ANTONIO VIVALDI

Born in Venice on March 4th, 1678.

Oldest of 9 children.

An earthquake happened on the day of his birth.

His father taught him music.

THE EARLY YEARS

RUMOR HAD IT THAT HE RAN OUT OF MASS TO WRITE DOWN A MUSICAL

SCOREAntonio entered the priesthood in 1693

Was nicknamed the “Red Priest”

Would run out of mass because of asthma

MUSIC CAREERMusic master at a girls orphanage

Most prestigious school in Venice

The “orphans” could be

indiscretions by nobleman

Many of his songs were exercises for his

students

Most of career was spent here

MOST POPULAR MUSIC

Four Seasons. Published in 1725. Has 4 sections.I. SpringII. SummerIII.AutumnIV.Winter

SPRING; MOVEMENT 1

Joyful spring has arrived.

The birds greet it with their cheerful song,

A solo violin comes in with a conjunct beautiful melody, this is in the key of E major. It has an allegro pacing and is in duple/simple meter. The pitch is high, the range for the violin is wide and it sounds joyful and happy. It has short, clipped notes that add to the feel of the piece. The violin is accompanied by a harpsichord.

SPRING

And the brooks in the gentle breezes

Flow with a sweet murmur.

The orchestra all plays together in a homorhythmic very low pitched up and down melody. It sounds like a brook murmuring. The volume is lower, more like piano.

SPRING

The sky is covered with a black mantle,

And thunder and lightning announce a storm

When they fall silent, the little birds

Take up again their melodious song.

In a lower pitch, now in a minor scale, the orchestra trills their instruments. It brings tension to the piece. A solo violin plays with fast ascending scales and is accompanied by the orchestra. The pace has slowed to largo.

SPRING

And in the pleasant, flowery meadow,

To the gentle murmur of bushes and trees,

The goatherd sleeps, his faithful dog at his side

The solo violin comes back in. The pace has slowed just a little bit and the violin is playing repeated notes and trills. The timbre is vibrant. The violin ascends and holds some high notes which then are taken over by the orchestra into the next segment.

SPRING

To the festive sounds of a rustic bagpipe

Nymphs and shepherds dance in their favorite spot

When spring appears in its brilliance.(baroquemusic)

A return to the original theme, and the key has returned to E major. The pace returns to Allegro as well. The tension has been resolved and all is well again. The solo violin plays for a short time and then the whole orchestra.

HIS COMPOSITIONS

48 operas

2 oratorios

21 sinfonias

456 concertos

60 pieces of sacred

music

59 contatas

100 aria(abou

t)

78 sonatas

(funtrivia)

MAJOR SOURCE OF VIOLIN STYLE DEVELOPMENT

The violin was his favorite instrument.

221 concertos were written for the violin.

ALLEGRO MOLTO OBOE, IN E

First performed at the orphanage in 1728.

This piece is very quick paced, with ascending violins in a joyful sound. The harpsichord is descending in the accompaniment. The string quartet is homorythmic, but the harpsichord gives it contrast in the background. This is played in a major C chord and the meter is quad/simple.

ALLEGRO MOLTO OBOE

The Oboe enters with a solo. The rest of the orchestra plays softly with chords for accompaniment. The oboe plays a conjunct melody in the medium range that is an inverted arch, over and over again. It moves up and down a major scale. The tone is rich and vibrant with a timbre that resonates.

ALLEGRO MOLTO OBOE

The orchestra joins in and accompanies the oboe with chords and runs of the scale. The volume has increased to ff and the melody has come to a glorious work with the oboe carrying the main melody and the strings and harpsichord with runs.

NIGHT AT THE OPERALoved to

travelWould go to

opening night at his operas

Met Anne Giraud at the opera and they were together until

his death

CONCERTO NO. 8 IN F

It starts with a stately melody with the string orchestra. The pace is moderate and the volume is moderate. The melody is short hops in unison and then later it becomes ascending scales.

CONCERTO NO.8 IN F

The bassoon starts a solo with the orchestra for accompaniment. The volume is now forte and the tones are rich. The melody is conjunct with a narrow range which is quite beautiful and then it goes into ascending scales with trills.

CONCERTO NO.8 IN F

The bassoon stops and the orchestra goes into a variation of the theme and in a different key that is lower. The melody is a couple of notes and then descending scales repeated but with different notes and scales. The volume is piano and there are lots of flats that are used to create some tension.

CONCERTO NO. 8 IN F

The bassoon goes back into a solo of the original melody with just short little notes played as accompaniment. At the end of the melody the whole orchestra joins in on the last few bars to make a joyful ending.

PAUPER

Made a

lot

of mon

ey in

his ca

reer

Lived extravagan

tly Died penniless-

was buried

as a pauper

VIVALDI