Tír Na HiFi

Ciaran wrote:A link to the four sonnets apparently Vivaldi wrote himself which describe the imagery of The Four Seasons. (Texts in Italian and English at the link.)

Excellent Ciaran....thank you for that!

bombasticDarren wrote:

fergus wrote:...I would be curious to know what other recordings you own.

I have a few....

Alan Loveday/Neville Marriner, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Decca
Christopher Hirons/John Holloway/Alison Bury/Catherine Mackintosh/Christopher Hogwood, The Academy of Ancient Music, L'Oiseau-Lyre
Salvatore Accardo, I Solisti delle Settimane Internazionali di Napoli, Philips
Enrico Onofri/Giovanni Antonini, Il Giardini Armonico, Teldec
Guiliano Carmignola/Andrea Marcon, Venice Baroque Orchestra, Sony Classical
Fabio Biondi, Europa Galante, Virgin Classics

I actually think half of those came from charity shops for a pittance!

Thank you for that Darren....and such gems for such a small outlay!

Vivaldi: Four Seasons – Autumn


The third concerto of the Four Seasons is L’autunno (Autumn). In the first movement of this concerto Vivaldi endeavours to recreate and evoke folk songs and dances. The one thing to note when the soloist enters is that he is playing a technique known as double stopping. This is where the violinist plays two notes simultaneously. Vivaldi does this deliberately to make the music sound harsh and uncouth. The reason for this is because he wants us to believe that the dances are being played by peasants rather than sophisticated urban orchestral players. This phrase is repeated in “echo” form and is followed by a new theme which is also duly echoed. The reason for the constant repetition is one of authenticity i.e. one of the fundamental characteristics of folk music is repetition. The next solo represents a drunkard who constantly falls down (represented by downward scales) under the influence of too much alcohol. The orchestra returns but is duly interrupted by the giggling drunkard. Do you hear him? The orchestra returns and represents the group of drunkards who all eventually wander off and let the peasants return to their dancing. However, one of the drunkards returns in the form of the soloist to disrupt the festivities. The dancers try to ignore the drunkard and the dance breaks up but order is restored when the drunkard collapses into an alcoholic stupor and his deep breathing is heard in the solo violin and the accompanying orchestral chords. The dance is finally resumed to conclude the movement.

The slow movement is a short one and its sole purpose is to illustrate sleeping drunkards. The strings are muted to help in highlighting the rather strange effect of the harpsichord. This is a disturbed sleep and it is well represented by the music which is illustrated by the dissonances and disharmonies throughout the piece. It is an unsettling and haunting but lovely piece of music.

The final movement is once again opens with folk dances but the peasants do not take part here. When the soloist does enter the technique of double stopping is once again used but this time it illustrates the sound of the hunting horn. There is a very fine virtuosic part at the end of this section. After the orchestra returns the soloist re-enters this time representing the fleeing animal hotly pursued by the horses and hounds (represented by the orchestra). The chase continues until the animal is finally overcome and killed bring the movement to its conclusion.

Great idea a for thread Fergus. I havent been able to contribute as my hifi is boxed up at moment as I move to a new gaff. Hopefully next weekend I'll be back in action.

As for Vivaldi Four Seasons versions that I own, I have a recording by Hogwood and the AAM and a recording by Michel Schwalbe conducted by Karajan. That's the only ones I own.
I use these recordings to show people the differences between period and modern instruments as the sound of the instruments here are very different from each other.

Well first off a thanks as your explanations really do make a difference with my appreciation of the piece.

The opening of summer which I used to find tedious now is something I can really relate to. Bit like me in the morning really!

As for the version I have I can't really say more than I think it sounds great. It's an excellent recording, exelelently presented - SACD, HDCD the lot.

The other pieces on it are excellent, would these (RV551 and RV128) have similar stories attached or are they just (merely!) music?

Sloop John B wrote: The other pieces on it are excellent, would these (RV551 and RV128) have similar stories attached or are they just (merely!) music?

