuol furioso!

His limbs are now awakened from their repose

by fear of lightning's flash and thunder's roar, as
gnats and flies buzz furiously around.

Ah che pur troppo i Suo timor Son veri

Tuona e fulmina il Ciel e grandioso
Tronca il capo alle Spiche e a' grani alteri.

Alas, his worst fears were justified, as the

heavens roar and great hailstones beat down
upon the proudly standing corn.

Vivaldi goes to great lengths to represent nearly every sound mentioned in these sonnets,
and I will endeavour to note when I hear a reference to a specific line.
The Four Seasons: Summer, a Listening guide.

Movement I. Allegro non molto

0:00: The ensemble plays the first theme, which I will refer to as the lazy theme,
0:17: The lazy theme is repeated and expanded
0:27: A descending section, representative of the oppressive heat weighing down the people
and animals

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0:44: The lazy theme is repeated
1:07: We hear the cuckoo's voice, a quick and repetitive theme played on the virtuosos
violin, the other voices play short notes on every other beat
1:40: The cuckoo theme is repeated, with the full force of the group
1:46: The lazy theme is repeated
2:01: Here are the sweet songs of the turtle dove. I personally find them relatively disturbing,
but theres no accounting for taste I guess.
2:26: And the finch is heard. Very high-pitched and touched with trills.
2:37: Soft breezes stir in the air: a gusty, repetitive back-and-forth set of violin sections which
descend by steps
2:53: The threatening north wind blows! A disorienting slew of insanity which truly leaves the
listener reeling. A very quick tour of the vertical dimension of the staff.
2:58: The wind continues to blow, now in a relentless marching through the same scale, but
in sets of six notes this time.
3:20: The lazy theme is heard again
3:33: Here we hear the shepherd trembling and weeping, fearful of the sudden frightful
weather and what storms may come. A ranging and mournful section for the virtuoso, with some
accompaniment from the low strings and harp
4:55: We hear the impending storm, raging winds and rumbling thunder. Every voice is heard
in this threatening section.

Movement II: Adagio

0:00: Long, wailing notes on the virtuoso violin with minimal accompaniment from the low
strings. This is the shepherd warding off the buzzing swarms of flies and gnats as he awakens from
repose.

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0:15: A flash of thunder and lightning, a deep foreboding set of quick notes from the whole
strings section.
0:20: The arm-waving again, this time more awake and quicker.
0:40: Another rumble of thunder
0:47: The shepherd begins to be fearful, his notes higher-pitched and wavering more.
Accompaniment from the low strings is becoming faster: the storm approaching.
1:19: Yet another crash of thunder and lightning.
1:24: The shepherd is truly afraid, and losing hope. He knows the storm will be here soon.
1:39: The lightning crashes again
1:41: The shepherd is heard faintly as the virtuoso trails into an ever-softer note and
disappears.

Movement III: Presto

0:00: The strings play us the iconic thunderstorm theme, revealing the hailstones brutalizing
our lovely proud-standing corn. I like to see the eleven repeated notes in each bar as random
hailstones, and the twelfth higher note being a stricken cornstalk.
0:10: The wind blows with fierce gusts as two violins compete with intense descending runs
0:23: The lightning strikes, crescendos across the strings.
0:33: A reconciling set of runs on the twin violins
0:47: The lead violin introduces a new theme, repeated several times in different octaves
before leading into another run
1:00: An absolutely fantastic transition section with two violins in unison
1:22: a revisiting of the original theme
1:26: Yet another highly-technical virtuoso section
1:40: A variation of the original theme, with a distinctly sinister descending form,
representative of intense thunder.

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1:55: Solo violin passages with a familiar form, alternating with the storm themes in quick
succession
2:32: Extremely dramatic crescendo leading into a unison G, finishing the concerto in perfect
form.