The outstanding violinist and composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) is one of the brightest representatives of Italian violin art XVIII century. Its significance, especially in the creation of the solo violin concerto, goes far beyond the borders of Italy.
A. Vivaldi was born in Venice, in the family of an excellent violinist and teacher, member of the chapel of the Cathedral of San Marco Giovanni Battista Vivaldi. WITH early childhood his father taught him to play the violin and took him to rehearsals. From the age of 10, the boy began to replace his father, who also worked at one of the city’s conservatories.
The head of the choir, G. Legrenzi, became interested in the young violinist and studied organ playing and composition with him. Vivaldi attended Legrenzi's home concerts, where new works by the owner himself, his students - Antonio Lotti, cellist Antonio Caldara, organist Carlo Polarolli and others - were heard. Unfortunately, Legrenzi died in 1790 and the studies ceased.
By this time, Vivaldi had already begun to compose music. His first work that has come down to us is a spiritual work dating from 1791. The father considered it best to give his son a spiritual education, since his rank and vow of celibacy gave Vivaldi the right to teach at the women's conservatory. Thus began spiritual training at the seminary. In 1693 he was ordained abbot. This provided him with access to the most respected conservatory, the Ospedale della Pieta. However, the holy order later turned out to be an obstacle to the development of Vivaldi’s enormous talent. After the abbot, Vivaldi moved up the ranks of the clergy and finally, in 1703, was ordained to the last lower rank - priest, which gave him the right to serve an independent service - the mass.
His father fully prepared Vivaldi for teaching, having done the same himself at the Conservatory of the “Beggars”. Music was the main subject at the conservatory. The girls were taught to sing, play various instruments, and conduct. The conservatory had one of the best orchestras in Italy at that time, with 140 students participating in it. B. Martini, C. Burney, K. Dittersdorf spoke enthusiastically about this orchestra. Together with Vivaldi, a student of Corelli and Lotti, Francesco Gasparini, an experienced violinist and composer whose operas were staged in Venice, taught here.
At the conservatory, Vivaldi taught violin and “English viol”. The conservatory orchestra became for him a kind of laboratory where his plans could be realized. Already in 1705, his first opus of trio sonatas (chamber sonatas), in which the influence of Corelli is still felt, was published. It is characteristic, however, that no sign of apprenticeship is noticeable in them. These are mature literary works, attracting with the freshness and imaginativeness of the music.
As if emphasizing the tribute to Corelli's genius, he concludes Sonata No. 12 with the same variations on the Folia theme. Already next year, the second opus will be released - concerti grossi “Harmonic Inspiration”, which appeared three years earlier than Torelli’s concerts. It is among these concerts that the famous A-minor is located.
The service at the conservatory was successful. Vivaldi is entrusted with leading the orchestra, then the choir. In 1713, due to the departure of Gasparini, Vivaldi became the main composer with the obligation to compose two concerts a month. He worked at the conservatory almost until the end of his life. He brought the conservatory orchestra to the highest perfection.
The fame of Vivaldi the composer is quickly spreading not only in Italy. His works are published in Amsterdam. In Venice he meets Handel, A. Scarlatti, his son Domenico, who studies with Gasparini. Vivaldi also gained fame as a virtuoso violinist, for whom there were no impossible difficulties. His skill was evident in improvised cadences.
On one such occasion, someone who was present at a production of Vivaldi’s opera at the San Angelo Theater recalled his performance: “Almost at the end, accompanying a superb solo singer, Vivaldi finally performed a fantasy that truly frightened me, because it was something incredible, like which no one has played and cannot play, for with his fingers he climbed so high up that there was no longer any room left for the bow, and this on all four strings he performed a fugue with incredible speed.” Records of several such cadenzas remain in manuscripts.
Vivaldi composed rapidly. His solo sonatas and concerts are published. For the conservatory, he created his first oratorio, “Moses, God of the Pharaoh,” and prepared his first opera, “Ottone in the Villa,” which was performed successfully in 1713 in Vicenza. Over the next three years, he creates three more operas. Then comes a break. Vivaldi wrote so easily that even he himself sometimes noted this, as in the manuscript of the opera “Tito Manlio” (1719) - “worked in five days.”
In 1716, Vivaldi created one of his best oratorios for the conservatory: “Judith triumphant, defeating Holofernes of the barbarians.” The music attracts with its energy and scope and at the same time amazing color and poetry. In the same year, during the musical celebrations in honor of the Duke of Saxony's arrival in Venice, two young violinists were invited to perform - Giuseppe Tartini and Francesco Veracini. The meeting with Vivaldi had a profound impact on their work, especially on Tartini's concertos and sonatas. Tartini said that Vivaldi was a composer of concertos, but he thought that he was an opera composer by vocation. Tartini was right. Vivaldi's operas are now forgotten.
Vivaldi's teaching activities at the conservatory gradually brought success. Other violinists also studied with him: J.B. Somis, Luigi Madonis and Giovanni Verocai, who served in St. Petersburg, Carlo Tessarini, Daniel Gottlob Troy - conductor in Prague. A student of the conservatory, Santa Tasca became a concert violinist, then a court musician in Vienna; Hiaretta also performed, with whom the prominent Italian violinist G. Fedeli studied.
In addition, Vivaldi turned out to be a good vocal teacher. His pupil Faustina Bordoni received the nickname “New Siren” for the beauty of her voice (contralto). The most famous student of Vivaldi was Johann Georg Pisendel, concertmaster of the Dresden Chapel.
In 1718, Vivaldi unexpectedly accepted an invitation to work as the head of the Landgrave's chapel in Mantua. Here he staged his operas, created numerous concerts for the chapel, and dedicated a cantata to the Count. In Mantua he met his former pupil, singer Anna Giraud. He undertook to develop it vocal abilities, succeeded in this, but became seriously interested in it. Giraud became famous singer and sang in all Vivaldi operas.
In 1722, Vivaldi returned to Venice. At the conservatory, he must now compose two instrumental concertos a month and conduct 3-4 rehearsals with students to learn them. In case of departure, he had to send concerts by courier.
In the same year he created Twelve Concertos, which comprised op. 8 - “An Experience of Harmony and Fantasy”, which includes the famous “Seasons” and some other program concerts. It was published in Amsterdam in 1725. The concerts quickly spread throughout Europe, and the Four Seasons gained enormous popularity.
During these years, the intensity of Vivaldi's creativity was exceptional. For the 1726/27 season alone, he created eight new operas, dozens of concerts, and sonatas. Since 1735, Vivaldi’s fruitful collaboration with Carlo Goldoni began, on whose libretto he created the operas “Griselda”, “Aristide” and many others. This also affected the composer’s music, in whose work the features of opera buffa and folk elements are more clearly manifested.
