Welcome to what I hope will be the first of many threads which you all will enjoy and hopefully learn something from.
So, here we are to discuss Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and, by way of “breaking the ice” so to speak I want to start off with a little introduction.
The Four Seasons must be one of the most instantly recognised Classical Music works out there and, along with Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, must be the ultimate in elevator music or phone holding music! The Four Seasons is a works that seems to polarise opinions in that some people love it while others hate it. It may well be the case that gross over exposure of the work has killed off a lot of people’s appreciation of the work. Most people will therefore have an opinion of one sort or another on this choice of music.
Let us start by saying that it is a work that everyone knows; or is it? How many people can hear the barking of the dog or the winter snow storms or the stumbling drunkard or the plip-plop of the raindrops? Programme music (descriptive music) it may well be but there are many hidden gems in this work that are not always obvious....there are many and varied pictures that are painted just waiting to be discovered!
Do you know that the Four Seasons was not written as a standalone work but rather is part of a bigger work altogether? The Four Seasons are part of a set of twelve concertos published under the title of “Il cimento dell’armonica e dell’inventione, Op. 8”; the title suggesting a trial of strength between harmony and invention. I do not know which element comes out on top; both elements are very well represented. Ultimately, however, I think that the music is the overall winner which is as it should be.
The four individual concertos (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter obviously) that go to make up the Four Seasons follow the Classical three movement plan of quick, slow, quick i.e. two quick tempo movements at the beginning and the end and a slow movement in the middle of the work. A Concerto, as we all know, is a work where a soloist performs in front of an orchestra and in this case the soloist is a violinist. Incidentally, if you are coming to this music for the first time or you are at an early stage in your Classical Music appreciation development, Vivaldi wrote lots of very tuneful and very accessible concertos for varied solo and mixed groups of instruments. The reason that I mention this is that when I was a young lad starting off listening to this music it was a really great way to appreciate the sound of different individual instruments as the music itself, while being very pleasant, never gets in the way so you have a chance to really listen to the solo instrument that Vivaldi was writing for at that time.
Simplicity and repetition of themes along with the driving thrust of the fast movements and the gorgeous slow movements are, for me, some of the attractions of Vivaldi’s music. Vivaldi himself was a great violinist and therefore pushed virtuosity more than his predecessors. The great JS Bach was also a very big fan of Vivaldi, composing harpsichord and organ transcriptions of some of his music.
There are very many and varied recordings of this work and hopefully we will discuss lots of them during February but before we start does anybody have any information or personal associations with the music that they would like to share with us? Indeed, does anybody have any question about the work in general that they would like to ask? Remember that the most stupid question is the one that you did not ask!!!
Vivaldi: Four Seasons
Vivaldi: Four Seasons
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
Thoroughly enjoyed reading that Fergus. Well done! Alas I can't get involved as I culled about half of my Classical collection only last year including The Four Seasons :( I do have other music by Vivaldi however so maybe better luck next time....
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
cybot wrote:Alas I can't get involved as I culled about half of my Classical collection only last year including The Four Seasons :( I do have other music by Vivaldi however so maybe better luck next time....
That is just a case in point Dermot. You can actually be an early contributor by letting us know why you culled the Four Seasons in particular....honestly!
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
No reason in particular Fergus. It was simply a case of needs must and to tell the truth I really needed to free up some space! But, you never know, I might be tempted to buy another (vinyl) copy :) Any particular version I should look out for? Anyway the Vivaldi I kept are as follows:fergus wrote:cybot wrote:Alas I can't get involved as I culled about half of my Classical collection only last year including The Four Seasons :( I do have other music by Vivaldi however so maybe better luck next time....
That is just a case in point Dermot. You can actually be an early contributor by letting us know why you culled the Four Seasons in particular....honestly!
La Stavaganza/12 Concertos box - Monica Huggett/Christopher Hogwood on the Florilegium label
L'Estro Armonico box - Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/ Neville Mariner on the Argo label
Concertos for Violin - Arthur Grumiaux/ Dresden State Orchestra/ Vittorio Negri on Philips
Concertos for Violin,Flute and Cello - The English Consort/ Trevor Pinnock on Vanguard
My favourite from the above is the Arthur Grimiaux set for the simple reason it's the only one I'm familiar with! So much music, so little time....
