LIFE AND MUSIC
What you should know
He was a Baroque composer and violinist.
Vivaldi lived near the end of an era known as the Baroque period, which lasted from about 1600 to 1750. It was an exciting time to be alive. The spirit of adventure and discovery filled the air. Astronomers like Copernicus and Galileo looked high into the heavens and learned that the Earth revolves around the sun.
what does baroque mean? This is a term that was originally used to describe architecture. Buildings of grand design and containing a lot of detailed decoration were called baroque. Strong colours, dramatic effects, splendour, and a sense of both dynamic movement and spontaneity were all features of baroque style. The word “awesome” would be appropriate to describe much baroque art, architecture, and music.
What is an orchestra? An ensemble of instruments consisting of strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. In the Baroque period, the orchestra often consisted of strings alone.
What is a symphony? A composition for orchestra in (usually) three or four movements, each of which corresponds to a specific form (sonata, theme and variations, rondo, etc.). Symphonies began to be written around 1750 (after the Baroque period).
What is a movement? One complete, independent section of a larger work such as a concerto or a symphony.
What is a concerto? A musical composition that involves a dramatic interaction between a featured soloist (or in some cases, soloists) and the orchestra.The word concerto comes from Italian; its etymology is uncertain, but it seems to originate from the conjunction of two Latin words: conserere (meaning to tie, to join, to weave) and certamen (competition, fight)What is an opera? A theatrical work involving solo voices, chorus, orchestra, sets, costumes, and lighting.
The Four Seasons is the best known of Vivaldi’s works. Unusually for the time, Vivaldi published the concerti with accompanying poems (possibly written by Vivaldi himself) that elucidated what it was about those seasons that his music was intended to evoke. It provides one of the earliest and most-detailed examples of what was later called program music—music with a narrative element.
His distinctive reddish hair would later earn him the soubriquet Il Prete Rosso (“The Red Priest”).
At the age of 25, Antonio Vivaldi was named master of violin at the Ospedale della Pietà (Devout Hospital of Mercy) in Venice. He composed most of his major works in this position over three decades. The Ospedale was an institution where orphans received instruction -- the boys in trades and the girls in music. The most talented musicians joined an orchestra that played Vivaldi's compositions, including religious choral music. Under Vivaldi's leadership, the orchestra gained international attention. In 1716, he was promoted to music director.
In addition to his choral music and concerti, Vivaldi had begun regularly writing opera scores by 1715; about 50 of these scores remain. His two most successful operatic works, La constanza trionfante and Farnace, were performed in multiple revivals during Vivaldi's lifetime.
In addition to his regular employment, Vivaldi accepted a number of short-term positions funded by patrons in Mantua and Rome. It was during his term in Mantua, from around 1717 to 1721, that he wrote his four-part masterpiece, The Four Seasons. He paired the pieces with four sonnets, which he may have written himself.