Home Fruit trees A message about the cycle of the seasons of the vivaldi. Vivaldi "The Four Seasons" - the history of creation. Short biography of Antonio Vivaldi

Fruit trees

A message about the cycle of the seasons of the vivaldi. Vivaldi "The Four Seasons" - the history of creation. Short biography of Antonio Vivaldi

A cycle of four concertos for violin solo and orchestra.

Spring

Spring has come (3)

BIRD SINGING (4)

The birds cheerfully greet the spring with their merry singing, (5-6)

and marshmallows are deceivingly blowing in a gentle whisper, easily sweeping to and fro, (7)

and at this time, darkness spreads in the air, and lightning flashes, and thunders foretell, (9)

that the birds should be silent. A new euphonious charm comes: (12)

there, on a flowering meadow, caressing the eye, one can hear the gentle whisper of leaves and grasses. (15)

SLEEPING SHEPHERD (15)

The shepherd sleeps, and next to his faithful dog. (15)

He growls angrily - he has to bark loudly all the time. (15)

The merry nymphs and the shepherd dance to the sounds of shepherd's bagpipes and under the sparkling mantle of spring. (eighteen)

SHEPHERD DANCE (18)

Summer

SUMMER HISTOMA (31)

While this time of the year lasts - the time of the hot sun - people languish, herds are exhausted, pines are burning. (31)

Gorlinka (38)

HERE a turtle-dove in the garden is in a hurry to compose its songs. (38-39)

Marshmallows gently blow. (40)

NORTHERN WIND (41)

STORMY WINDS (41)

But suddenly Boreas starts a dispute with his neighbor. (42)

RESIDENT'S COMPLAINT (44)

A young shepherd boy mourns his fate because he is afraid of the cruel predators that threaten the herd. (45)

Tired legs and arms ache, and even while resting, he thinks with fear of lightning, terrible thunderstorms, clouds of ferocious flies and gadflies! (50)

FLIES AND GATFLES (50)

STORMY SUMMER (53)

It is not in vain that the villager is afraid. His fears come true: thunder roars, lightning flashes in the sky, and now ears full of grains have already beaten with hail. (53)

Howling and roaring in the sky. (57)

Autumn

DANCES AND SONGS OF THE VILLAGERS (72)

Festival of peasants with dances and songs. (72)

The joy came from the harvested crop. (72)

ONE DRINKED (75)

There is so much fun in this moisture of Bacchus! (75)

AND ALL UNDER THE HOP (76)

HERE DRINKED THIS! (80)

DRUNK SLEEPING (83)

The tumultuous fun ends in blissful sleep. (83)

SLEEPING DRUNKERS (86)

Everyone wants to take a break from tuda, dance, sing. The cool air is enjoyable. (86)

This time of the year is calling more and more to enjoy a sweet dream. (86)

From early dawn, hunters rush to hunt, with rifles and carbines rushing into the wild.

All living things are saved, the animals run away, and the hunters chase them. (96)

Predator Fleeing (96)

He's being hunted down. The frightened victim has already been wounded, and she is threatened with a pack of barking dogs and shooting from guns. (96)

GUN SHOOTING AND BARKING DOGS (96)

WILD BEAST TRYING TO ESCAPE TO SAVE AND DIE (101)

He is too weak to escape and dies exhausted. (101)

Winter

The frozen traveler trembles under the cold snow. (106)

AWESOME WIND (107)

A terrible wind blows severely (107)

WIND NOISE (113)

People run, all the time stamping their feet from the cold, (109)

and even though they were wrapped in wool, they still don't get a tooth on a tooth. (117)

They strive for their hearths: after all, it is so pleasant and peaceful by the fire, while the downpour pours in full force outside the walls of the house. (123)

People walk on the ice of the river. (126)

GO CAREFULLY, WITH DANGER and at a slow pace, watch carefully so as not to slip or fall. (128)

It is worth quickening your pace or turning sharply, as you slip and fall. (128-129)

FALL TO EARTH (129)

But people walk faster until the ice cracked and the openings opened. (132)

SOUTH EASTERN WIND (133)

It is felt, when you go out the door, how Cirocco, Boreas blow, and all the winds are at war with each other. (135)

This is winter, but it also brings joy. (138)

Antonio Vivaldi's favorite genre (c. 1678–1741), who was nicknamed "the red-haired priest", was a concert, with its characteristic festivity, brilliance, a large touch - in a word, a style designed for a wide, varied and eager for vivid impressions audience.

At the age of 12, Vivaldi had already replaced his father in the best city orchestra, and at the age of 15 he took the monastic order. At the age of 25, Vivaldi was recognized as the first violinist of his hometown - Venice, ten years later he became one of the most famous composers in Europe. As a monk, Vivaldi became the musical director of the Ospedalle della Pieta women's conservatory. Then in the conservatories were trained children capable of music from 7 to 18 years old. The main purpose of the conservatories was to train personnel for the opera house: singers, singers, orchestra musicians, composers. Vivaldi taught the pupils singing, playing the harpsichord, violin, flute, general bass and counterpoint (composing music). However, the main thing in his work was the weekly concerts of the conservatory orchestra, or, as they said at the time, the chapels. Only girls played in the orchestra. Under the guidance of Vivaldi, they achieved such mastery that listeners came to their performances from all over Europe. The composer himself performed with the chapel as a solo violinist and composed for this a huge number of concerts, more than 450.