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bombasticDarren
- Posts: 1370
- Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2010 3:04 pm
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
^^ great start Fergus
I plan to begin work on this tomorrow night :-D
I plan to begin work on this tomorrow night :-D
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
cybot wrote: No reason in particular Fergus. It was simply a case of needs must and to tell the truth I really needed to free up some space! But, you never know, I might be tempted to buy another (vinyl) copy :) Any particular version I should look out for?
Hopefully you will learn the answer to that question soon Dermot but whether one that takes your fancy will be available on vinyl....????
Anyway the Vivaldi I kept are as follows:
La Stavaganza/12 Concertos box - Monica Huggett/Christopher Hogwood on the Florilegium label
L'Estro Armonico box - Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/ Neville Mariner on the Argo label
Concertos for Violin - Arthur Grumiaux/ Dresden State Orchestra/ Vittorio Negri on Philips
Concertos for Violin,Flute and Cello - The English Consort/ Trevor Pinnock on Vanguard
They should all give you much joy Dermot. I am impressed that you have them and unimpressed that you have not listened to 75% of them!!!
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
I will be interested to see what you come up with during the course of the month Darren.bombasticDarren wrote:
I plan to begin work on this tomorrow night :-D
To be is to do: Socrates
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
To do is to be: Sartre
Do be do be do: Sinatra
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
Well I did have a listen earlier tonight and I now know the reason why. It all sounds very samey. So hopefully this much needed thread will reveal all and inspire me to stick with it....I'm looking forward to it :)fergus wrote:cybot wrote: No reason in particular Fergus. It was simply a case of needs must and to tell the truth I really needed to free up some space! But, you never know, I might be tempted to buy another (vinyl) copy :) Any particular version I should look out for?
Hopefully you will learn the answer to that question soon Dermot but whether one that takes your fancy will be available on vinyl....????
Anyway the Vivaldi I kept are as follows:
La Stavaganza/12 Concertos box - Monica Huggett/Christopher Hogwood on the Florilegium label
L'Estro Armonico box - Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/ Neville Mariner on the Argo label
Concertos for Violin - Arthur Grumiaux/ Dresden State Orchestra/ Vittorio Negri on Philips
Concertos for Violin,Flute and Cello - The English Consort/ Trevor Pinnock on Vanguard
They should all give you much joy Dermot. I am impressed that you have them and unimpressed that you have not listened to 75% of them!!!
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
I found my CD of this last night - plan on giving it a spin later tonight.....
But I do remember years ago, on my last listen, being impressed by the drama in each of the 4 parts.
Fran
But I do remember years ago, on my last listen, being impressed by the drama in each of the 4 parts.
Fran
Do or do not, there is no try
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bombasticDarren
- Posts: 1370
- Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2010 3:04 pm
Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
I think like most people my age and in my part of the world I first came to hear of The Four Seasons thanks to Nigel Kennedy's ubiqitous recording (this must have been about 1989/90). I'm afraid CM rather passed me by at that age (by that I mean I hated it purely due to prejudice). Still, I remember seeing it in Sunday supplements as one of the featured CD's encouraging readers to join CD clubs in the early stages of the digital revolution - usually it was the likes of Brothers in Arms or Tango in the Night that were afforded this prestige, so I guess the impact of that recording can be measured, in some part, by that (of course a televisual montage of nature scenes could scarcely avoid using these pieces as musak in those days either!). Nigel Kennedy was all over the UK media; he seemed a bit odd for a CM violinist, but not odd or intriguing enough to tear me away from my preferred distractions.
Fast forward 18 or so years and I was beginning to get into CM. I didn't invest in a Four Season straight away, but at a certain point it seemed like the thing to do given it place in the repertoire. The recording I got was the Itzhak Perlman on EMI; it was ok but I swiftly discarded it during some misguided purge on non-HIP recordings (it may still be languishing in the loft for all I know). I think it's important to say that I have never been passionate about The Four Seasons, even though it is melodically and dynamically pleasing (if I had to choose a Vivaldi concerto it would be one of the mandolin ones).
