{"id":216900,"date":"2019-09-04T11:08:22","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T09:08:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/216900\/new-season-celebrate-vivaldis-much-loved-spring-four-seasons\/"},"modified":"2019-09-10T15:56:58","modified_gmt":"2019-09-10T13:56:58","slug":"new-season-celebrate-vivaldis-much-loved-spring-four-seasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/news-headlines\/2019\/09\/04\/new-season-celebrate-vivaldis-much-loved-spring-four-seasons\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s a new season! Celebrate it with Vivaldi\u2019s much-loved \u201cSpring\u201d from <em>The Four Seasons<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>From the very outset of the Spring violin concerto, the brilliance of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Antonio_Vivaldi\" target=\"_blank\">Antonio Vivaldi<\/a>\u2019s style makes itself known.<\/p>\n<p>Listeners are immediately gripped by its exuberance, the music easily evoking images of energetic streams, budding flowers and the spirited melodies of bird songs.<\/p><div class=\"stream-item stream-item-in-post stream-item-inline-post aligncenter\"><\/div>\n<p>And this is exactly what Vivaldi wanted.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Watch the renowned <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bachvereniging.nl\/en\" target=\"_blank\">Netherlands Bach Society<\/a> perform Vivaldi\u2019s Spring concerto (<em>La primavera<\/em>)<\/strong><\/h4>\n<div class='tie-fluid-width-video-wrapper tie-ignore-fitvid' style='margin-bottom: 30px;'>\n\t\t\t<iframe style='width: 100%; min-height: 300px; aspect-ratio: 16\/9;' src='https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/0FP9N2SbWn4' loading='lazy'><\/iframe>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<p>The music definitely speaks for itself; but, if you have a few minutes, some notes on the concertos may be of interest.<\/p><div class=\"stream-item stream-item-in-post stream-item-inline-post aligncenter\"><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><em>And keep an eye out for another gem of a performance below&#8230;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><em>The Four Seasons<\/em><\/h2>\n<p>The group of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/what-concerto\" target=\"_blank\">concertos<\/a> referred to as <em>The Four Seasons<\/em> constitute the first four pieces of a larger work of 12 violin concertos, titled <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Il_cimento_dell%27armonia_e_dell%27inventione\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Il cimento dell&#8217;armonia e dell&#8217;inventione<\/em><\/a> (\u201cThe Contest Between Harmony and Invention\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>The cycle moves from Spring to Summer to Autumn to Winter, and each season is associated with a poem that describes the images and events depicted in the music.<\/p>\n<h3>Telling a story, painting a picture<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-218136\" src=\"https:\/\/albertonrecord.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2017\/01\/feature-5-8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"950\" height=\"500\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-218135\" src=\"https:\/\/albertonrecord.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2017\/01\/spring-12.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"950\" height=\"500\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The use of music to represent a story in this way is known as programme music.<\/p>\n<p>The poet who penned the four sonnets hasn\u2019t been identified beyond all doubt, but there is a good argument that it was Vivaldi himself.<\/p>\n<p>All of the four sonnets are divided into three sections, and each of the <em>The Four Seasons<\/em> concertos have three movements.<\/p>\n<p>In short, there is an alignment between each season&#8217;s three movements and the three sections of its accompanying sonnet.<\/p>\n<h3>Singing birds and murmuring streams &#8211; The Spring sonnet<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_218137\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-218137\" style=\"width: 950px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-218137 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/albertonrecord.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2017\/01\/spring-14.jpg\" width=\"950\" height=\"500\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-218137\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Insert: Probable portrait of Vivaldi around the time of <em>The Four Seasons <\/em>composition, c.\u20091723.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Instead of quoting the lines of the Spring sonnet, programme notes written by <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20120715101739\/http:\/\/www.laco.org\/performances\/116\/?program=1\" target=\"_blank\">Christine Lee Gengaro of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra<\/a> explain the scenery quite nicely.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>La primavera<\/em>, or \u201cSpring,\u201d begins with the crispness and clarity of a cloudless spring day and features singing birds and murmuring streams.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A sudden quick thunderstorm invades, but birdsong soon regains control.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The second movement illustrates a peaceful day, the quiet disturbed only by a barking dog.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The final movement is a lively dance for countryfolk who seem to be celebrating the return of life after a long winter.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><em>The entire narrative above can be heard in the music, and our understanding and appreciation of the concertos only grow when this comes to life.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Watch the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bachvereniging.nl\/en\" target=\"_blank\">Netherlands Bach Society<\/a> perform Vivaldi\u2019s Winter concerto (<em>L\u2019inverno<\/em>)<\/strong><\/h4>\n<div class='tie-fluid-width-video-wrapper tie-ignore-fitvid' style='margin-bottom: 30px;'>\n\t\t\t<iframe style='width: 100%; min-height: 300px; aspect-ratio: 16\/9;' src='https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/31tkGPvdMjs' loading='lazy'><\/iframe>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<p>In addition to the above (absolutely virtuosic) performance of Spring by the Netherlands Bach Society, we\u2019ve also included the Winter concerto as a goodbye to a season that, whilst cold, nonetheless holds its own beauty and character.<\/p>\n<p>To <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20120715101739\/http:\/\/www.laco.org\/performances\/116\/?program=1\" target=\"_blank\">quote Gengaro<\/a> again:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Finally, there is \u201cWinter,\u201d <em>L\u2019inverno<\/em>. The opening sounds like a shivering person rhythmically stamping his feet to stay warm. The soloist provides the icy winds, and the ensemble responds with chattering teeth.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The middle movement describes the peaceful pleasure of warming up inside by a crackling fire.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In the final movement, those outdoors walk carefully on the icy paths, while those inside feel winter\u2019s chill as it relentlessly finds its way into the house.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But still, Vivaldi reminds us, winter\u2014like all the other seasons\u2014has its specific charms and moments of contentment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/spectrum.tysflo.io\/?mid=qov5TQ3x&amp;t=c&amp;fco=0\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-225195 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/albertonrecord.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2017\/01\/listen-live-1.jpg\" width=\"758\" height=\"151\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"stream-item stream-item-below-post-content\">\n<div class='tenancy_slot tenancy_slot_1 jannah_ad' style='display: none;' data-query-id='6ea1962e32398ae6dfe39daa3ee52b7e'><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spring is upon us, and with it comes the promise of a new season filled with life and activity. Why not start it with one of Vivaldi\u2019s most adored works?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7971,"featured_media":217734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"hasGravity":false,"cxt_article_byline":"Caxton Central","cxt_disable_google_ads":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2],"tags":[28750,28751,28752,28753,28754,28755,28756],"class_list":["post-216900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news-headlines","tag-classic-2017","tag-classic-fm","tag-four-seaons-vivaldi-period-instruments","tag-four-seasons-music","tag-netherlands-bach-society","tag-vivaldi","tag-vivaldi-four-seasons"],"amp_enabled":true,"category_labels":{"Category":"News","SubCategory":"Local news"},"tag_labels":["classic 2017","classic fm","four seaons vivaldi period instruments","four seasons music","netherlands bach society","vivaldi","vivaldi four seasons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7971"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}