Concert work of Vivaldi has become a vivid embodiment in instrumental music of the baroque style (baroque - "strange", "bizarre" style). Many of Antonio Vivaldi's concerts have a program - a title or even a literary dedication.

The Seasons cycle is one of the earliest examples of programmed orchestral music. The Seasons (Italian: Le quattro stagioni "Four Seasons") - the first four of the twelve violin concertos of his eighth opus, some of his most famous works and some of the most famous pieces of music in the Baroque style. The concertos were written in 1723 and first published two years later, in 1725, in Amsterdam by the publisher Michel Le Tsenet. Each concert is dedicated to one season and consists of three parts corresponding to each month. The composer prefaced each of the concerts with a sonnet - a kind of literary program. It is assumed that the author of the poems is Vivaldi himself. It should be added that the paradigm of baroque artistic thinking is not limited to a single meaning or plot, and involves secondary meanings, hints, symbols. The first obvious allusion is the four ages of a person, from birth to death (the final part contains an unambiguous allusion to the last circle of Dante's hell). Equally overt is the hint of the four regions of Italy, according to the four cardinal points and the path of the sun across the sky. These are sunrise (east, Adriatic, Venice), noon (sleepy, hot south), lush sunset (Rome, Latius) and midnight (cold foothills of the Alps, with their frozen lakes). But on the whole, the content of the cycle is much richer, which was clear to any then enlightened listener (see Philippe Bossan, "Louis XIV, King-Artist", "Limits of Olympus"). At the same time, Vivaldi reaches here the heights of genre and direct depiction, not shying away from humor: in the music there are barking dogs, buzzing flies, the roar of a wounded animal, etc. ...

But Vivaldi gave the musicians a more detailed program. In the score, in the parts of the soloist and the parts of individual instruments, explanations are given not only to each new topic, but also to some short musical phrases: they clarify the content, bringing energy and humor into it. Four concerts of this cycle - "Spring", "Summer", "Autumn", "Winter" - colorfully paint pictures of nature. Vivaldi managed to convey in music the singing of birds ("Spring", in the first part, "Summer", in the first part), a thunderstorm ("Summer", in the third part), rain ("Winter", in the second part), the sound of the wind. Virtuosity, technical complexity did not distract the listener, but contributed to the creation of a memorable image.

Each of the four concerts consists of 3 parts, contrasting with each other: fast-slow-fast.

1 Concerto No. 1 in E major "Spring", RV 269
2 Concert No. 2 in G minor "Summer", RV 315
3 Concert No. 3 in F major "Autumn", RV 293
4 Concert No. 4 in F minor "Winter", RV 297

Concert No. 1 in E major "Spring", RV 269

1 Allegro. Spring came

2 Largo e pianissimo semper. Sleeping shepherd.

3 Allegro, danza pastorale. Village dance

Spring is coming! And a joyful song
Nature is full. Sun and warmth
Streams murmur. And holiday news
Zephyr spreads like magic.

Suddenly velvet clouds come
Heavenly thunder sounds like the gospel.
But the mighty whirlwind quickly dries up,
And chirping again floats in the blue space.

Breath of flowers, rustle of herbs,
The nature of dreams is full.
The shepherd sleeps, tired in a day,
And the dog barks barely audibly.

Shepherd's bagpipes sound
Droning over the meadows,
And the nymphs dancing the magic circle
Spring is colored with wondrous rays.

Concert No. 2 in G minor "Summer", RV 315

1 Allegro non molto. Heat. Allegro. Cuckoo. Gorlinka. Marshmallow. Boreas. The crying of a peasant.

2 Adagio - Presto.

3 Presto, tempo impetuoso d'estate. Summer thunderstorm.

The flock wanders lazily in the fields.
From the heavy, suffocating heat
Everything in nature suffers, dries up,
All living things are thirsty.

Suddenly a passionate and mighty swoop down
Boreas, exploding peace of silence.
It is dark all around, there are clouds of angry midges.
And the shepherd boy cries, caught by the thunderstorm.

From fear, poor, freezes:
Lightning strikes, thunder rumbles
And ripe ears pluck out
The storm is mercilessly all around.

Concert No. 3 in F major "Autumn", RV 293

1 Allegro, ballo e canto de'villanelli. Dance and song of peasant lads.

2 Adagio molto, Ubriachi dormienti. Sleepers are drunk.

3 Allegro, la Caccia. Hunting.

The peasant harvest festival is making noise.
Fun, laughter, ringing perky songs!
And Bacchus juice, igniting blood,
All the weak are knocked down, giving a sweet dream.

And the rest are eager to continue
But singing and dancing is already unbearable.
And, completing the joy of pleasure,
The night plunges everyone into the deepest sleep.

And in the morning at dawn they jump to the forest
The hunters, and the huntsmen with them.
And, having found a trail, they lower the pack of hounds,
Recklessly they drive the beast, blowing the horn.

Frightened by the terrible din
Injured, weakening fugitive
Runs stubbornly from the dogs that are tormenting,
But more often it dies, finally.