Little is known about Vivaldi the performer. He performed as a violinist very rarely - only at the Conservatory, where he sometimes played his concertos, and sometimes at the opera, where there were violin solos or cadenzas. Judging by the surviving recordings of some of his cadenzas, his compositions, as well as the fragmentary testimonies of his contemporaries about his playing that have come down to us, he was an outstanding violinist who masterfully controlled his instrument.
As a composer, he also thought like a violinist. The instrumental style also shines through in his operatic works and oratorio compositions. The fact that he was an outstanding violinist is also evidenced by the fact that many violinists in Europe sought to study with him. The features of his performing style are certainly reflected in his compositions.
Vivaldi's creative legacy is enormous. Over 530 of his works have already been published. He wrote about 450 different concerts, 80 sonatas, about 100 symphonies, more than 50 operas, and over 60 spiritual works. Many of them still remain in manuscript. The Ricordi publishing house has published 221 concertos for solo violin, 26 concertos for 2-4 violins, 6 concertos for viol d'amour, 11 cello concertos, 30 violin sonatas, 19 trio sonatas, 9 cello sonatas and other works, including including for wind instruments.
In any genre that Vivaldi’s genius touched, new, unexplored possibilities opened up. This was already evident in his first work.
Vivaldi's twelve trio sonatas were first published as op. 1, in Venice in 1705, but were composed long before that; This opus probably included selected works of this genre. In style they are close to Corelli, although they also reveal some individual traits. It is interesting that, just as it happens in op. 5 Corelli, Vivaldi’s collection ends with nineteen variations on the then popular theme of the Spanish folia. Noteworthy is the different (melodic and rhythmic) presentation of the theme in Corelli and Vivaldi (the latter is more strict). Unlike Corelli, who usually distinguished between chamber and church styles, Vivaldi already in his first opus provides examples of their interweaving and interpenetration.
In terms of genre, these are still rather chamber sonatas. In each of them, the first violin part is highlighted and given a virtuosic, freer character. The sonatas open with lush preludes of a slow, solemn character, with the exception of the Tenth Sonata, which begins fast dance. The remaining parts are almost all genre. Here are eight allemandes, five jigs, six chimes, which are instrumentally reinterpreted. The solemn court gavotte, for example, he uses five times as a fast finale in Allegro and Presto tempo.
The form of the sonatas is quite free. The first part gives a psychological mood to the whole, just as Corelli did. However, Vivaldi further refuses the fugue part, polyphony and elaboration, and strives for dynamic dance movement. Sometimes all the other parts run at almost the same tempo, thereby violating the ancient principle of contrasting tempos.
Already in these sonatas one can feel the richest imagination of Vivaldi: no repetition of traditional formulas, inexhaustible melody, a desire for prominence, characteristic intonations, which would then be developed by Vivaldi himself and other authors. Thus, the beginning of the Grave of the second sonata will then appear in the “Seasons”. The melody of the prelude of the eleventh sonata will be reflected in the main theme of Bach's Concerto for two violins. Characteristics There are also broad movements of figuration, repetition of intonations, as if fixing the main material in the listener’s mind, and consistent implementation of the principle of sequential development.
The strength and inventiveness of Vivaldi’s creative spirit was especially clearly demonstrated in the concert genre. It is in this genre that most of his works were written. At the same time, in the concert heritage Italian master works written in the form of concerto grosso and in the form of solo concert. But even in those of his concerts that gravitate towards the concerto grosso genre, the individualization of the concerto parts is clearly felt: they often acquire a concert character, and then it is not easy to draw the line between a concerto grosso and a solo concert.
violin composer Vivaldi
Details Category: European classical music of the 17th-18th centuries Published 12/14/2018 18:21 Views: 524
The works of Antonio Vivaldi are popular all over the world. But it wasn't always like this.
During life (during the first half of the XVIII c.) the composer was widely known, he was known as the creator of a solo instrumental concert. Contemporaries called him “a great, unsurpassed, delightful writer.” Vivaldi's concertos served as a model even for composers such as J.S. Bach, P. Locatelli, D. Tartini, J.-M. Leclerc and others. In the era of musical baroque these were famous names. Bach even arranged 6 violin concertos by Vivaldi for the clavier, made organ concertos from 2 of them, and rearranged one for 4 claviers - he was so admired by his clarity and harmony of harmony, perfect violin technique, and melody by Vivaldi’s music.
Alleged portrait of Vivaldi
But some time passed, and Vivaldi was almost forgotten. His works cease to be performed, even the features of his appearance are soon forgotten: to this day his portraits are considered only supposedly to belong to him. And only in the middle of the 20th century. interest suddenly arose in his work, including his biography, about which little is known. What was the reason for this renewed interest? Apparently, real art, even temporarily forgotten, cannot lie hidden for long - gold will still shine. But perhaps Vivaldi was simply ahead of his time, and after his death his contemporaries could not accept his music at his level. The Austrian scientist Walter Collender argued exactly this: Vivaldi was several decades ahead of the development of European music in the use of dynamics and pure techniques violin playing. Thus, today his art has received a second life.
Vanessa May, a British violinist of Chinese-Thai origin, masterfully performs Vivaldi's works in a modern arrangement
From the biography of Antonio Vivaldi
Vivaldi spent his childhood in Venice, where in the Cathedral of St. Mark's father worked as a violinist. Antonio was the eldest child in a family of 6 children. Very few details have been preserved about the composer’s childhood, but it is known that he learned to play the violin from his father. Then he studied playing the harpsichord. It is also known that Antonio had poor health since childhood and suffered from bronchial asthma. But despite this, Vivaldi was an extremely active person and musician. He loved traveling, was constantly on the road endlessly, but at the same time managed to direct productions of his operas, discuss roles with singers, conduct extensive correspondence, conduct orchestras, teach, and most importantly, write huge amount works. In March 1703, Vivaldi was ordained to the clergy - he became a priest. He was nicknamed the “red monk” for his hair color. It is believed that due to his health, Vivaldi celebrated only a few masses and soon abandoned this, although he continued to compose sacred music.
In September 1703, Vivaldi began working as a teacher at the Venetian charity home for orphan girls “Pio Ospedale delia Pieta”.
Conservatory "Pieta" in Venice
Children's shelters (hospitals) at churches were then called conservatories. Here he taught girls to play the violin and viola d'amour, and also monitored the safety string instruments and buying new violins. The concerts of his charges were very popular among the enlightened Venetian public. The famous French traveler de Brosses left the following description of the Venetian conservatories: “The music of the hospitals here is excellent. There are four of them, and they are filled with illegitimate girls, as well as orphans or those whose parents are unable to raise them. They are raised at the expense of the state and are taught mainly music. They sing like angels, play the violin, flute, organ, oboe, cello, bassoon; in short, there is no such cumbersome instrument that would make them afraid. 40 girls take part in each concert. I swear to you, there is nothing more attractive than to see a young and beautiful nun, in a white robe, with bouquets of pomegranate flowers on her ears, beating time with all grace and precision.”
