Download Antonio Vivaldi

ANTONIO VIVALDI
THE EARLY YEARS
 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.
RUMOR HAD IT THAT
HE RAN OUT OF MASS
TO WRITE DOWN A
MUSICAL SCORE
Antonio entered the
priesthood in 1693
Was nicknamed the
“Red Priest”
Would run out of mass
because of asthma
MUSIC CAREER
Music master at a girls
orphanage
Most of career was spent
here
Most prestigious school
in Venice
Many of his songs were
exercises for his students
The “orphans” could be
indiscretions by nobleman
MOST POPULAR MUSIC
 Four Seasons. Published in 1725. Has 4 sections.
I. Spring
II. Summer
III.Autumn
IV.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
59 contatas
100
aria(about)
2 oratorios
60 pieces of
sacred music
78 sonatas
21 sinfonias
456
concertos
(funtrivia)
M A J O R S O U RC E O F V I O L I N
STYLE DEVELOPMENT
The violin was his favorite instrument.
221 concertos were written for the violin.
A L L E G RO M O LT O O B O E , I N 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 OPERA
Loved to travel
Would 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
Lived
extravagantly
VIVALDI