Concert No. 4 in F minor "Winter", RV 297

1 Allegro non molto

Shivering, freezing, in the cold snow
And a wave rolled from the north of the wind.
You knock your teeth from the cold on the run,
You pound your feet, you can't keep warm

How sweet it is in comfort, warmth and quiet
Take refuge from the evil weather in winter.
Fireplace fire, half-asleep mirages.
And the frozen souls are full of peace.

The people rejoice in the winter expanse.
Fell, slipping and rolling again.
And it's joyful to hear how the ice is being cut
Under a sharp ridge that is bound with iron.

And in the sky Cirocco and Boreus met,
A battle is going on between them.
Although the cold and the blizzard have not yet surrendered,
Winter gives us and its delights.

For the first parts of his concerts (quickly) Vivaldi established the rondo form. The main theme of tutti returns as a refrain, alternating with developmental type solo episodes. Thematically, they are associated with the refrain, borrowing material from it; but here, in episodes, the themes of the completed structure dissolve in a sequential-figurative movement. The theme is emphasized in relief by episodes that create a fluid, mobile background for it, often of a pictorial nature.

Reading numerous materials about Vivaldi in the global garbage dump of our civilization - I mean the Internet, you are amazed at the level of culture of some of our fellow citizens. Collected by contemporaries, almost bit by bit, the life story of one of the most famous composers who lived more than 300 years ago, quite clearly stated in a solid Internet encyclopedia, replicated on various respected (and not so) sites with the addition of various author's maxims. Here are attempts to retell (abstracts) and various maxims about some “mistresses” and “secrets” in the style of Dan Brown and simply “essays on the topic” of various authors who have simply cut the same encyclopedic text in their own interests.
The most interesting materials, as usual, were found at the end of the search list. They belong to musicologists, professional musicians who rely in their works on specific documents and facts.

Perhaps the best example of such materials about Vivaldi and his "Four Seasons" is written by the grandson of the famous composer S. Maikapar - Alexander Maikapar and published by him on the Internet.

The impeccable accuracy, ease and logic of the presentation of the historical material in this article became the starting point for us in the creation of our light and music production. Some of the materials in this article, with the kind permission of the author, we decided to use in the production and on our website.

So, "The Four Seasons" by Antonio Vivaldi is a cycle of four concertos for violin solo and orchestra. Each of the concerts is in three parts and each concert depicts one season of the year. They form part of a congregation (Op. 8) entitled "Il Cimento dell'Armonia e dell'Inventione" ("The Dispute of Harmony with Invention").

Composed - about 1720 (A. Vivaldi is 32 years old). Published - 1725 (in 5 years!). Amsterdam. Published by Michel Le Cene. Full original title: "Le quattro stagioni" ("Four seasons").

"Prete rosso" ("Red-headed priest") - such a nickname received by Antonio Vivaldi in the memoirs of Carlo Goldoni. Indeed, he was both red (“Red” was the nickname of his father) and a priest.

Antonio Vivaldi (March 4, 1678, Venice - July 28, 1741, Vienna) was born into the family of a professional violinist, his father played in St. Mark's Cathedral, and also took part in opera productions. Antonio received a church education and was preparing to become a priest: he successively became exorcista (spellcaster; 1695), acolythus (successor; 1696), subdiaconus (protodeacon; 1699), diaconus (deacon; 1700). But soon after he was ordained a sacerdos (priest; 1703), which gave him the right to celebrate Mass on his own, he refused, citing poor health (he suffered from asthma, which was the result of a chest injury suffered at birth). In 1703 he was listed as maestro di violino (violin teacher) at Ospedale delle Pieta. This is one of the Venetian orphanages. With a break of two years, Vivaldi held this post until 1716, when he became the maestro de 'concerti. Later, being already far from Venice, he retained his ties with Pieta (at one time he sent two of his new concerts there every month).

Vivaldi's reputation began to grow rapidly with his first publications: Trio Sonatas (probably 1703-1705), Violin Sonatas (1709) and especially his 12 concertos L'estro armonico (Harmonious Inspiration) Op. 3 (1711). These, containing some of his finest concerts, were published in Amsterdam and spread widely in northern Europe; this forced musicians who visited Venice to look for Vivaldi there, and in some cases order new ones from him, as was done, for example, for the Dresden court. Bach liked Vivaldi's concerts so much that five concerts of Op. He arranged 3 for the harpsichord and a number of concertos for organ. Many German composers have imitated his style. He published two collections of sonatas and seven other collections of concertos, including La stravaganza (Extravagance) Op. 4 (c. 1712), "Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione" (The Controversy of Harmony with Invention), Op. 8 (c. 1720, including The Four Seasons) and La cetra (Lyra), Op. 9 (1727).

It is in the genre of the instrumental concert that Vivaldi's main achievements and his significance in the history of music are enclosed. He was the first composer to consistently use the riturneli form in fast movements, and this became a model for other composers. The same can be said about the Vivaldive form of the concert as a whole, consisting of three parts: fast - slow - fast. Of its approximately 550 concertos, approximately 350 are for solo instrument and orchestra (over 230 for violin); about 40 doubles (that is, for two soloists), more than 30 for several soloists and almost 60 for an orchestra without soloists. Vivaldi was an original instrumentalist and wrote several concertos for unusual combinations of instruments, for example, for viola d'amour and lute, or for a variety of wind instruments, including such as shalmey, clarinet, French horn and other rare instruments. He also has many recitals for bassoon, cello, oboe and flute. Some of his concerts are programmatic, for example "Storm at Sea" (three concerts have this name), "Hunt", "Anxiety", "Rest", "Night", "Proteus, or the World to the contrary." Vivaldi also wrote a lot of vocal - church and secular - music. He is the author (according to various sources) of 50 - 70 operas (about 20 have survived).