Vivaldi's violin concertos have become widely known in Western Europe and especially in Germany. As we have already said, J. S. Bach “for pleasure and instruction” personally arranged Vivaldi’s violin concertos for clavier and organ. During these same years, Vivaldi wrote his first operas “Ottone” (1713), “Orlando” (1714), “Nero” (1715). In Mantua in 1718-1720. he mainly writes operas for the carnival season, as well as instrumental works for the ducal court.
By 1717 Vivaldi was already famous performer, composer and teacher, some of his students became famous musicians, one of them is Anna Giraud.
In 1725, one of the composer’s most famous opuses, “An Experience in Harmony and Invention” (op. 8), was published. The collection consists of 12 violin concertos. The first 4 concerts are named by the composer “Spring”, “Summer”, “Autumn” and “Winter”. Later they combined it into the series “Seasons” (this is not the author’s name). The four violin concertos “The Seasons,” part of the cycle “The Controversy of Harmony with Invention,” are considered the most famous and performed works.
In 1740, shortly before his death, Vivaldi went to his last trip to Vienna, where he died in the house of the widow of a Viennese saddler and was buried as a beggar. The exact date of Vivaldi’s death is also unknown - most sources indicate 1743. And then his name was forgotten.
The musical legacy of Antonio Vivaldi
Almost 200 years later, Italian musicologist A. Gentili discovered a unique collection of the composer’s manuscripts, which consisted of 300 concertos, 19 operas, sacred and secular vocal works. A true revival of Vivaldi's former glory has begun
In Russia, Vivaldi is one of the most beloved composers. It is often performed, and Vivaldi's creative legacy is enormous: more than 700 titles. Of these, there are about 500 concertos, including 230 for violin, the composer’s favorite instrument. He also wrote concertos for viola d'amour, cello, mandolin, longitudinal and transverse flutes, oboe, bassoon. He created more than 60 concertos for string orchestra and basso continue, sonatas for various instruments and more than 40 operas (the scores of only half of them have survived). In addition, there are numerous vocal works by Vivaldi: cantatas, oratorios, sacred works. Many of Vivaldi's instrumental works have programmatic subtitles. Already during his lifetime, Vivaldi became famous as an outstanding expert on the orchestra, the inventor of many coloristic effects, and he did a lot to develop the technique of playing the violin.
Of the five supposed portraits of the great composer, the earliest one, created by P. Ghezzi in 1723, is considered the most reliable.
P.L. Ghezzi "The Red Priest" (caricature of Vivaldi, 1723)
His student Pencherl ends his description of the teacher this way: “This is how Vivaldi appears to us when we combine all the individual information about him: created from contrasts, weak, sick, and yet alive like gunpowder, ready to get irritated and immediately calm down, move on from worldly vanity to superstitious piety, stubborn and at the same time accommodating when necessary, a mystic, but ready to come down to earth when it comes to his interests, and not at all a fool when organizing his affairs.”
The same can be said about his music: in it high spirituality is combined with a thirst for life experiences, the high is mixed with everyday life - the singing of birds, the song of peasants, the murmur of a spring stream, the rumble of thunder... His music is distinguished by sincerity, freshness, spontaneity and special lyricism. This is what has attracted numerous performers and listeners to his music for more than 200 years.
Works of the outstanding Italian composer and violinist A. Corelli had a huge influence on European instrumental music of the late 17th - first half of the 18th centuries, he is rightfully considered the founder of the Italian violin school. Many of the greatest composers of the subsequent era, including J. S. Bach and G. F. Handel, highly valued Corelli's instrumental works. He proved himself not only as a composer and a wonderful violinist performer, but also as a teacher (the Corelli school includes a whole galaxy of brilliant masters) and conductor (he was the leader of various instrumental ensembles). Corelli's creativity and his diverse activities opened new page in the history of music and musical genres.
Little is known about Corelli's early life. He received his first music lessons from a priest. After changing several teachers, Corelli finally ends up in Bologna. This city was the birthplace of a number of remarkable Italian composers, and his stay there apparently had a decisive influence on the future fate of the young musician. In Bologna, Corelli studied under the guidance of the famous teacher G. Benvenuti. The fact that already in his youth Corelli achieved outstanding success in the field of violin playing is evidenced by the fact that in 1670, at the age of 17, he was admitted to the famous Bologna Academy. In the 1670s. Corelli moves to Rome. Here he plays in various orchestral and chamber ensembles, leads some ensembles, and becomes a church bandmaster. From Corelli's letters it is known that in 1679 he entered the service of Queen Christina of Sweden. Being an orchestra musician, he is also involved in composition - composing sonatas for his patroness. Corelli's first work (12 church trio sonatas) appeared in 1681. In the mid-1680s. Corelli entered the service of the Roman cardinal P. Ottoboni, where he remained until the end of his life. After 1708, he retired from public speaking and concentrated all his energies on creativity.
Corelli's works are relatively few: in 1685, following his first opus, his chamber trio sonatas op. 2, in 1689 - 12 church trio sonatas op. 3, in 1694 - chamber trio sonatas op. 4, in 1700 - chamber trio sonatas op. 5. Finally, in 1714, after Corelli’s death, his concerti grossi op was published in Amsterdam. 6. These collections, as well as several individual plays, constitute Corelli's legacy. His compositions are intended for bowed string instruments (violin, viola da gamba) with the participation of harpsichord or organ as accompanying instruments.
Corelli's work includes 2 main genres: sonatas and concertos. It was in the work of Corelli that the sonata genre was formed in the form in which it is characteristic of the pre-classical era. Corelli's sonatas are divided into 2 groups: church and chamber. They differ both in the performing composition (in the church sonata the organ accompanies, in the chamber sonata - the harpsichord) and in content (the church sonata is distinguished by its rigor and depth of content, the chamber one is close to the dance suite). The instrumental composition for which such sonatas were composed included 2 melodic voices (2 violins) and accompaniment (organ, harpsichord, viola da gamba). That's why they are called trio sonatas.
Corelli's concerts also became an outstanding phenomenon in this genre. The concerto grosso genre existed long before Corelli. He was one of the forerunners of symphonic music. The idea of the genre was a kind of competition between a group of solo instruments (in Corelli’s concerts this role is played by 2 violins and a cello) with an orchestra: the concert was thus structured as an alternation of solo and tutti. 12 Corelli concertos written in recent years the composer's life became one of the brightest pages in instrumental music of the early 18th century. They are still perhaps Corelli’s most popular work.
