Antonio Vivaldi and Four Seasons: Program Music and Musical Pictorialism - Essay Example

Your Antonio Vivaldi and Four Seasons: Program Music and Musical Pictorialism Antonio Vivaldi is named as one of the best musicians in the field of classical music. His most famous work is the Four Seasons. The Four Seasons is a series of four concertos which are named after the seasons. He is commonly credited as one of the musicians who paved the ways for romantic music. He is one of the musicians who comprise the commonly identified Baroque musicians. However, he should also be known as one of the musicians who made program music in his time. Vivaldi is not only a genius when it comes to violin playing, teaching or making concertos and operas. He is also an innovator, and also a contributor to music, with program music as an example. Introduction Baroque music is a style of music that began in the period of 1600 to 1750, the time when Bach died. It follows the Renaissance and it is followed by Classical era. It is characteristically ornate. This is the period where operas began, especially in there early stages of it, on 1600-1640s. The text with extreme emotions with homophony was employed. The middle phase was from 1640 to 1680, and in this phase, baroque music was spread all over Europe. The influence of the church is evident in this phase, as the musicians used the major and minor scales. The late phase is the most famous, as the music that is popularly Baroque usually come from this phase. In this phase, the instrumental music became as important as the vocals and elaborate polyphony was the norm. It should be noted that the music prior to the Baroque era is homophonic and the Baroque era gave way to elaborate ensembles. This movement also produced functional tonality and developed new ways of playing with instruments. Pictorialism is evident in music as there are words that are emphasized through the use of notes. It should also be noted that the Baroque orchestra is based on the violin. This is the reason why, even though there are a lot of Baroque musicians, Vivaldi is exceptional. He is a master violinist and he influenced other Baroque musicians like Bach, who is one of the more prominent Baroque musicians. The Life of Vivaldi Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice, Italy in March 4, 1768. He had five siblings. His father was a barber-turned-professional violinist. He was the one who taught Vivaldi how to play the violin, and then they toured Venice together as father and son. Vivaldi’s father was the founder of the musical association called Sovvegno dei musicisti di Santa Cecilia. It has been theorized that this is where the young Antonio Vivaldi learned how to make compositions with the help of the association’s adult members. As a child, the young Vivaldi’s health was problematic. He always experienced “tightness of the chest”. Some scholars think that he had asthma, and that condition prevented him from playing wind instruments. But this health condition did not deter him in taking up violin. His health was also a reason why he stopped saying mass, as he was ordained as a priest when he was twenty five. He had begun studying to be a priest when he was fifteen. However, he still remained as a priest even though he stopped doing his priestly duties. He was known as the Red Priest, and this was largely due to the color of his hair. Because of his reprieve, he took up the responsibility of becoming the master violinist in an orphanage called Pio Ospedale della Pietà. Some scholars say that this orphanage was actually a place where the illegitimate daughters of the powerful men were kept but nevertheless gave education and shelter to those who were abandoned by their parents. By this time, Vivaldi was regarded as an excellent violin player and some say that “hardly anyone has ever played, or ever will play, in such fashion” (Landon, 49). The boys were trained to learn trading and they had to leave when they turn fifteen; the girls on the other hand, trained in music and were obliged to stay and become a member of the choir when they perform well at school. For the next twenty five years, Vivaldi stayed there and taught the children and composed some of the most important works while he was working in there (Heller, 51). The orphans gained fame and esteem the moment Vivaldi became their master violinist. Because of this, Vivaldi was obliged to make them more cantatas and concertos. His work required a lot of time and effort since he had to compose and teach his pupils too. Because of this work load, his relationship with his bosses was strained but he was often retained by the board of directors because he was such a good musician. However, there was this incident in 1709 that had force him to leave his job as the board of directors of the orphanage voted against him. In 1711, they directors have hired Vivaldi again after they realized Vivaldi’s important role in the orphanage. In 1716, he was promoted to become the musical director. Opera was the most famous form of entertainment at that time in Venice and it was profitable for Vivaldi. Writing opera for the various theaters in the area provided him a very good sideline. He was also commissioned to do liturgical works. His works were deemed quite progressive at the time because he was trying out things and themes that were never done before. For example, he made an opera with seven arias, each with a different composer (but he was the leader) and also made an opera with a lesbian theme (which was censored by the state) (Talbot, 54). This made conservative musicians uncomfortable and denounced him. At the same time, Prince Philip, the governor of Mantua at the time, hired him to become the Maestro di Cappella. Because of this new job, he moved to the prince’s court for three years. In this period, he made The Four Seasons. The four seasons are four concertos that depict the four seasons. Three of them, namely Summer, Autumn and Winter were original compositions. Spring has some parts that were adapted from his other opera Il Giustino. This was a very progressive move. The music of The Four Seasons simulated those of a dogs, birds, mosquitoes, storms, etc. Each concerto was accompanied by a sonnet. It was