He preferred to offer readily accessible entertainment to his listeners with melodies that pop back up later in a piece to remind us of where we’ve been. Unlike his contemporary Bach, Vivaldi wasn’t much interested in complicated fugues. But Vivaldi pulled it off with just one violin, strings, and a harpsichord. By then, larger, more varied ensembles were the rule with woodwinds, brass, and percussion to help tell the tale. Not until the early 19th century would such expressive instrumental program music, as it was known, become popular. In these first weeks of winter, the old year is coming to a close, and so does Vivaldi’s musical exploration of the seasons. Then it’s back out into the storm where there’ll be slips and falls on the ice. The “Winter” concerto begins with teeth chattering in the cold before one takes refuge by a crackling fire. “Autumn” brings eager hunters dashing out in pursuit of their prey. In “Summer,” the turtle dove sings her name “tortorella” in Italian, before a hail storm flattens the fields. Not only is there musical thunder and lightning, there are also more birds, wet, frightened, and unhappy. Soon, however, a thunderstorm breaks out. We are told that the birds welcome spring with happy song, and here they are doing exactly that. If one were to read the poems simultaneously to hearing the music, one would find the poetic scenes synchronizing nicely with the musical imagery. In providing specific plot content for instrumental music, Vivaldi was generations ahead of his time. At the time of their publication in Amsterdam in 1725, they were accompanied by poems describing exactly what feature of that season Vivaldi intended to capture in musical terms. However, even more notable is the fact that they have stories to tell. “The Four Seasons” are famous in part because they are a delight to the ear. This is the opening of “Spring” from “The Four Seasons,” by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi. It’s been featured in uncounted films and television commercials, but what is it and why does it sound that way? It’s some of the most familiar of all early 18th century music.
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