Kyung Paek St.

Francis Prep Antonio Vivaldi Four Seasons (Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter)

01/06/13 Period G

Antonio Vivaldi was a famous Italian composer, priest, and violinist during the Baroque period. He was born on March 4, 1678. He became a priest but had to quit because of chest problems. Antonio was from Venice, Italy. One reason he mightve became a priest was to receive free education while he was learning to be a priest. Antonio learned how to play violin from his father, Giovanni Battista Vivaldi, who played for St. Marks church. He became a violin teacher for Ospitale Della Pieta which was in Venice, Italy. He then became an orchestra conductor. He performed many concerts and was became widely known throughout the world. In 1740 he left Venice. The next year he died on July 28, 1741, possibly because of his bronchitis. The Baroque period was between 1600 and 1750 CE. The word baroque actually means irregular and is used to explain the ideas of art during this period. Instrumental music from this period were mostly the organ and the violin. The evolution of music in this period helped create all different kinds of arts. Women were able to express their feelings through painting. Antonio was mostly known for his most famous work of music called Four Seasons. It consists of four parts: spring, summer, fall, and winter. It was published in 1725. Four Seasons had an impact on the Baroque period. Many people acknowledged him for his beautiful work. Instruments that are played in this piece of music are violins, violas, cello, double basses, and a harpsichord.

In one of the parts of Four Seasons, spring, it expresses joy and happiness. The rhythm is faster than normal in parts of the beginning but slows down halfway through and then become faster. In the beginning the pitch is a lot higher but when the speed starts slowing down the pitch goes down and plays much softer. In Summer, the rhythm starts out as fast, becomes slow then goes back to being fast. The pitch is mainly high throughout this part but isnt so high in some parts. It is gently played at times but then out of nowhere the sound of the instrument is emphasized. This piece expresses the fear and pain we have to suffer because of the suns extreme heat. Autumn starts out fast, gets slower, and then gets faster again. The pitch is mostly high but when played slowly the notes are much longer and is not as high. Autumn expresses peacefully sleeping. Winter is slightly fast, then becomes slow, and fast again. This expresses the coldness and harsh conditions of the winter but also somehow expresses joy. The pitch is higher in the beginning then it is around the middle. Four Seasons is listened by many people today. People might listen to this to relax, to study, to dance to, etc. Whatever the reason maybe, it shows how great this piece of music is even after almost 300 years.