Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) is one of the most famous baroque composers of all time. Born on March 4th in Venice, he was baptized immediately after birth due to his poor health. Growing up, Vivaldi was afflicted by “stretezza di petto,” or a “tightness of the chest.” Not known at that time, Vivalid had severe asthma. This disease did not stop him from becoming a composer and playing the violin, but it did stop him from playing wind instruments. His father, Giovanni Battista, was the violinist for the San Marco Basilica orchestra in Venice, Italy, and he taught Vivaldi violin at a young age. Together, they toured Venice playing violin. At the age of thirteen, Vivaldi wrote his first composition, “Laetatus Sum.” When he was fifteen, Vivaldi started studying to become a priest, and ten years later he was ordained. His nickname was “il Prete Roso,” or “The Red Priest,” because of his red hair, a family trait. Even during his priesthood, Vivaldi continued to practice violin and compose. After some time as a priest, he decided to become a music teacher and worked at a local orphanage. During the next thirty years that Vivaldi spent there, he wrote most of his compositions with inspiration the orphans gave him.
Vivaldi’s most famous piece, “Le quattro stagioni,” or “The Four Seasons,” was written for four violins in 1720 and published five years later. Though unusual for his time, Vivaldi published the concerti with accompanying poems he wrote himself. These poems put Vivaldi’s intentions for each season into words, and he wrote the poetic lines directly onto the sheets of music. Vivaldi also separated each season into three movements, allegro-largo-allegro (fast-slow-fast), and linked this form into a poetic sonnet. The Four Seasons concerto is known for describing each season both through music and words.
Here is an excerpt of Vivaldi’s poetic transcription of the spring season:
Spring (Concerto No. 1 in E Major)
Allegro
Spring has arrived with joy
Welcomed by the birds with happy songs,
And the brooks, amidst gentle breezes,
Murmur sweetly as they flow.
The sky is caped in black, and
Thunder and lightning herald a storm
When they fall silent, the birds
Take up again their delightful songs.
This pattern continues for each season.
Throughout his life, Vivaldi wrote over eight hundred different works, including three hundred and fifty solo works, forty-five double concertos, and many other choral works. His most famous choral work, “Gloria,” was written for the Pieta, one of four charitable institutions for the orphaned and abandoned girls of Venice. The piece spans two hours and ten minutes long in all.
As far as historians can tell, Vivaldi never married or had children as he dedicated most of his life to his career. Aged sixty-three, Vivaldi died of an “internal infection,” and he was forgotten because his music was thought to be “old fashioned.” Yet, hundreds of years later, Vivaldi’s music was rediscovered and he still is one of the most famous Baroque composers today.
Photo credits: Getty images
Work cited
“Antonio Vivaldi.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Feb. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Vivaldi.
“The Four Seasons.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 20 Dec. 2023, www.britannica.com/topic/The-Four-Seasons-by-Vivaldi.