The theme of the seasons has always been popular in art. This is explained by several factors. Firstly, it made it possible with the means of this particular art to capture the events and deeds most characteristic of a particular season. Secondly, it has always been endowed with a certain philosophical meaning: the change of seasons was considered in the aspect of changing periods of human life, and in this aspect, that is, the awakening of natural forces, personified the beginning and symbolized youth, and winter - the end of the path - old age.

Music history knows four famous interpretations of the theme of the seasons. These works are called “The Seasons”. This is a cycle of Vivaldi's concerts, Haydn's oratorio (1801), a cycle of piano pieces by PI Tchaikovsky (1876), AK Glazunov (1899).

Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons is one of the most popular pieces of all time. For many, the very name "Vivaldi" is synonymous with "The Seasons" and vice versa (although he wrote many other works). Even when compared to other concerts of the same opus, these concerts demonstrate Vivaldi's striking innovation in the field of baroque concert. Let's take a closer look at each of the four concerts. And from the very beginning I will note that the composer prefaced each of the concerts with a sonnet - a kind of literary program. It is assumed that the author of the poems is Vivaldi himself (hereinafter the sonnets are translated by Vladimir Grigoriev). So…

Spring (La Primavera)

Spring is coming! And a joyful song
Nature is full. Sun and warmth
Streams murmur. And holiday news
Zephyr carries, Like magic.

Suddenly velvet clouds come
Heavenly thunder sounds like the gospel.
But the mighty whirlwind quickly dries up,
And chirping again floats in the blue space.

Breath of flowers, rustle of herbs,
The nature of dreams is full.
The shepherd sleeps, tired in a day,
And the dog barks barely audibly.

Shepherd's bagpipes sound
Droning over the meadows,
And the nymphs dancing the magic circle
Spring is colored with wondrous rays.

"" (L'Estate)

The flock wanders lazily in the fields.
From the heavy, suffocating heat
Everything in nature suffers, dries up,
All living things are languishing with thirst.

Suddenly a passionate and mighty swoop down
Boreas, exploding peace of silence.
It is dark all around, there are clouds of angry midges.
And the shepherd boy cries, caught by the thunderstorm.

From fear, poor, freezes:
Lightning strikes, thunder rumbles
And ripe ears pluck out
The storm is mercilessly all around.

"Autumn" (L'Autunno)

The peasant harvest rustles.
Fun, laughter, ringing perky songs!
And Bacchus juice, igniting blood,
All the weak are knocked down, giving a sweet dream.

And the rest are eager to continue
But singing and dancing is already unbearable.
And, completing the joy of pleasure,
The night plunges everyone into the deepest sleep.

Frightened by the terrible din
Injured, weakening fugitive
Runs stubbornly from the dogs that are tormenting,
But more often it dies, finally.

"Winter" (L'Inverno)

Shivering, freezing, in the cold snow
And a wave rolled from the north of the wind.
You knock your teeth from the cold on the run,
You pound your feet, you can't keep warm

How sweet it is in comfort, warmth and quiet
Take refuge from the evil weather in winter.
Fireplace fire, half-asleep mirages.
And the frozen souls are full of peace.

The people rejoice in the winter expanse.
Fell, slipping and rolling again.
And it's joyful to hear the ice cut
Under a sharp ridge that is bound with iron.

And in the sky Cirocco and Boreus met,
There is a battle going on between them.
Although the cold and the blizzard have not yet surrendered,
Winter gives us and its delights.

Further in his article, A. Maikapar provides extremely interesting data on the various means of musical expression used by Vivaldi in the Four Seasons concerts, the composer's remarks in the scores, the time and place when this work was created. He describes in detail each concert, following from poems to notes and not forgetting about the reality surrounding Vivaldi. His article is good to read, especially for musicians, while listening to recordings of concerts (try to find the best performance on the Internet) and comparing the impressions of what you read and what you heard. I assure you that you will not regret the time spent.

I think that by no means all sophisticated listeners know about sonnets, which play a key role not only in the performance, but also in the perception of this work. And there are very few performers who want to exactly follow Vivaldi's author's intention. The musical collection of the Theater of Light contains about 5 (!) Performances of The Seasons. The range of interpretations is huge - from the authentic classic pre-jazz avant-garde.

Having read the brilliant article by A. Maikapar, we did not consider any of the performances available to us to be worthy of the illustration of the given sonnets. We have found and are using in the production another version of the performance, which, in our opinion, is ideally suited to the original idea of Antonio Vivaldi - program music.

Program music is music that corresponds to a certain, in this case, literary program. In "The Four Seasons" we are really dealing with the real program itself: the music exactly follows the images of the poems. The sonnets correspond so well to the musical form of the concerts that one involuntarily arises the suspicion whether the sonnets have been composed for the music already written?