One of the largest representatives of the Baroque era A. Vivaldi entered the history of musical culture as the creator of the instrumental concert genre, the founder of orchestral program music. Vivaldi's childhood is connected with Venice, where his father worked as a violinist in St. Mark's Cathedral. The family had 6 children, of whom Antonio was the eldest. Almost no details have been preserved about the composer’s childhood. It is only known that he studied the violin and harpsichord. On September 18, 1693, Vivaldi was tonsured a monk, and on March 23, 1703, he was ordained. At the same time, the young man continued to live at home (presumably due to a serious illness), which gave him the opportunity not to give up his musical studies. Vivaldi was nicknamed the “red monk” for his hair color. It is believed that already in these years he was not too zealous about his duties as a clergyman. Many sources retell a story (possibly apocryphal, but revealing) of how one day during a service the “red-haired monk” hurriedly left the altar to write down a fugue theme that suddenly occurred to him. In any case, Vivaldi's relations with clerical circles continued to strain, and soon he, citing his poor health, publicly refused to celebrate Mass.
In September 1703, Vivaldi began working as a teacher (maestro di violino) at the Venetian charity orphanage "Pio Ospedale delia Pieta". His duties included teaching the violin and viol d'amore, as well as overseeing the preservation of stringed instruments and purchasing new violins. The “services” in the “Pieta” (they can rightfully be called concerts) were the center of attention of the enlightened Venetian public. For reasons of economy, Vivaldi was fired in 1709, but in 1711-16. reinstated in the same position, and from May 1716 he was already the concertmaster of the Pieta orchestra. Even before his new appointment, Vivaldi had established himself not only as a teacher, but also as a composer (mainly the author of sacred music). In parallel with his work at Pieta, Vivaldi was looking for opportunities to publish his secular works. 12 trio sonatas op. 1 were published in 1706; in 1711 the most famous collection of violin concertos “Harmonic Inspiration” op. 3; in 1714 - another collection called “Extravagance” op. 4. Vivaldi’s violin concertos very soon became widely known in Western Europe and especially in Germany. I. Quantz, I. Mattheson showed great interest in them, the Great J. S. Bach “for pleasure and instruction” personally arranged 9 Vivaldi violin concertos for clavier and organ. During these same years, Vivaldi wrote his first operas “Ottone” (1713), “Orlando” (1714), “Nero” (1715). In 1718-20 he lives in Mantua, where he mainly writes operas for the carnival season, as well as instrumental works for the Mantuan ducal court. In 1725, one of the composer’s most famous opuses was published, bearing the subtitle “An Experience in Harmony and Invention” (op. 8). Like the previous ones, the collection is composed of violin concertos (there are 12 of them). The first 4 concerts of this opus are named by the composer, respectively, “Spring”, “Summer”, “Autumn” and “Winter”. In modern performing practice, they are often combined into the cycle “Seasons” (there is no such title in the original). Apparently, Vivaldi was not satisfied with the income from the publication of his concerts, and in 1733 he announced to a certain English traveler E. Holdsworth his intention to refuse further publications, since, unlike printed copies, handwritten copies were more expensive. In fact, since then, no new original works by Vivaldi have appeared.
Late 20's - 30's. often called “years of travel” (previously to Vienna and Prague). In August 1735, Vivaldi returned to the post of conductor of the Pieta orchestra, but the management committee did not like his subordinate’s passion for travel, and in 1738 the composer was fired. At the same time, Vivaldi continued to work hard in the opera genre (one of his librettists was the famous C. Goldoni), while he preferred to personally participate in the production. However, Vivaldi's opera performances special success did not have, especially after the composer was deprived of the opportunity to act as director of his operas at the Ferrara theater due to the cardinal’s ban on entering the city (the composer was accused of having a love affair with Anna Giraud, his former student, and the refusal of the “red monk” to serve mass ). As a result, the opera premiere in Ferrara was a failure.
In 1740, shortly before his death, Vivaldi went on his last trip to Vienna. The reasons for his sudden departure are unclear. He died in the house of the widow of a Viennese saddler named Waller and was buried in poverty. Soon after his death, the name of the outstanding master was forgotten. Almost 200 years later, in the 20s. XX century Italian musicologist A. Gentili discovered a unique collection of the composer’s manuscripts (300 concertos, 19 operas, sacred and secular vocal works). From this time on, a true revival of Vivaldi's former glory begins. The music publishing house Ricordi began publishing the composer's complete works in 1947, and the Philips company recently began implementing an equally grandiose plan - publishing “everything” Vivaldi in recordings. In our country, Vivaldi is one of the most frequently performed and most beloved composers. Vivaldi's creative legacy is great. According to the authoritative thematic-systematic catalog by Peter Riom (international designation - RV), it covers more than 700 titles. The main place in Vivaldi’s work was occupied by the instrumental concerto (about 500 in total preserved). The composer's favorite instrument was the violin (about 230 concerts). In addition, he wrote concertos for two, three and four violins with orchestra and basso continue, concertos for viola d'amore, cello, mandolin, longitudinal and transverse flutes, oboe, bassoon. There are more than 60 concerts for string orchestra and basso continue, sonatas for various instruments. Of more than 40 operas (the authorship of Vivaldi has been accurately established), the scores of only half of them have survived. Less popular (but no less interesting) are his numerous vocal works - cantatas, oratorios, works on spiritual texts (psalms, litanies, “Gloria”, etc.).
Many of Vivaldi's instrumental works have programmatic subtitles. Some of them refer to the first performer (Carbonelli concerto, RV 366), others to the festival during which this or that composition was performed for the first time (“For the Feast of St. Lorenzo”, RV 286). A number of subheadings indicate some unusual detail of performance technique (in the concert entitled “L’ottavina”, RV 763, all solo violins must be played in the upper octave). The most typical titles are those that characterize the prevailing mood - “Rest”, “Anxiety”, “Suspicion” or “Harmonic Inspiration”, “Zither” (the last two are the names of collections of violin concertos). At the same time, even in those works whose titles seem to indicate external pictorial moments (“Storm at Sea”, “Goldfinch”, “Hunting”, etc.), the main thing for the composer always remains the transfer of the general lyrical mood. The score of “The Seasons” is provided with a relatively extensive program. Already during his lifetime, Vivaldi became famous as an outstanding expert on the orchestra, the inventor of many coloristic effects, and he did a lot to develop the technique of playing the violin.
Giuseppe Tartini belongs to the luminaries of the Italian violin school of the 18th century, whose art retains its artistic significance to this day. D. Oistrakh
The outstanding Italian composer, teacher, virtuoso violinist and music theorist G. Tartini occupied one of the most important places in the violin culture of Italy in the first half of the 18th century. His art merged traditions coming from A. Corelli, A. Vivaldi, F. Veracini and other great predecessors and contemporaries.
Tartini was born into a family belonging to the noble class. The parents intended their son to become a clergyman. Therefore, he first studied at the parish school in Pirano, and then in Capo d'Istria. There Tartini began playing the violin.
