The red-haired priest, Il Prete Rosso, as contemporaries and friends called him Antonio Vivaldi, is certainly one of the most prominent composers and violinists of the Baroque period.
He was born on March 4, 1678, in the city of lagoons, Venice. He received his first music education from his father Giovanni Battista, a violinist in the orchestra of the church of St. Mark, who recognized his son’s exceptional musical talent at the age of ten and brought him into the orchestra.
As was customary at that time, the eldest sons from better families were destined for priesthood. During his ten-year study of theology, lectures and demanding exams took up most of his time, but he dedicated every free moment to playing the violin. Although he was ordained a priest in 1703, he was soon exempted from celebrating mass, supposedly due to asthma attacks that had plagued him since childhood. However, there is also an anecdote according to which he would suddenly go to the sacristy during mass to jot down a fugue theme that came to his mind, so that is also possible. to kojima je uspio ostvariti iznimnu karijeru u glazbi. Unatoč brojnim izazovima s kojima se suočavao, Vivaldi je ostao vjeran svojoj ljubavi prema glazbi i neprestano se razvijao kao glazbenik. Njegove skladbe ostaju kao trajni spomenik njegovom talentu i predanosti umjetnosti. In 1713, the orphanage became a conservatory, with Vivaldi as its first director. The Ospedale conservatory orchestra was composed of the orphanage’s residents and was considered one of the best ensembles not only in Italy but in all of Europe. It’s worth mentioning that during Vivaldi’s time, Venice had transitioned from a powerful trading center to a hub of art and entertainment. No other European city could compare to Venice in terms of musical events. People from different parts of Europe would come to hear and see opera performances and outdoor concerts that took place throughout the year. As a result, orphanages began teaching music to their residents. During Vivaldi’s time, there were four similar orphanages, but the most renowned was the Ospedale della Pietà. Their concerts were attended by many respected and influential Venetians, as well as foreigners. This brought recognition and financial support to the Ospedale. Vivaldi wrote his first opera, “Limeni instrumenti u seljačkom dvorcu” (Ottone in Villa), at the conservatory in Vicenza, and then with the permission of Ospedale he began writing operas for the theater of St. Angelo.
In 1714, he composed the famous opera “Bijesni Orlando” (Orlando furioso), and in 1715 alone, he wrote eighteen operas for the theater of St. Angelo. However, he did not forget about his conservatory, for which in the same year he wrote two oratorios: “Moyses deus pharaonis” and “Juditha triumphans”. In terms of popularity, “Juditha triumphans” is on par with Vivaldi’s most famous work, “Četiri godišnja doba” (The Four Seasons).
Between 1718 and 1728, Vivaldi constantly traveled, wrote operas and concerts, which he staged and performed in the cultural capitals of Italy and Austria: Rome, Florence, Vienna, Verona, and Ancona. Although he suffered from illness throughout his life, his performances left a completely different impression. His contemporaries admired his brilliant playing and exceptional energy: full of enthusiasm. He performed solo passages on the violin and, during breaks, waved the bow to give rhythm to the orchestra. Because of this new and unusual technique at the time, Vivaldi entered the history of music as a precursor to today’s conductor.
Interestingly, his student and main performer of his musical works, Anna Giro (Giraud), accompanied him on these ten-year-long journeys. She was one of the best violinists in Italy, and reportedly excelled in playing the viola, cello, lute, mandolin, and harpsichord.
Throughout this time, Vivaldi also composed and performed concerts for Ospedale della Pietà. Due to his increasing popularity, he was invited to Germany, where he spent the next two years continuously composing and performing his works. He returned to his hometown of Venice in 1731, but the following years were again marked by numerous travels across Europe and Italy. Vivaldi’s last opera, Feraspe, was created in 1739, which he donated to a charity as his way of bidding farewell.
Upon invitation from Vienna, Vivaldi, the famous Italian composer, moved to Vienna from the court of King Karl VI, who was a great admirer of his music, after selling all his property in Venice. The following year, Karl VI suddenly died, and with no one else to care for his music after his death, Vivaldi barely survived by selling his concerts. After a year of such a life, he died on July 28, 1741. He was buried in a pauper’s graveyard, and his grave was not marked. After his death, he was almost completely forgotten.