published in Amsterdam in 1725. He became very famous with the monarchs. Several of them, like King Louis XV and Emperor Charles, commissioned his works. As he grew older though, his music became outmoded and this made him have financial troubles. This made him move from Venice to Vienna. Shortly after arriving in Vienna, he died because of an infection. He died a pauper. His funeral took place in St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Joseph Haydn was a choir boy in the said Cathedral. The Four Seasons, Musical Pictorialism and Program Music The Four Seasons is often regarded as not only one of the best musical pieces that were composed in the Baroque era but also as one of the icons in Western Art. It is a series of four concertos with three movements each. It is also a part of a much bigger concerto entitled Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione which is Vivaldi’s eighth Opus. The Four Seasons is a very progressive musical piece. Vivaldi is a genius. He was the first musician to incorporate violin in large orchestral work like he did in The Four Seasons. Also, he contributed the concept of musical pictorialism, as demonstrated here in the Four Seasons. He even added sonnets to accompany the music. Most people are not familiar to the sonnets as they are written in Italian, and they are not often translated in English. In Spring, we hear a dog’s bark, especially on the next movement. If you listen closely to the first movement of Summer, you can hear a cuckoo call (Kamien, 129). In the second movement, a swarm of insects can be heard as they ruin the crops because of the summer storm. In Autumn, one can hear bugle calls that signify that the hunters are taking over their prey. These are all simulated sounds, all of them made in the ensemble by Vivaldi. Seasons also highlight the fact that Vivaldi is a brilliant musician because this piece of musical act exhibits his mastery on the instruments. This is demonstrated by such simulated calls and his ability to lift up the listener’s emotions by way of letting his audience experience the music. This is especially evident in the Spring and Autumn concertos. It is noted that in the early part of the Baroque period, there was heavy reliance on words, as evidenced by the operas, and in the later part of the period, use of heavy instrumental music was the norm. As opera tie music to words, as instrumental music tie to emotions, Vivaldi with his Four Seasons combined all these. His concertos in the Four Seasons have accompanying sonnets that act as the sources of allusions for the music that he brings. This clarifies the music too, as they serve as “captions” in the musical pictorials that the music conducts. If you look at the sonnets and listen to the music, you can actually imagine the visuals that Vivaldi wants the audience to recreate in their minds. This is the ground work of the program music. Program music is a type of music that gives the listeners an extra sonic narrative, unlike absolute music. In absolute music, the listener is made to be appreciated without any point of reference from the composer or the outside world. It is totally dependent on the experiences and interpretations of the listener. The most famous composer of these symphonic works is perhaps Richard Strauss, but Vivaldi also did this in The Four Seasons which has sonnets to aid the listener when he is listening to the score. Program music employs musical pictorialism. That is where the success of the music lies. It flourished during the Romantic Period, which was after the Baroque Period where Vivaldi lived. It can be safely said that Vivaldi, because of his sonnet accompaniment for the concertos, actually gave way for the success of program music. Program music aims to “paint” imagery in the listener’s mind when they listen to the music. In classical music, the titles of the songs are absolute, like Piano Sonata in C Major (by Mozart). These are absolute and musicians ten to focus on the form and expertise. Contrary to the program music like Vivaldi’s as this had titles like Four Seasons, which tend to focus in manipulating the listeners’ emotions. Program music also tends to be more affective, since it gets inspirations from human occupations and the like, for sounds. This influence is still evident in the modern times, like Duke Ellington’s jazz pieces. Unlike the baroque musicians which had sonnets, modern instrumental music had titles that influence the listeners’ interpretation of the music. This employs musical pictorialism and program music. This trend still goes up to now, as evidenced in musical scoring in movies. Pop music also employs this style of executing music, as music today can be very ambient in nature, which in turn, stimulates the listener’s mind as he listens to the lines of the song as well. Conclusion Vivaldi’s influence on the field of music is immense, starting in the Baroque period when he was still starting out. He was the first to use the violin in an ensemble and was the most progressive musician during his time, having influenced the other great musician, Johann-Sebastian Bach. He was also the most productive, having written more than 500 concertos, operas and sonatas and other religious music. His expertise in his instrument made him one of the greatest musicians of the time. Before the Baroque Era, music was enjoyed because of expertise and technical knowledge in music but Vivaldi broke new ground by melding words, music and emotion. From music’s highly formalistic view, he got on the individualistic, emotional take on music. He influenced other musicians with his work. His contribution to music does not only cover the Baroque era but it stretches up to this time, with the program music and the style that involves musical pictorialism that is evident in almost all types of modern music. References: Barber, David. Bach, Beethoven and the Boys: Music History As It Ought To Be Taught. Toronto: Sound and Vision, 1996. Heller, Karl. Antonio Vivaldi: The Red Priest of Venice. Hong Kong: Amadeus Press, 1997. Kamien, Roger. Music: An Appreciation. New York: Mc Graw Hill, 1999. Landon, H.C. Robbins. Vivaldi: Voice of the Baroque. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1991. Read More