The Four Seasons can therefore be classified as program music: music that intends to evoke something extra-musical. This makes sense because each sonnet is broken down into three sections, each section corresponding to a movement in the concerto. Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741) was a prolific, 18th-century Baroque composer who wrote more than 500 concertos. Though it is not known who wrote these sonnets, there is a theory that Vivaldi wrote them himself. Led by the festive sound of rustic bagpipes, nymphs and shepherds lightly dance beneath the brilliant canopy of spring. On the flower-strewn meadow, with leafy branches rustling overhead, the goat-herd sleeps, his faithful dog beside him. The latest climate models from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change project that the world described by Vivaldi will have changed dramatically by 2050 unless we act now. Then they die away to silence, and the birds take up their charming songs once more. Vivaldi’s original composition of The Four Seasons was an innovation in storytelling, a portrayal of humanity’s relationship with nature in the pre-industrial era. Thunderstorms, those heralds of Spring, roar, casting their dark mantle over heaven, The birds celebrate her return with festive song,Īnd murmuring streams are softly caressed by the breezes. Composed in 1723, it is Vivaldi's best-known work, and is among the most popular pieces of Baroque music.Ĭast in three movements, the Concerto in E major subtitled "Spring" was, like its three siblings, inspired by an Italian sonnet, whose colorful pastoral scenes and events the composer depicts in his wonderfully imaginative music. Le quattro stagioni (Italian for “The Four Seasons”) is a set of four violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi.
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