Still, I have managed to collect about 5 recordings. This is because it's a piece that - and I mean this in the most respectful way - can be used as pleasant background music. I did actually try the HvK recording; mostly just to see if it was as bad as I was led to believe (it wasn't). When Fergus suggested this piece I thought I would give it a try with the Il Giardino Armonico recording featuring Enrico Onofri
I have dutifully studied the liner notes, and have had a pretty good time listening to it.
Firstly, I noticed that this recording has a wonderful presence to it - the instruments sound like they are in the room with you (not an easy task as I have a very low end stereo set up and use headphones always). This, I think, is a strength uncommon in the other recordings I have heard.
Secondly, the actual music remains a pleasure to listen to. I do find Vivaldi's slow movements to be something of an Achilles heel - they never seem to add particular value to the pieces, other than as a breathing space between the bracketing faster movements (Movement 2 of L'inverno is exempt from this criticism - simply because it's so beguiling). I remember hearing John Eliot Gardiner introduce the Brandenburgs at a Prom disparaging Vivaldi somewhat (too repetitious), but also grudgingly acknowledging the 'motorik rhythms' of his work as being a significant development in musical fashions. This aspect is, to me, the appeal of Vivaldi and I think The Four Seasons provide 8 good examples of this. And, like my Bach, I like my Vivaldi played at quite a lick, and Il Giardino Armonico do not disappoint...
Lastly, the programmatic aspects of these pieces highlighted in Fergus' introduction do somewhat pass me by. I think I generally prefer to hear them simply as baroque violin concertos, displaying virtuosity and rhythmic and melodic invention all the way through. I have no great insights to offer, I simply like them for what they are...
Fast forward 18 or so years and I was beginning to get into CM. I didn't invest in a Four Season straight away, but at a certain point it seemed like the thing to do given it place in the repertoire. The recording I got was the Itzhak Perlman on EMI; it was ok but I swiftly discarded it during some misguided purge on non-HIP recordings (it may still be languishing in the loft for all I know). I think it's important to say that I have never been passionate about The Four Seasons, even though it is melodically and dynamically pleasing (if I had to choose a Vivaldi concerto it would be one of the mandolin ones).
Still, I have managed to collect about 5 recordings. This is because it's a piece that - and I mean this in the most respectful way - can be used as pleasant background music. I did actually try the HvK recording; mostly just to see if it was as bad as I was led to believe (it wasn't). When Fergus suggested this piece I thought I would give it a try with the Il Giardino Armonico recording featuring Enrico Onofri
I have dutifully studied the liner notes, and have had a pretty good time listening to it.
Firstly, I noticed that this recording has a wonderful presence to it - the instruments sound like they are in the room with you (not an easy task as I have a very low end stereo set up and use headphones always). This, I think, is a strength uncommon in the other recordings I have heard.
Secondly, the actual music remains a pleasure to listen to. I do find Vivaldi's slow movements to be something of an Achilles heel - they never seem to add particular value to the pieces, other than as a breathing space between the bracketing faster movements (Movement 2 of L'inverno is exempt from this criticism - simply because it's so beguiling). I remember hearing John Eliot Gardiner introduce the Brandenburgs at a Prom disparaging Vivaldi somewhat (too repetitious), but also grudgingly acknowledging the 'motorik rhythms' of his work as being a significant development in musical fashions. This aspect is, to me, the appeal of Vivaldi and I think The Four Seasons provide 8 good examples of this. And, like my Bach, I like my Vivaldi played at quite a lick, and Il Giardino Armonico do not disappoint...
Lastly, the programmatic aspects of these pieces highlighted in Fergus' introduction do somewhat pass me by. I think I generally prefer to hear them simply as baroque violin concertos, displaying virtuosity and rhythmic and melodic invention all the way through. I have no great insights to offer, I simply like them for what they are...