The audience will see in our production almost all of Vivaldi's program prerequisites - wind and rain, birdsong, dance of nymphs and a hunting scene. The only thing in which we decided to deviate from the ideas of the great composer is the reflection of nature. The nature of northern Italy (look at the map of Venice) is certainly softer than the Russian one. It is unlikely that Vivaldi saw the beauty of the Russian winter, he could feel the contrasts and sadness of the middle of autumn, the darkness and hopelessness of the end of snowless November. Therefore, we decided to illustrate several parts of the third (Autumn) and fourth (Winter) concerts as we, the inhabitants of the Central Russian plain, see these periods of the year, strengthening the impression of the very imaginative music of these parts.

The life story of Antonio - Lucio Vivaldi - such is the full name of the composer, full of work, experimentation, innovation and selfless service to art. For almost half a century of active life (he died at 62), despite the illness and suffering inherent in any person, he carried people of his genius talent.

As often happens, people retaliated with evil for good. Antonio Vivaldi died in poverty and loneliness, far from his homeland. The place of his burial in the grave for the poor in Vienna (Austria) has long been lost. His concerts were consigned to oblivion for almost 200 years, and only at the beginning of the 20th century (from about 1934) his work was revived and again began to give people the magic light of wonderful music.
By the way, Luce (Vivaldi's middle name) means "light" in translation.

Alexey Goltykhov

Artistic thinking is not limited to a single meaning or plot, and involves secondary meanings, hints, symbols. The first obvious allusion is the four ages of a person, from birth to death (the final part contains an unambiguous allusion to the last circle of Dante's hell). Equally overt is the hint of the four regions of Italy, according to the four cardinal points and the path of the sun across the sky. These are sunrise (east, Adriatic, Venice), noon (sleepy, hot south), lush sunset (Rome, Latius) and midnight (cold foothills of the Alps, with their frozen lakes). But on the whole, the content of the cycle is much richer, which was clear to any then enlightened listener (see Philippe Bossan, "Louis XIV, King-Artist", "Limits of Olympus"). At the same time, Vivaldi reaches here the heights of genre and direct depiction, not shying away from humor: in the music there are barking dogs, buzzing flies, the roar of a wounded animal, etc. ...

Concert No. 1 in E major "Spring", RV 269

1 Allegro. Spring came

2 Largo e pianissimo semper. Sleeping shepherd.

3 Allegro, danza pastorale. Village dance

Spring is coming! And nature is full of joyful songs. The sun and warmth, The streams murmur. And Zephyr carries the holiday news like magic. Suddenly velvet clouds come rushing in, As heavenly thunder sounds like the gospel. But the mighty whirlwind quickly dries up, And the chirping again floats in the blue space. The breath of flowers, the rustle of grasses, The nature of dreams is full. The shepherd sleeps, tired of the day, And the dog yaps barely audibly. The sound of the shepherd's bagpipes Drones over the meadows, And the nymphs dancing the magic circle of Spring is colored with wondrous rays.



	Spring. March.
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	Spring. May.
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Concert No. 2 in G minor "Summer", RV 315

1 Allegro non molto. Heat. Allegro. Cuckoo. Gorlinka. Marshmallow. Boreas. The crying of a peasant.

2 Adagio - Presto.

3 Presto, tempo impetuoso d'estate. Summer thunderstorm.

The flock wanders lazily in the fields. From heavy, suffocating heat Suffers, dries up everything in nature, languishes with thirst for all living things. Cuckoos' voice ringingly and invitingly Hears from the forest. A gentle conversation Goldfinch and a turtle dove are leisurely, And the open space is filled with a warm wind. Suddenly, a passionate and mighty Boreas flies in, exploding the silence of peace. It is dark all around, there are clouds of angry midges. And the shepherd boy cries, caught by the thunderstorm. From fear, poor, freezes: Lightning strikes, thunder rumbles, And ripe ears of corn are ripped out by the Thunderstorm mercilessly around.



	Summer. June.
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	Summer. August.
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Concert No. 3 in F major "Autumn", RV 293

1 Allegro, ballo e canto de'villanelli. Dance and song of peasant lads.

2 Adagio molto, Ubriachi dormienti. Sleepers are drunk.

3 Allegro, la Caccia. Hunting.

The peasant harvest festival is making noise. Fun, laughter, ringing perky songs! And Bacchus juice, igniting the blood, All the weak knocks down, giving a sweet dream. And the rest are eager to continue, But singing and dancing is already unbearable. And, completing the joy of pleasure, The night plunges everyone into the deepest sleep. And in the morning at dawn the Hunters gallop to the forest, and the huntsmen with them. And, having found a trail, they lower the pack of hounds, Recklessly they drive the beast, blowing a trumpet into the horn. Frightened by the terrible din, Wounded, weakening fugitive From the tormenting dogs he runs stubbornly, But more often he dies, at last.



	Autumn. September.
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	Autumn. October.
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	Autumn. November.
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Concert No. 4 in F minor "Winter", RV 297

1 Allegro non molto

3 Allegro

Shivering, freezing, in the cold snow, And a wave of the north wind rolled. You knock your teeth from the cold on the run, You pound your feet, you can't get warm How sweet it is in the comfort, warmth and silence From the bad weather to hide in winter. Fireplace fire, half-asleep mirages. And frozen souls n O moons of rest. The people rejoice in the winter expanse. Fell, slipping and rolling again. And it is joyful to hear how the ice is being cut Under the sharp ridge that is bound with iron. And in the sky, Cirocco and Boreus agreed, There is a battle between them in earnest. Although the cold and the blizzard have not yet surrendered, Dar and we have winter and ours delights.