I am delighted that you find the analysis of some benefit to your listening. Once one has the insight then the appreciation is obviously easier!

I do not know much of the other two works; RV551 is a Concerto for 3 Violins and RV128 is a Concerto for Strings. These type of Concerti were, to all intents and purposes, usually written to display the music skills of the young women that Vivaldi taught in the orphanage. I often contemplate that they are never given quite their due as some of the music that was written for them was often quite technically demanding!

Vivaldi: Four Seasons – Winter


The final concerto of the Four Seasons is L’inverno, Winter. This work is packed full of wonderful images. Notice how, at the beginning of the first movement, the music is wonderfully layered; first we hear the cellos, then the violas, then the second violins and finally the first violins. This helps to build up the snow filled scene, with the freezing cold people and their chattering teeth. When the solo violinist finally enters he is representing the biting wind. Can you feel the chill? The travellers fight against the icy elements and attempt to quicken their pace but stop to stamp their feet for fear of frost bite. When the soloist returns the flurries of snow become denser. One can almost see the snow billowing around in the icy wind. I think this is a particularly wonderful bit of tone painting; it is so simple but yet so effective and so evocative. The strong orchestral wind returns to make life even more difficult for the travellers and when the soloist once again returns he is evoking the chattering of teeth again and this section ends with the travellers stamping their feet again in an attempt to get warm when they finally reach their destination.

The second movement, when played sensitively, is one of my particular favourites in all of Classical Music. For me it is a wonderful evocation of someone sitting indoors in front of a warm log fire looking out at the constantly falling rain. The movement simply comprises a beautiful violin solo accompanied by the orchestra playing plucked strings (pizzicato) to represent the raindrops outside. The whole movement is eminently simple but eloquently beautiful. I hear the beautiful violin solo as representing the warm, safe and inviting indoors while the pizzicato strings with their monotonously regular pulse as representing the grey, wet and uninviting outdoors.

The final movement of this concerto opens with a scene of people walking on frozen lakes, and rivers. Unusually the movement opens with the soloist. Here, the repetition in the music represents the care required for every step taken. The walker becomes more confident and he is soon joined by others in the form of the orchestra. They are very hesitant, however, and move slowly and fearfully and the jarring chromatic notes evoke their unstable gait. They were right to be fearful as they ultimately all fall down. Can you hear the orchestra descending as the walkers collapse in a heap? The soloist represents the original walker as he gets up and walks away leaving the others on their backs on the ice. They all eventually get up to follow him but are not so confident. The group eventually tumble down again followed by the solo walker. After a scramble the ice finally breaks up. Interestingly, at this point, the orchestra represents a warm wind arriving but that is soon answered by the cold wind from the North and the winds then engage in a battle for supremacy which brings the proceedings to a conclusion.

Well the analysis is finally complete and I am delighted that people have found it interesting. I think that if one was not aware of the stories behind the music then you will find a whole new world of experience to explore in there. Do not worry if you cannot spot everything. Take things slowly and listen to more than one version of the work because like all of Classical Music, a lot of it can be determined by the particular performance that you hear. Print out the information and try to follow the Tone Painting as you go along and above all try to listen to the superb and wonderful music again as though it was your first time and try to leave behind some of the old prejudices relating to this music.

I have just given this one another listen....





I like this recording for a number of reasons. The textures in the music are light and it is therefore easy to follow all that is going on. The performances are crisp and sharp and are played with a lovely light touch. The outer movements are snappy and are played in a great spirit and with gusto while the slow movements are given the appropriate amount of time for one to linger and to savour their delights. The soloist plays with feeling and fluidity throughout and the orchestral backing is also very good and therefore things like the chattering of the birds is convincing and the various storm scenes are suitably dramatic throughout.

On the CD we also have “La Tempesta di Mare”, a very pleasant oboe concerto and an equally pleasant bassoon concerto.

Incidentally, those interested in looking at the score can find it here. I've listened to my recordings now and have formed a view, but it will be interesting to see how that translates to the printed page and vice versa.