The life of a musician is divided into 2 periods sharply opposed to each other. Fickle, intemperate in character, looking for danger - this is how he is in teenage years. Tartini's self-will forced his parents to abandon the idea of sending their son along the spiritual path. He goes to Padua to study law. But Tartini prefers fencing to them, dreaming of being a fencing master. In parallel with fencing, he continues to pursue music more and more purposefully.
A secret marriage to his student, the niece of a prominent clergyman, dramatically changed all of Tartini’s plans. The marriage caused the indignation of his wife’s aristocratic relatives; Tartini was persecuted by Cardinal Cornaro and was forced to go into hiding. His refuge was the Minorite monastery in Assisi.
From this moment on, the second period of Tartini’s life began. The monastery not only sheltered the young rake and became his refuge during the years of exile. Moral and spiritual rebirth Tartini, this is where his true development as a composer began. At the monastery he studied music theory and composition under the guidance of the Czech composer and theorist B. Chernogorsky; He independently practiced the violin, achieving true perfection in mastering the instrument, which, according to contemporaries, even surpassed the playing of the famous Corelli.
Tartini stayed in the monastery for 2 years, then for another 2 years he played at the opera house in Ancona. There the musician met Veracini, who had a significant influence on his work.
Tartini's exile ended in 1716. From that time until the end of his life, with the exception of short breaks, he lived in Padua, leading the chapel orchestra in the Basilica of St. Antonio and performing as a violinist in various cities of Italy. In 1723, Tartini received an invitation to visit Prague to participate in the musical celebrations on the occasion of the coronation of Charles VI. This visit, however, lasted until 1726: Tartini accepted an offer to take the position of chamber musician in the Prague chapel of Count F. Kinsky.
Returning to Padua (1727), the composer organized a music academy there, devoting much energy to teaching. Contemporaries called him "teacher of nations." Among Tartini's students are such outstanding violinists of the 18th century as P. Nardini, G. Pugnani, D. Ferrari, I. Naumann, P. Lausset, F. Rust and others.
The musician’s contribution to the further development of the art of violin playing was great. He changed the design of the bow, lengthening it. Tartini's own bowing skills and his extraordinary violin singing began to be considered exemplary. The composer created a huge number of works. These include numerous trio sonatas, about 125 concertos, 175 sonatas for violin and cymbal. The latter received further genre and stylistic development in Tartini’s work.
The composer's vivid imagery of musical thinking manifested itself in his desire to give his works programmatic subtitles. The sonatas "Abandoned Dido" and "Devil's Trill" became especially famous. The last remarkable Russian music critic V. Odoevsky considered the beginning of a new era in violin art. Along with these works, the monumental cycle “The Art of the Bow” is of great importance. Consisting of 50 variations on the theme of Corelli's gavotte, it is a unique set of technical techniques that has not only pedagogical significance, but also high artistic value. Tartini was one of the inquisitive musician-thinkers of the 18th century; his theoretical views were expressed not only in various treatises on music, but also in correspondence with major musical scientists of that time, being the most valuable documents of his era.
20. Suitability as a principle of musical thinking in music of the 17th-18th centuries. The structure of a classical suite. (Take any suite and disassemble it) ; (Read Yavorsky's work).
Suite (French suite, “sequence”). The name implies a sequence of instrumental pieces (stylized dances) or instrumental fragments from opera, ballet, drama music, etc.
Vivaldi's unique style revolutionized the European musical world of the early 18th century. This brilliant Italian made the whole of Europe talk about “great Italian music.”
Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice on March 4, 1678. His father Giovanni Battista (nicknamed "Red" for his fiery hair color), the son of a baker from Brescia, moved to Venice around 1670. There for some time he worked as a baker, and then mastered the profession of a barber. In his free time from earning his daily bread, Giovanni Battista played the violin. And he turned out to be such a gifted musician that he
In 1685, the famous Giovanni Legrenzi, conductor of the Cathedral of St. Mark, accepted him into his orchestra.
The first and most famous of the six children of Giovanni Battista Vivaldi and Camilla Calicchio, Antonio Lucio, was born ahead of schedule due to a sudden earthquake. The boy's parents saw the birth of a new life under such strange circumstances as a sign from above and decided that Antonio should become a priest.
When the future great composer was 15 years old, his tonsure (symbol of the crown of thorns) was shaved, and on March 23, 1703, twenty-five-year-old Antonio Vivaldi was ordained. However, he did not feel a sincere desire to be a priest and soon stopped celebrating mass. Although, as Carlo Goldoni testifies, Vivaldi read his prayer book every day throughout his life.
From his father, Antonio inherited not only his hair color (quite rare among Italians), but also a serious love of music, especially playing the violin. Giovanni Battista himself gave his son his first lessons and brought him to his place in the orchestra of the Cathedral of St. Brand. Antonio studied composition and learned to play the harpsichord and flute. In September 1703, Vivaldi began teaching music at the Ospe Dale della Pietà orphanage for girls.
The shelter “Ospedale della Pietà” (literally “hospital of compassion”) existed since 1348 and was always famous for the comprehensive (including musical) education that its pupils received.
F. Guardi. View of the Rialto Bridge from the Grand Canal. XVIII century.
Vivaldi was associated with this institution for almost his entire life. It must also be said that the composer’s teaching activity was not limited to work as a “maestro di violino” - that is, a violin teacher. Vivaldi gave private lessons to singers and taught them to play the viola. In addition, he conducted the orchestra at rehearsals and concerts when the chief conductor was not present. And he wrote music tirelessly.
First publications
In 1705, the Venetian publisher Giuseppe Sala published the first collection of sonatas for three instruments (two violins and bass) by Antonio Vivaldi. The next “portion” of Vivaldi’s violin sonatas was published four years later by Antonio Bortoli.
Soon the works of the “red priest” (as Vivaldi the Younger was dubbed by the same Venetian jokers who had previously given the nickname
“Red” to his father) gained extraordinary popularity.
In just a few years, Antonio Vivaldi became the most famous violin composer in Europe. The following fact testifies to his fame and incredible success: in 1711-1729. Twelve collections of Vivaldi's instrumental music were published in Amsterdam, including Ligo archoso ("Harmonic Inspiration"), La piçaranga ("Whims") and II skhyanno oeP"archosha e oeP"tueshupe ("Experience of Harmony and Fantasy") - a work , which includes the famous Le quattro 81a§yush (“Four Seasons” or simply “Seasons”). Subsequently, Vivaldi's works were published in
London and Paris - the then publishing centers of Europe.
Secular composer
In 1713, in Vicenza, Vivaldi presented his first opera to the public.
Top: Antonio Vivaldi. Caricature by P. L. Ghezzi. 1723
Bottom: G. Bella. Feast of the Ascension in St. Mark's Square in Venice.
Chronology of life
1693 Receives tonsure.
1703 Becomes ordained. Enters the Ospedale della Pietà as a violin teacher and composer.
1711 The Amsterdam publisher E. Roger publishes the first concerto of Vivaldi from the cycle C^go armonico. The composer's name becomes widely known.
