Antonio Vivaldi and the Sublime Seasons: Sonority and Texture as Expressive Devices in Early Eighteenth-Century Italian Music

Abstract

Antonio Vivaldi's cycle of violin concertos dramatizing the four seasons marked a substantial shift in the way that the seasons were depicted in the arts. Moving away from religious and mythological allegory, they exemplify a growing interest in descriptive representation of nature's power and in humanity's complex physical and emotional relationship with elements beyond its control. Positing new connections to Arcadian reform ideals of verisimilitude, this article addresses important questions concerning Vivaldi's pairing of sonnets with concertos and the aesthetic factors behind his choice of narrative topics to depict in the music. The article also demonstrates how Vivaldi used diverse textures and sonorities to create powerful contrasts that heighten the emotional impact of the aural imagery while underlining recurring expressive and pictorial motifs throughout the cycle. These last aspects, in particular, provide a new understanding of the historical significance of Vivaldi'sFour Seasonsas a powerful demonstration of both the expressive potential of the concerto genre and the still underappreciated art of orchestration during the early eighteenth century.

Idea Bank: Children’s Books: A Great Partner in the Music Classroom

“…Four sonnets were published with the original publication of the Four Seasons in 1725. 1 It is believed that Vivaldi wrote the sonnets that inspired the orchestral work. A sonnet accompanies each movement to tell the story of the seasons both musically and through the written word.…”

“…Music objective:(1) The learner will demonstrate tempo changes through movement. (2) The learner will dramatize the CD version (which reinforces expression) and compare and contrast it with a book version.1.…”

Semiotic Dimension Deconstruction in the First Movement of "Spring" by Vivaldi

“…8, RV 269: Spring (La primavera)" has an inseparable connection in its musical progression patterns. On the other hand, in the last ten years, explorations by Fish (2015), Stone-Davis (2015), Richardson (2014), Lockey (2017), as well as Sakellion and Da (2013) are vital to this research because they discuss the basics of The Four Seasons very extensively, as the primary topic of this study. However, in the last ten years also, investigations regarding the search for semiotics in general with a focus on Vivaldi's work could not be found, so this study has an urgency.…”