	Winter. December.
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	Winter. January.
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Notes (edit)

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See what "Seasons (Vivaldi)" is in other dictionaries:

Seasons, or seasons, 4 parts of the year, determined by calendar or climatic characteristics. The Four Seasons is a cycle of 4 violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. "Seasons" cycle of piano works ... ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Seasons (disambiguation). Seasons Genre Documentary Film Director Artavazd Peleshyan Starring ... Wikipedia

Seasons Genre documentary Director Artavazd Peleshyan Starring Operator Mikhail Vartanov Country of the USSR ... Wikipedia

Not to be confused with The Seasons (1975 film). This term has other meanings, see Seasons (disambiguation). Seasons The Four Seasons Genre Comedy Director ... Wikipedia

Vivaldi, Antonio Request for "Vivaldi" is redirected here; see also other meanings. Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Vivaldi Basic information ... Wikipedia

- (1678 1741) Italian composer, virtuoso violinist. Creator of the genre of solo instrumental concert and, along with A. Corelli, the Concerto Grosso. His cycle The Seasons (1725) is one of the earliest examples of programming in music. St. 40 operas, oratorios, ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Vivaldi Antonio (4.3.1678, Venice, - buried on 28.7.1741, Vienna), Italian composer, violinist, teacher. Studied with G. Legrantsi (composition) and his father Giovanni Battista (violin). From 1714 he directed the orchestra and choir of the conservatory ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

A. Vivaldi "The Seasons"

Perhaps one of the most popular pieces of music in the world is a cycle of 4 concerts - "The Seasons", which the composer wrote in 1723 for the solo violins and orchestra. They are unique in their own way; in each piece, brilliant virtuosity and enchanting cantilena are surprisingly merged. Vivaldi accompanied the concerts with sonnets, but, alas, today we do not hear them during performance, they are almost never read out. Who is the author of these words is still a mystery. It is assumed that the composer himself wrote the sonnets.

Concert history of Antonio Vivaldi " Seasons»And a lot of interesting facts about these works read on our page.

History of creation

The year 1725 was marked by the publication of one of the composer's most significant collections - the eighth opus, which he titled "The Experience of Harmony and Invention." It included 12 virtuoso violin concertos, the first four of which are called Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Today's performing practice has combined these compositions into the "Seasons" cycle, but this title is not in the original version.

It is believed that the idea to embody various states of nature in music came to A. Vivaldi during his travels in Italy. He made his first major trip in 1713, when he was appointed chief composer of the Orphanage for Girls. The maestro took a month's leave and went to Vicenza to stage his opera Otto in the Villa there. This event became the starting milestone for his creative biography - from that time he plunged into work on operas and gladly accepted many orders for performances, not forgetting to visit a variety of cities in his native country. He traveled on the mail stagecoaches, popular at that time. It was then, according to biographers, watching the world of wildlife from the window and listening to the clatter of hooves and the sound of wheels, that he decided to create his brilliant violin concertos.

That's just over date of creation of "The Seasons" there are still disputes. Some historians believe that the concerts were written in 1723, while others call 1725 more likely - it is he who appears in many authoritative reference publications. But art critic A. Maykapar insists that they were created in 1720. In his statements, he refers to the work of the researcher of Vivaldi heritage, Paul Everett. This scientist, analyzing the surviving authentic versions of these concerts, came to the conclusion that a copy of them already existed in 1720 and was even sent to Amsterdam. However, for some unknown reason, it was not published until five years later under the direction of Michel Le Tsenet. In 1739, a Paris edition appeared, published by Le Clerc.

Interestingly, these first editions have survived to this day and forced many musicologists to "break" their heads. And this happened because in the last century in Manchester, researchers discovered another manuscript of "The Seasons". It differed markedly from the Amsterdam and Paris editions, in which the musical text was similar. In the variant found, there were very detailed solo parts for individual instruments, unfamiliar to the performers - for example, a beautiful cello solo was written for the middle part of the Zima concert. Why such games were absent in the first music publications, we still managed to figure out.

Historians came to the conclusion that initially, for convenience, they were written and printed on separate sheets, but after a while they simply got lost and soon everyone forgot about them. But scientists were interested in the main question - which score was still the primary source? They were also embarrassed by the fact that the Manchester sheet music was written not by Vivaldi, but by two other people and on two types of paper, which the composer had never used before, and, moreover, there was no dating on all the sheets. Historians had to conduct a real investigation. The answer to the question was helped by them to find information from the life of the owner of this music collection - the Italian curial cardinal Pietro Ottoboni. His Eminence visited Venice in 1726, where he first heard the music of Vivaldi - one of his cantatas. Most likely, historians summed up, Vivaldi in honor of his acquaintance and decided to present him with "The Seasons" as a gift. He prepared in advance for this meeting, and therefore prudently ordered a copy of the sheet music from the scribes. One of them, according to biographers, was his father, Giovanni Battista Vivaldi. This gave reason to believe that the primary source is still the Amsterdam edition - the same one that had lain in oblivion for five years.