1713 Vivaldi makes his debut in Vicenza as an opera composer (with the opera “Discipline at the Villa”).
1718 Moves to Mantua and enters the service of Prince Philip.
1720 Returns to Venice.
1727 Publication of II Ytpepkz sSeN"ag-gtyusha e sSeSht/enEyupe, containing the famous "Four Seasons".
1730-38 Vivaldi travels extensively throughout Europe, conducting his works.
1740 Finally abandons the Ospedale della Pietà and leaves for Vienna.
1741 Sudden illness and the death of the composer.
After his death, Vivaldi was almost forgotten. His creative heritage was truly discovered in the 20th century. Of the 450 concerts known to us today, only about 80 saw the light of day during the composer’s lifetime.
The huge number of works by Vivaldi that have come down to us in manuscripts include not only instrumental concertos (for violin, cello, flute, horn, oboe, mandolin, horn, etc.), but also sonatas, cantatas and 48 operas.
"Escape at the villa." Over the next five years, he published five more operas, which conquered the largest Venetian theaters. Vivaldi was rapidly transforming from a completely modest “red-haired priest” into a brilliant secular composer.
At the beginning of 1718, he received an invitation to serve as conductor at the court in Mantua. The composer stayed here until 1720, that is, until the death of the wife of his employer, Prince Philip. And here, in Mantua, Vivaldi met the singer Anna Giraud, owner of a beautiful contralto. First she was his student, then the main performer in his operas, and finally, to everyone’s outrage, she became his mistress.
Returning to Venice, Vivaldi devoted himself entirely to theatrical activities. He tried his hand both as an author and as an impresario. In 1720-1730 Vivaldi is known throughout Italy. His fame reached such proportions that he was even invited to give a concert in front of the Pope himself.
One gets the impression that Vivaldi was constantly on the move and wrote his invariably talented works somewhere on the way from Verona to Mantua. He, however, was not burdened by the nomadic life and was always easy-going. So, in 1738, the composer came to Amsterdam only to conduct the orchestra at the celebration of the theater’s centenary, and a year later he went with Anna Giraud to Graz, where the singer received an engagement for the entire season.
Vienna sunset
In 1740, Vivaldi finally abandoned work at the Ospedale della Pietà and went to Vienna, to the court of Emperor Charles VI, his longtime and, importantly, powerful admirer.
Outstanding works
Concert cycles:
L "estro armonico op. 3 La stravaganza op. 4 II cimento dell"armonia e dell"inven-
zione op. 8 La cetra op. 9
Six concertos for flute
and string op. 10 Six violin concertos
and string op. 11 Six violin concertos
and string op. 12
Works for orchestra:
Al Santo Sepolcro RV 169 Concerto madrigalesco RV 129
Solo instrumental concerts:
La pastorella for flute RV 95 II sospetto for violin RV 199 L"inquietudine for violin RV 234 II ritiro for violin RV 256 L"amoroso for violin RV 271 II rosignuolo for violin RV 335 L"ottavina for violin RV 763 II Carbonelli for violin RV 366 Concerto for mandolin RV425 Concerto for oboe RV 447 La notte for bassoon RV 501
Double concerts:
Concerto for two mandolins RV 532 Concerto for two trumpets RV 537 Concerto for two oboes
and two clarinets RV 559 Funeral concert RV 579
Sacred music:
Gloria (for soloists)
instruments, choir and orchestra)
RV589 Judith Triumphant
(for solo instruments,
choir and orchestra) RV 644
Otto at the Villa RV 729 The truth in the test RV 739
But, alas, the great composer’s rosy plans were not destined to come true. Arriving in Vienna, he no longer found the monarch alive. In addition, by this time Vivaldi's popularity had begun to decline. The public's preferences changed, and baroque music quickly found itself on the periphery of fashion.
The sixty-three-year-old musician, who had never been in good health, was unable to recover from these blows of fate and fell ill with an unknown illness.
Vivaldi died on July 28, 1741 in Vienna from “internal inflammation” (as it was written in the funeral protocol), in the arms of his student and friend Anna Giraud. Funeral of P. Longhi. Concert. were modest: only a few bells sounded, and the procession consisted only of people hired to carry the coffin.
Testimonies from contemporaries about the death of Vivaldi have reached us. One of them is: “Padre Don Antonio
Vivaldi, the incomparable violinist, nicknamed “the red priest,” highly valued for his concertos and other compositions, earned 50 thousand ducats during his lifetime, but due to immeasurable extravagance he died in poverty in Vienna.”
Four seasons
Vivaldi wrote his four famous concertos for violin, strings and bass continuo, included in the cycle II seto with!eІІ"agggupia e Seii"ipupengiope (published in 1722 in Amsterdam), inspired by four sonnets of an unknown poet, named after the seasons.
The energetic Allegro with which “Spring” begins illustrates the following lines of the corresponding sonnet: “Spring has come, and the birds greet it with joyful singing, and the rivers carry their waters, gently murmuring. Clouds cover the sky with a black cloak, thunder and lightning foreshadow a storm, but soon the birds, as if stopping it, begin their enchanting song again.”
The second part - Largo - captivates the listener with a pastoral picture (“And then in a flowering meadow in the sweet rustle of leaves and grass a shepherd sleeps, and at his feet is a faithful dog”), and the final Allegro resembles a fast-paced village dance (“Nymphs dance to the joyful sounds of bagpipes , and the shepherd is dancing, and above them is the clear sky of spring gaining strength").
N. Poussin. Seasons: Spring, or Earthly Paradise.
N. Poussin. Seasons: Autumn, or the Promised Land.
Allegro non molto, the first part of “Summer,” paints a picture of a hot day and a gathering thunderstorm: “Under the cruel rays of the scorching sun, a man weakens, the herd scatters. The cuckoo crows, the turtledove sings, a light breeze blows... and the shepherd cries, for he is afraid of the cruel Boreas and his fate.” The Adagio is also filled with this atmosphere of anticipation: “The fear of lightning and severe thunder, and the angry buzzing of flies and mosquitoes, does not give rest to the weary.” A storm finally broke out in Presto: “Ah, alas, it was not in vain that he was afraid: the menacing sky rumbles, sparkles, the rain lashes, and the grass in the fields bends.”
Adagio molto depicts the “drunk slumber” of the villagers: “The air is so calming that everyone stops singing and dancing... Autumn brings sweet dreams.” And in the final Allegro, echoes of the hunt can already be heard: “At dawn, the hunter comes out with a horn and dogs. The wild animal is frightened by the noise of gunfire and the barking of dogs; it is tired, exhausted from running and, hunted, dies.”