Vivaldi’s true significance was only rediscovered in 1930, when a large part of his previously unknown body of work was found in the National Library in Turin. It was then that biographers started to recognize him as one of the greatest musical figures of the Baroque era and a predecessor to the new era of classical music. His immense body of work includes approximately 750 compositions, including 450 concertos, 75 sonatas, 49 operas, 38 cantatas, 23 symphonies, 18 trios, 3 oratorios, and numerous religious compositions. Many of these works are now lost. Vivaldi himself emphasized radio, stating that he composed about a hundred operas, while only forty-nine are preserved today. His most famous work is The Four Seasons, in which the tonal details are brought to perfection.
Vivaldi is particularly credited for the development of violin technique. Playing broken chords across all four strings at a fast pace is considered a characteristic of his violin style.
The Four Seasons (Le Quattro Stagioni)
The Four Seasons are part of a cycle of 12 violin concertos collectively titled The Contest Between Invention and Harmony. The first six concertos depict nature and harmony; these include The Four Seasons, Storm at Sea, and the sixth one, The Hunt. The other six concertos describe inventions and their disruption of natural beauty. Through The Four Seasons, which are a significant contribution to Baroque and classical music in general, Vivaldi reveals himself as an attentive observer of nature and life.
In his autobiographical work, Confessions, Jean-Jacques Rousseau discusses the music cultivated in Venetian society. Many poorhouses, of which Ospedale della Pietà was the most famous:
Music in Italy is so affordable that no one who has a sense of it needs to give it up… Music that, in my opinion, far surpasses opera music, and to which there is no equal in Italy or anywhere else, is the music in “scuole.” “Scuole” are mercy homes where poor girls are raised, and later the Republic gives them a dowry when they want to get married or enter a convent. Music is the foremost talent cultivated in these girls. In four churches, each belonging to one of the four “scuole,” every Sunday during vespers, the great choir accompanied by a grand orchestra performs motets composed and directed by the greatest musicians in Italy, and they are sung by the girls on the galleries, behind bars, only by girls, the oldest of whom is not even twenty yet. I cannot imagine anything that would be as beautiful and moving as this music: artistic richness, singing trained with extraordinary feeling, beauty. All those voices, accuracy in performance, in short, everything on those wonderful concerts is aimed at evoking an impression in the listener, which, of course, is not in line with the latest fashion, but which, I think, no human heart can resist… The church has always been filled with music lovers: even opera actors would come to learn from those excellent examples what it means to sing with feeling.
The lively tones of Spring awaken in the listener the desire for movement, work, they bring something promising, optimistic, they create hope that this spring is special. Through colorful descriptions, the listener hears the singing of birds and “sees” the awakening of nature, farmers happily working in the fields – an idyllic picture under the clear sky.
Unlike Spring, Summer begins with a slower rhythm. A warm summer morning creates a feeling of relaxation in the listener. As the day progresses, the humidity increases and the slowness in nature becomes more noticeable. Everything is like in a semi-sleep, while from a distance one can occasionally hear distant thunder, foreshadowing a storm. The summer day culminates in a storm that is approaching. The text describes the different seasons and their impact on nature. It begins by depicting a strong wind accompanied by thunder and rain, which forces people and animals to seek shelter. In autumn, the weather becomes cooler and the day starts off cheerful. Farmers harvest their crops and enjoy a feast with wine and delicious food. After the meal, they rest and then go hunting with their dogs. Winter arrives with its cold and mystical atmosphere, everything is covered in ice and snow. The need for a warm home, family, and togetherness arises. The winter day ends with a sharp, cold wind. By listening to the music of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the listener gets the opportunity to experience and be inspired by them. It symbolizes the journey of human life, from the playful spring of youth, through maturity and creativity, to the gathering of experiences and retreat into old age. Through its vivid descriptions of the wonderful changes in nature throughout the year, the music allows the listener to fully immerse themselves in the seasons. Vivaldi portrays the different faces of time in his Four Seasons. It is precisely time, or rather timelessness, that he beautifully captured in his compositions. Vivaldi’s works are a constant source of inspiration, and they have had a significant influence on the musical creativity of his contemporary, Johann Sebastian Bach.