Interesting Facts

The researchers drew attention to the fact that the found Vivaldi's manuscripts significantly differ from printed publications. Having carefully studied them, they came to the conclusion that these differences were made by the composer himself. The thing is that he personally prepared all the works for publication, but never copied them exactly. While rewriting the text for the publishing house, he made many changes to it, but left his own version the same.
Vivaldi once used the music of the Allegro of the first concert in one of his operas, created in 1726. It was called Dorilla in the Tempi Valley.
One of the most passionate admirers of this music was the French king Louis XV. Especially for him, the courtiers even staged a play to the music of Spring, wishing to please their ruler.
The Seasons is sometimes called the Four-Act violin opera ". And all because the composer has built his cycle very logically and coherently, and, moreover, combined everything not only with the plot and name, but also with the through symphonic development.

Fragments of "The Four Seasons" are often played on large screens today. So, they can be heard in the series "Grey's Anatomy", "The Big Bang Theory", the films "Philosophy of the Boudoir of the Marquis de Sade", "1 + 1", "In the Footsteps of Vivaldi", "Tomorrow Was War" and the animated film "The Simpsons".
The music of these concerts was repeatedly used for their productions by choreographers - Roland Petit, Angelin Preljocaj, James Koudelka, Mauro Bigonzetti.
Discs with the recording of these works, made in 1989 by Nigel Kennedy and the English Chamber Orchestra, broke all sales records - more than two million of them were bought.
Stéphane Lambiel won the 2006 World Figure Skating Championships with his free skating program to music from The Four Seasons.
Spring has been included in the Windows 3.0 Music Samples.

"The Four Seasons" by A. Vivaldi are considered the standard of program music. Each concert is preceded by a sonnet - a kind of literary program that tunes the listener to the desired mood. Who is the author of these poetic lines is still not known for certain. It is assumed that it was Vivaldi himself. Curiously, all the sonnets correspond very closely to the form of the concerts. This fact has led to some confusion for many researchers. Carefully comparing the poetic lines and the musical fabric, they came to the conclusion that the music was originally written, and the poems were already written directly on it.

In all four Baroque concerts, the composer reaches the heights of pictoriality. So, in "Spring" a grandiose picture of jubilation unfolds in front of the audience, which is caused by the arrival of warmth and the awakening of nature. In the music, one can easily guess the singing of birds, the murmur of a stream, peals of thunder, rustle of foliage and even the barking of a dog. In "Summer" Vivaldi also brilliantly manages to embody those states that are so well familiar to every person, languishing from heat, heat and languor. But soon they are replaced by numbness and fear arising from icy gusts of wind and a raging thunderstorm. In "Autumn" the maestro invites everyone to the harvest festival and masterfully recreates everything that happens there: the violinist-soloist "pours" wine into glasses with his passages, after which the drunken peasants, with an uncertain gait and slightly stuttering, disperse to their homes. The village falls asleep, and in the morning everyone goes hunting - the music picturesquely "paints" a picture of the race, the game on hunting horns and well-aimed shots. The characterization of the winter season is also given very clearly in the last concert. In it you can hear the chattering of teeth from the cold, and the howl of a blizzard, and the stamping of feet, helping to warm up in the bitter frost.

Interestingly, the researchers do not limit the content of all parts only to the natural plot. These four concerts are associated with the four phases of human life - childhood, adolescence, maturity and old age. This interpretation is supported by the fact that in "Winter" the composer left a hint of the last circle of hell, described by Dante Alighieri in "The Divine Comedy". In addition, the "Seasons" are also correlated with the four regions of Italy located on the cardinal points - Venice corresponds to sunrise, Naples corresponds to noon, Rome to evening, and Bologna corresponds to midnight. However, there is still an opinion that these are not all the subtexts that can be found in music. Only contemporary listeners could fully understand them.

Arrangements and modern treatments

1. In 1765, the first vocal arrangement of the Spring concert appeared in Paris - it was a motet.

2. In the late 60s. XX century, the outstanding Argentinean Astora Piazzolla created a kind of imitation of this work - a cycle of four tangos entitled "The Seasons in Buenos Aires." Subsequently, the Russian composer, a graduate of the Leningrad Conservatory Leonid Desyatnikov became interested in this work. On this material, he created a transcription for violin with accompaniment of a string orchestra. For all her freedom and virtuosity, he tried to maximize the connection with the original creation of Vivaldi, and therefore added several quotes to it.

3. In 2016, the first arrangement of these baroque concerts in the genre of symphonic metal appeared. And it belongs to Vivaldi's compatriot, Giuseppe Yampieri. Over a hundred classical and rock musicians have worked on the creation of this album "The Four Seasons".

