Luca Sulic is a masterful musician and performer. He engages the audience with Vivaldi's classic rhythms and gorgeous and compelling melodies in a way that taps into your emotions and soul. Buy his Vivaldi: The Four Seasons! 4 people found this helpful. The Four Seasons It is ironic that The Four Seasons, some of the best-known music of all time, remain an enigma. Several interrelated questions need to be answered before a reasonably complete view of Vivaldi’s actions can ever be reached. Vivaldi - The Four Seasons The Four Seasons, composed in 1723, is one of Baroque legend Vivaldi's most famous works for violin. Here's a very special performance of one of the movements, from one of Europe's top chamber orchestras. We usually associate Vivaldi with Venice and the Italian sun. The first version of the Four Seasons I ever purchased was performed by the Toulouse Chamber Orchestra under the direction of was Louis Auriacombe on Angel Records. Viva Vivaldi / Louis Auriacombe, Orch de Chambre de Toulouse Charming, but outdated the minute Hogwood and gang came into vogue back in the late seventies/early eighties.
Did you know that the music of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons is based on four poems written by Antonio Vivaldi? In the music, each 'Season' consists of a three-movement concerto. Two quick-tempo outer movements frame a central slow-tempo movement. The sonnets included in the score provide a specific description of each movement. A prose translation of the original Italian is provided below.La Primavera (Spring)
Opus 8, No. 1, in E Major
I. Allegro--Festive Spring has arrived,
The birds salute it with their happy song.
And the brooks, caressed by little Zephyrs,
Flow with a sweet murmur.
The sky is covered with a black mantle,
And thunder, and lightning, announce a storm.
When they are silent, the birds
Return to sing their lovely song.
II. Largo e pianissimo sempre--
And in the meadow, rich with flowers,
To the sweet murmur of leaves and plants,
The goatherd sleeps, with his faithful dog at his side.
III. Danza pastorale. Allegro--
To the festive sound of pastoral bagpipes,
Dance nymphs and shepherds,
At Spring's brilliant appearance.
L'Estate (Summer)
Opus 8, No. 2, in G minor
I. Allegro non molto--
Under the heat of the burning summer sun,
Languish man and flock; the pine is parched.The cuckoo finds its voice, and suddenly,
The turtledove and goldfinch sing.
A gentle breeze blows,
But suddenly, the north wind appears.
The shepherd weeps because, overhead,
Lies the fierce storm, and his destiny.
II. Adagio; Presto--
His tired limbs are deprived of rest
And by furious swarms of flies and hornets.
III. Presto--
Alas, how just are his fears,
Thunder and lightening fill the Heavens, and the hail
Slices the tops of the corn and other grain.
L'Autunno (Autumn)
Opus 8, No. 3, in F Major
I. Allegro--
The peasants celebrate with dance and song,
The joy of a rich harvest.
And, full of Bacchus's liquor,
They finish their celebration with sleep.
II. Adagio molto--
Each peasant ceases his dance and song.
The mild air gives pleasure,
And the season invites many
To enjoy a sweet slumber.
III. Allegro--
The hunters, at the break of dawn, go to the hunt.
With horns, guns, and dogs they are off,
The beast flees, and they follow its trail.
Already fearful and exhausted by the great noise,
Of guns and dogs, and wounded,
The exhausted beast tries to flee, but dies.
L'Inverno (Winter)
Opus 8, No. 4, in F minor
I. Allegro non molto--
Frozen and trembling in the icy snow,
In the severe blast of the horrible wind,
As we run, we constantly stamp our feet,
And our teeth chatter in the cold.
II. Largo--
To spend happy and quiet days near the fire,While, outside, the rain soaks hundreds.
III. Allegro--
We walk on the ice with slow steps,
And tread carefully, for fear of falling.
Symphony, If we go quickly, we slip and fall to the ground.
Again we run on the ice,
Until it cracks and opens.
Vivaldi Spring
We hear, from closed doors,Sirocco, Boreas, and all the winds in battle.
This is winter, but it brings joy.
The Four Seasons, composed in 1723, is one of Baroque legend Vivaldi's most famous works for violin. Here's a very special performance of one of the movements, from one of Europe's top chamber orchestras.
We usually associate Vivaldi with Venice and the Italian sun. However, an orchestra has taken 'Winter' from The Four Seasons and turned it into something quite different.
The Arctic Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra decided to perform this masterpiece in one of the most northern places on Earth, Telegrafbukta, Tromsø, deep above the Arctic Circle in Norway. The orchestra's Artistic Director and star violinist Henning Kraggerud performs the solo passages in a separate shot, filmed in the snow, ice and magical arctic light.
There's much more from the Arctic Philharmonic on their YouTube channel (the sound engineer for this incredible video was Asle Karstad, the video creator and editor was Håvard Bilsbak).
More about these incredible concertos...
Vivaldi wrote so many concertos that, much like Haydn and his symphonies, he tended to resort to nicknames rather than numbers, for ease. Each concerto of his Four Seasons corresponds to a different season – so it's easy to guess how he nicknamed this particular work.
The music is accompanied by beautiful Italian sonnets, possibly written by Vivaldi himself after he was inspired by painter Marco Ricci's paintings of the seasons. It's even customary in some concerts that a narrator reads the poems before the performance, to bring the musical story to life.
Vivaldi Four Seasons Dvd
Listen out for the texture of the music representing winter, with the high-pitched plucking from the strings sounding a bit like cold and icy rain. There are also more descriptive labels dotted throughout the movements: the second movement of Spring is part-labelled 'the barking dog', while one section of Autumn says 'the drunks have fallen asleep'. You might even hear a passionate thunderstorm in Summer, with the balmy music representing a warm August evening.