2. ANTONIO VIVALDI

3.  Born in Venice on March 4 th, 1678.  Oldest of 9 children.  An earthquake happened on the day of his birth.  His father taught him music. THE EARLY YEARS

4. RUMOR HAD IT THAT HE RAN OUT OF MASS TO WRITE DOWN A MUSICAL SCORE

5. MUSIC CAREER

6. MOST POPULAR MUSIC  Four Seasons. Published in 1725. Has 4 sections. I.Spring II.Summer III.Autumn IV.Winter

7. SPRING; MOVEMENT 1  Joyful spring has arrived.  The birds greet it with their cheerful song, A solo violin comes in with a conjunct beautiful melody, this is in the key of E major. It has an allegro pacing and is in duple/simple meter. The pitch is high, the range for the violin is wide and it sounds joyful and happy. It has short, clipped notes that add to the feel of the piece. The violin is accompanied by a harpsichord.

8. SPRING  And the brooks in the gentle breezes  Flow with a sweet murmur. The orchestra all plays together in a homorhythmic very low pitched up and down melody. It sounds like a brook murmuring. The volume is lower, more like piano.

9. SPRING  The sky is covered with a black mantle,  And thunder and lightning announce a storm  When they fall silent, the little birds  Take up again their melodious song. In a lower pitch, now in a minor scale, the orchestra trills their instruments. It brings tension to the piece. A solo violin plays with fast ascending scales and is accompanied by the orchestra. The pace has slowed to largo.

10. SPRING  And in the pleasant, flowery meadow,  To the gentle murmur of bushes and trees,  The goatherd sleeps, his faithful dog at his side The solo violin comes back in. The pace has slowed just a little bit and the violin is playing repeated notes and trills. The timbre is vibrant. The violin ascends and holds some high notes which then are taken over by the orchestra into the next segment.

11. SPRING  To the festive sounds of a rustic bagpipe  Nymphs and shepherds dance in their favorite spot  When spring appears in its brilliance.(baroquemusic) A return to the original theme, and the key has returned to E major. The pace returns to Allegro as well. The tension has been resolved and all is well again. The solo violin plays for a short time and then the whole orchestra.

12. HIS COMPOSITIONS

13. MAJOR SOURCE OF VIOLIN STYLE DEVELOPMENT  The violin was his favorite instrument.  221 concertos were written for the violin.

14. ALLEGRO MOLTO OBOE, IN E  First performed at the orphanage in 1728. This piece is very quick paced, with ascending violins in a joyful sound. The harpsichord is descending in the accompaniment. The string quartet is homorythmic, but the harpsichord gives it contrast in the background. This is played in a major C chord and the meter is quad/simple.

15. ALLEGRO MOLTO OBOE  The Oboe enters with a solo. The rest of the orchestra plays softly with chords for accompaniment. The oboe plays a conjunct melody in the medium range that is an inverted arch, over and over again. It moves up and down a major scale. The tone is rich and vibrant with a timbre that resonates.

16. ALLEGRO MOLTO OBOE  The orchestra joins in and accompanies the oboe with chords and runs of the scale. The volume has increased to ff and the melody has come to a glorious work with the oboe carrying the main melody and the strings and harpsichord with runs.

17. NIGHT AT THE OPERA

18. CONCERTO NO. 8 IN F  It starts with a stately melody with the string orchestra. The pace is moderate and the volume is moderate. The melody is short hops in unison and then later it becomes ascending scales.

19. CONCERTO NO.8 IN F  The bassoon starts a solo with the orchestra for accompaniment. The volume is now forte and the tones are rich. The melody is conjunct with a narrow range which is quite beautiful and then it goes into ascending scales with trills.

20. CONCERTO NO.8 IN F  The bassoon stops and the orchestra goes into a variation of the theme and in a different key that is lower. The melody is a couple of notes and then descending scales repeated but with different notes and scales. The volume is piano and there are lots of flats that are used to create some tension.

21. CONCERTO NO. 8 IN F  The bassoon goes back into a solo of the original melody with just short little notes played as accompaniment. At the end of the melody the whole orchestra joins in on the last few bars to make a joyful ending.

22. PAUPER

23. VIVALDI