4. Flutist Mo Kofman recorded in 1972 a jazz album from "The Four Seasons" by A. Vivaldi. (listen)

5. Patrick Gleason in 1982 made the first computer recording (synthesizer) of concerts.

6. French musician Jean-Pierre Rampal arranged flute arrangements for all four concertos. (Listen)

7. Violinist David Garrett, along with the classical version, in 2010 recorded his modern version of "The Thunderstorms". (listen)

9. Japanese collective "Aura" sang "a cappella" all 4 concerts.

10. Chamber choir from France "Accentus" recorded "Winter" in choral performance.

11. New Zealand singer Hailey Westenra adapted "Winter" into a song called "River of Dreams". (listen)

12. The American symphonic rock band "Trans-Siberian Orchestra" in 2012 recorded the song "Dreams of Fireflies (On A Christmas Night)" with a modern adaptation of "January". (listen)

"Spring" can be heard in films: "Beginners" (2010), "Calendar" (1993), "Flabber" (1997), "Billiard Brothers" (2016), "Close to Heart" (1996), "Miami Rhapsody" (1995) , "Spy Games" (2001), "A View of Murder" (1985), "A Hologram for the King" (2016) and in the new musical animated film "Sing" by Garth Jennings (2016).
"Summer" sounds in the films: "The Tenant" (1990) and "Story with a Necklace" (2001).
Music from "Autumn" can be found in the films: "Exit to Paradise" (1994), "The Banger Sisters" (2002) and "View of the Murder" (1985).
"Winter" found in the films: "Billiard Brothers" (2016), "Hologram for the King" (2016), "Tin Cup" (1996), "The Other Sister" (1999) and the thriller "Salem's Fate" (2004).

"Seasons"- real picturesque canvases on which the whole palette of natural colors is captured only with the sounds of the orchestra. Listen, and you will be able to discern the murmur of a stream, birdsong, thunderclaps, rustle of foliage, a riot of snow whirlwinds and many more different natural phenomena. They are so visible that many performers have a desire to translate everything they hear into reality. Is that possible? And how! We bring to your attention one of the successful experiments in this area, made by the duet "ThePianoGuys".

And the musicians are experimenting on the fourth part of the cycle, which is called "Winter". If you suddenly forgot how this concert from “The Four Seasons” sounds in the original, watch its performance with the soloist Julia Fischer. This work sounded something like this several centuries ago, only old instruments, luxurious costumes and powdered wigs are missing.

Video: listen to "The Four Seasons" by A. Vivaldi

And here " Winter"Performed by the duet" ThePianoGuys»Is hardly recognizable. Can you find Vivaldian notes in their performance? Or maybe something else, inspired by the images of Disney cartoons? For your attention - an impressive improvisation, modern processing, combining two winter stories, separated by hundreds of years. Their action takes place, as befits, in a real snowy kingdom, where all living things are chained in an icy embrace. Everyone except the talented musicians and their fast-moving technical fingers.

Listen to "The Seasons" in a modern version

Each consists of three parts, the outer parts are fast, and the middle parts are slow, as in the next 8 concerts of the opus and as in the vast majority of Vivaldi's concerts, which later became characteristic of other composers for the concert as a genre. (Despite the fact that there are 4 concerts, and the parts in them are traditionally 3, that is, there are 12 parts in total, it should not be assumed that the parts in any way correspond to 12 months.) The composer prefaced each of the concerts with a sonnet - a kind of literary program. It is assumed that the author of the poems is Vivaldi himself.

Seasons

Composer	Antonio Vivaldi
The form	musical composition
First publication
Instruments
violin and orchestra
Parts	Concerto No. 1 in E major, Op. 8, RV 269 [d] Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 8, RV 315 [d] Concerto No. 3 in F Major, Op. 8, RV 293 [d] Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297 [d]
Media files at Wikimedia Commons

Concerto No. 1 in E major "Spring", RV 269

1 Allegro. Spring came

2 Largo e pianissimo semper. Sleeping shepherd.

3 Allegro, danza pastorale. Village dance

Concerto No. 2 in G minor "Summer", RV 315

1 Allegro non molto. Heat. Allegro. Cuckoo. Gorlinka. Marshmallow. Boreas. A peasant's complaint.

2 Adagio - Presto.

3 Presto, tempo impetuoso d'estate. Summer thunderstorm.


	Summer. Part 3 Presto (Tempo impetuoso d'estate)
	Summer. August.
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Concerto No. 3 in F major "Autumn", RV 293

1 Allegro, ballo e canto de'villanelli. Dance and song of peasant lads.

2 Adagio molto, Ubriachi dormienti. Sleepers are drunk.

3 Allegro, la Caccia. Hunting.

The peasant harvest festival is making noise. Fun, laughter, ringing perky songs! And Bacchus juice, igniting the blood, All the weak knocks down, giving a sweet dream. And the rest are eager to continue, But singing and dancing is already unbearable. And, completing the joy of pleasure, The night plunges everyone into the deepest sleep. And in the morning at dawn the Hunters gallop to the forest, and the huntsmen with them. And, having found a trail, they lower the pack of hounds, Recklessly they drive the beast, blowing a trumpet into the horn. Frightened by the terrible din, The wounded, weakening fugitive From the tormenting dogs he runs stubbornly, But in the more often he dies, finally.

Concert No. 4 in F minor "Winter", RV 297

1 Allegro non molto

3 Allegro

Shivering, freezing, in the cold snow, And from the north of the wind a wave rolled. From the cold you knock your teeth on the run, You pound your feet, you can't get warm. How sweet it is in comfort, warmth and quietness To hide from the evil weather in winter. Fireplace fire, half-asleep mirages. And the frozen souls are full of peace. The people rejoice in the winter expanse. Fell, slipping and rolling again. And it is joyful to hear how the ice is being cut Under the sharp ridge that is bound with iron. And in the sky, Cirocco and Boreus agreed, There is a battle between them in earnest. Although the cold and the blizzard have not yet surrendered, Winter gives us its delights.