The last concert of the cycle, “Winter,” is the most expressive. Allegro non molto depicts a lonely traveler to the listener - “In an icy shiver, among the cold snow, blown by a strong wind, he wanders, his teeth chattering from the cold.” In Largo the warmth of a warming hearth appears; This part evokes thoughts about how nice it is to “spend calm, sweet days by the fireplace when the rain outside the window drenches the whole world.” But home peace and comfort do not last forever. The main characters of Allegro are ice and wind. Swift passages of the solo violin dramatically conclude the concert and the entire cycle: “People walk slowly on the ice, afraid of falling, stepping carefully. They slip, fall, get up and walk again... A fierce sirocco blows from behind the iron doors. This is winter."
Concertos for wind instruments
Before Vivaldi wind instruments were considered primitive, “ungrateful” for the composer. The brilliant “red priest” proved that this is not so.
Vivaldi was one of the first to turn to composing serious music for wind instruments. The oboe, horn, trumpet and flute sounded in his concerts in a completely new way - so full and harmonious as no one could have expected. Vivaldi most likely wrote his concerto for two trumpets (published in 1729 in Amsterdam) at the request of two trumpet players who wanted to prove to the public that brilliant music can be performed brilliantly on the trumpet. This concert really requires remarkable skill from the performer. By the way, it is still a kind of measure of a trumpeter’s virtuosity.
Vivaldi also wrote a lot for the bassoon - more than thirty concertos for bassoon and orchestra alone have survived. In addition, the composer used it in almost all chamber concerts.
But among the wind instruments, Vivaldi gave the greatest preference to the flute - a delicate, “feminine” flute, as they called it. Possessing an inexhaustible creative imagination, the composer assigned the flute in his compositions precisely those parts in which it could sound in full voice and demonstrate all its merits.
This is especially clearly seen in two concertos for flute and orchestra, published in Amsterdam in 1728. In the first part of concert II dags!eshpo (“The Goldfinch”), the flute, echoing the orchestra, surprisingly accurately imitates the trills of the goldfinch, and in concert 1_a pope (“Night”) it immerses the listener in an unsteady, foggy world of dreams.
F. Guardi. Dancing ladies at the Casino dei Filarmonici.
Concertos for violin and orchestra are Vivaldi’s strong point. They amazed and captivated their contemporaries. Some saw in them a manifestation of the Divine, others - devilish charm.
It would not be much of an exaggeration to say that it was Vivaldi who created the concerto genre. Of course, it existed before him, but it was in his work that it was molded into a finished form, which was subsequently taken as a model by more than one generation of European composers. "Brand mark"
Vivaldi had three orchestral chords at the beginning of the concert. The sharp-tongued Venetian public called them “Vivaldi’s hammer blows.”
The cycle 1_"evp-o aggtyupyuo ("Harmonic Inspiration"), published in 1711-1717 in Amsterdam, is one of the most famous concert cycles in Vivaldi's legacy. The twelve concerts of this cycle became widely known even before they were printed. And with the release of I_"evp-o agtopiso the name of the composer became famous throughout Europe. J. S. Bach himself made harpsichord transcriptions for several concerts.
The cycle contains four concertos for four solo violins, four for two, and four for one. By the way, subsequently Vivaldi no longer wrote (with one exception) concertos for four solo violins.
The first listeners of “Harmonic Inspiration” experienced delight and amazement. Delight and amazement are still experienced by those who hear І_ "еigo агtopіso for the first time. Already in our days, a researcher wrote about this cycle: “It seems that in a luxurious hall of the Baroque era, windows and doors opened, and free nature entered with a greeting; music sounds a proud, majestic pathos, not yet familiar XVII century: the cry of a citizen of the world."
A. Visentini. Concert in a small palace (fragment).
Antonio Luciano Vivaldi is an Italian composer, conductor, teacher, virtuoso violinist, author of 500 concerts for solo instruments and orchestra, 90 operas, a genius whose works were forgotten for 200 years.
Antonio was born on March 4, 1678 in Venice in the family of barber and musician Giovanni Battista Vivaldi and his wife Camilla. Giovanni was originally from Brescia, and at the age of 10 he settled in Venice with his mother. In those days, barbers shaved, cut, curled and anointed their clients, and also entertained them by playing music.
Vivaldi Sr. combined hairdressing with playing the violin. Giovanni became a violinist in the chapel of St. Mark's Cathedral, and his name is also on the list of founders musical society and even on title page one opera dated 1689.
The director of the mentioned society was the composer and author of operas Giovanni Legrenzi. Based on these facts, the compilers of Vivaldi’s biography came to the conclusion that the composer owes his talent and first steps in the musical field to his father, who instilled in his son a love for the violin and passed on his own skills, perfect pitch and mastery of the game. There is also a version that young Antonio studied with Giovanni Legrenzi.
The circumstances of the birth of Vivaldi Jr. made it possible to find out exact date his birth. The fact is that the boy was born premature, in the seventh month. The midwife who delivered the baby advised the child to be baptized immediately in case of sudden death. A couple of hours after the birth, the baby was already baptized, as evidenced by the entry in the church book.
Church of St. John in Bragor, where Antonio Vivaldi was baptized in 1678 According to legend, on that day there was an earthquake in Venice, and the child was born prematurely. Camilla allegedly vowed to give her son to the clergy if he survived. Surprisingly, Antonio survived, although he had poor health and a slight build.
Due to asthma, it was difficult for the boy to move, and wind instruments were also banned. But the violin, beloved since infancy, was at the complete disposal of the future maestro, and from the age of 10 Antonio replaced his father, playing in the Chapel of St. Mark.
From the age of 13, Vivaldi Jr. served as the “goalkeeper” at the cathedral, opening the gates of the temple. Then several more initiations of the young church minister to higher positions took place. Antonio served Mass only once; he was given an exemption due to poor health, and the young man was given the opportunity to devote himself to music.
In those days, Venetian priests combined writing concerts and sacred music with serving God. This was considered as natural as having musical instruments in every barber shop. In the 17th century, the Republic of Venice was one of the most enlightened and cultural countries in the world, and in the field of opera, secular and sacred music, it set the tone for the rest of Europe.
Music
At the age of 25, Vivaldi began teaching the art of violin playing at the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice. Conservatories were then called shelter schools at monasteries, where orphans and children whose parents were unable to provide for them were educated. These schools were financed from the republic's funds.
The girls' shelters specialized in the humanities, special attention was devoted to singing, music, and the performance of spiritual melodies, psalms and hymns. The boys, who were trained as traders and artisans, were taught exact sciences.
Antonio Vivaldi became a violin master for the young pupils of the orphanage, and then a viola teacher. His duties included monthly writing of concerts, cantatas, vocal works for soloists and choir, as well as the creation of new oratorios and concerts for each church holiday. In addition, the teacher personally taught the orphans music, playing instruments and vocals, rehearsed and honed the girls’ skills.
