Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) wrote a spectacular group of four concertos called Four Seasons (1723). In this analysis, I will be focusing on Winter, which is said to depict “the horrible wind.” Typical of the Baroque era, Vivaldi composed this concerto in ritornello form, with the mixture of a small string orchestra and one violin soloist in three movements. The version I listened to was performed by the Venice Baroque Orchestra, the soloist being Giuliano Carmignola, and conducted by Andrea Marcon.
The first movement begins with the orchestra playing a somewhat dissonant chord to each beat of the music which builds up to a crescendo. The violin solo begins, and the orchestra is heard intermittently throughout this solo. The orchestra plays eight beats and subsides for four beats while the soloist interjects, and resumes playing again building off of the soloist passage. Each orchestral interjection is forte. Also, the presence of a ground bass not only sustains the harmony and texture of the orchestra, but it also helps keep the beat. The fact that the cello plays the same note on every beat, corresponding to the ground bass, gives this movement a pointed rhythm and a solid foundation for the solo passages. A sequence played by the soloist goes higher and higher, and the first movement ends with the original theme played by the entire orchestra. After a long minor chord, a cadence ends the first movement.
The second movement is a bit slower, or, allegro, as the solo violinist plays a legato melody, accompanied by other stringed instruments being played pizzicato in high arpeggio chords. It seems that this movement may be in theme-variation form, as the soloist carries the melody throughout the entire movement. This second movement ends with one major chord, exhibiting the difference between the previous and latter movements which are in minor modes and are more serious and fast paced, compared to this movement which is melodic and gentle sounding.
The final movement begins, again with the soloist and a sustained ground bass accompanying him. This movement is much faster in tempo (vivace) than the second, and even slightly faster than the first. The theme returns and there are many sections of fortissimo passages of the soloist and orchestra building off of each other’s sequences. This movement ends with the soloist playing a sequence higher and higher, as the orchestra joins in every other measure playing a downward sequence. Finally, the downward sequence that the orchestra has been playing brings the soloist down into their low register, and the concerto ends on a low and forte minor chord.
Antonio Vivaldi captured the beauty of the winter, spring, summer, and fall through his musical creativity. It is very interesting to see how each of the concertos corresponds to the season that it seeks to portray.