Vivaldi worked at Pietà from 1703 to 1740, not counting an eight-year break from 1715 to 1723, and from 1713 became director of the conservatory. All these years, the composer worked tirelessly; he wrote more than 60 works for the shelter alone, including cantatas, concerts for solo, choral, and orchestral performances.
In 1705 and 1709, Venetian publishing houses published two Vivaldi opuses of 12 sonatas, and in 1711 - 12 concertos under the title “Harmonic Inspiration”. In those same years, the young and talented composer was heard for the first time outside of Italy. In 1706, Vivaldi performed at the French embassy, and three years later his oratorio was heard by the Danish king Frederick IV, to whom Antonio subsequently dedicated 12 sonatas.
In 1712, the musician met German composer Gottfried Stölzel, and five years later Vivaldi moved to Mantua for three years at the invitation of Prince Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt.
Since 1713, the composer became interested in a new form of musical art- secular opera. The first opera written by Vivaldi was Ottone at the Villa. The talented young man was noticed by impresarios and patrons of the arts, and soon Antonio received an order from the owner of the San Angelo Theater for a new opera.
According to the composer, in the period from 1713 to 1737 he wrote 94 operas, but only 50 scores with confirmed authorship of the great Vivaldi have survived to this day. The author of the operas enjoyed stunning success, but Vivaldi's secular fame was short-lived. The musically sophisticated Venetian public soon found new idols, and Antonio's operas went out of fashion.
In 1721, the maestro visited Milan, where he presented the drama Sylvia, and the next year he returned with an oratorio on a biblical theme. From 1722 to 1725, Vivaldi lived in Rome, where he wrote new operas and performed before the pope at a personal invitation. For the musician-clergyman this event was a great honor.
In 1723-1724, Vivaldi wrote the famous concertos, erroneously called “The Seasons” in the CIS (the correct name is “The Four Seasons”). Each of the violin concertos is dedicated to spring, winter, summer and autumn. According to most critics and researchers, these concerts are the pinnacle of the maestro’s creativity.
The revolutionary nature of works of genius lies in the fact that the human ear clearly catches in music the reflection of processes and phenomena characteristic of a particular season. Thus, in the song of the violin you can hear the sound of a storm and the barking of dogs, the squeaking of mosquitoes and the bubbling of streams, children's voices, the trills of birds of recognizable breeds, and even the fall of a skater on the ice.
Tours and travels led the maestro to meet the Austrian Emperor Charles VI. The king was a big fan of Vivaldi's work, and friendly relations began between them. Surprisingly, as the popularity of the composer’s music declined in his homeland, Venice, his fame grew in Europe, at the courts of the French and Austrian kings.
At the end of his life, luck abandoned the brilliant composer, and he was forced to sell his sonatas for pennies, just so as not to vegetate in poverty. Disillusioned with the Venetians, who stopped loving his creations, Antonio Vivaldi decided to move to Vienna, “under the wing” of the royal admirer of his talent, Charles VI.
Unfortunately, soon after the composer moved to Vienna, the emperor died, then the war began, and the maestro was forgotten.
Personal life
As a clergyman, Antonio Vivaldi took a vow of celibacy, which he observed throughout his life. And yet, ill-wishers were able to discern a violation of decency in his close relationship with one of the pupils of the Pietà Conservatory, Anna Giraud and her sister Paolina.
Vivaldi was the teacher and mentor of Anna, who, according to the recollections of contemporaries, attracted the attention of the public not with the strength and range of her voice, but with her acting talent. For this girl, the composer wrote the best of operas, composed arias and spent time together at home and on the road.
Anna's sister, Paolina, idolized the maestro and became a volunteer nurse and caregiver with him, helping to cope with congenital ailments and bodily weakness. For a long time, the higher clergy turned a blind eye to the maestro’s passion for secular music and operas, but they could not forgive him for constantly being around two young girls.
In 1738, the Cardinal Archbishop of Ferrara, where the next carnival with the same operas was supposed to take place, did not allow Vivaldi and his companions into the city, and also ordered a mass to be celebrated in view of the composer’s fall from grace.
Death
The brilliant composer died in poverty and loneliness in a foreign land, in Vienna. Antonio Vivaldi's life was cut short on July 28, 1741. His property was described and sold for debts, and his body was buried in a cemetery for the city's poor. Only a month after Antonio's death, his younger sisters received sad news.
Sculptural composition in Vienna, dedicated to Antonio Vivaldi After his death, the name of Vivaldi was undeservedly forgotten. Perhaps he only sincerely and deeply loved the Italian’s music, remaining for a long time his only faithful admirer. Bach transcribed ten Vivaldi concertos for various instruments and orchestra, and the legacy of the Venetian composer had a tangible influence on the work of the virtuoso organist.
- Much credit for the research and discovery of Vivaldi's masterpieces for posterity belongs to the Italian musicologist Alberto Gentili, who discovered 14 volumes of the composer's works at the beginning of the 20th century.
- Antonio Vivaldi is the first composer to create concertos for violin and orchestra, two, four violins and two mandolins.
- The only color portrait of Vivaldi, which is familiar to everyone from photographs in textbooks, may well be the image of a completely different person (the initials are not indicated in the picture, and the portrait itself is not similar to other portraits of the composer).
- The maestro had the nickname “red priest” because of his copper hair color, rare among Venetians.
- Vivaldi also became famous for the fact that he could write a three-act opera and dozens of musical variations on one theme in five days.
- The notorious "Tango of Death", attributed to Vivaldi, is actually a composition called Palladio modern composer by Karl Jenkins, and "Elf Night (Song)" is a song by Secret Garden.
- The composition “Summer Thunderstorm (Storm)” from the cycle “Seasons” performed is one of the most popular melodies in the world.
Discography
Operas:
- "Ottone in the Country", 1713;
- "Roland, the imaginary madman", 1714;
- "Arsilda, Queen of Pontus", 1716;
- "Coronation of Darius", 1717;
- "Artaban", 1718;
- "Teuzone", 1719
- "Titus Manlius", 1719;
- "Farnace", 1727 and others.
Choral and vocal music:
- Sacrum (mass);
- Laudate Dominum omnes gentes;
- Stabat Mater and others.
- Psalms:
- Beatus vir;
- Confitebor tibi Domine;
- Dixit Dominus;
- Lauda Jerusalem and others.
Oratorios:
- “Judith Triumphant”, 1716;
- “The Adoration of the Three Magi to the Child Jesus,” 1722;
- “Great cantata “Gloria and Hymen”, 1721.
- Cantatas for voice with accompaniment:
- “Under the canopy of a beautiful beech tree”;
- “My gaze is directed towards him”;
- “Cupid, you won”;
- “You have disappeared, golden days”;
- “So cry, sources of tears” and others.
Instrumental concerts and sonatas, including:
- "Storm at Sea";
- "Pleasure";
- "Hunting";
- "Seasons";
- "Night";
- "Goldfinch";
- "Prelude".