Antonio Vivaldi

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For the two explorers who sailed into the Atlantic in 1291, see Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi.

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Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (March 4, 1678, Venice – July 28, 1741, Vienna), nicknamed Il Prete Rosso, meaning "The Red Priest," was an Italian priest and baroque music composer.

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Biography

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born on March 4, 1678 in Venice, Italy. He was baptized immediately at his home by the midwife due to danger of death. It is not determined what that means, but it probably referred to the infant's poor health or an earthquake that shook the city that day. Vivaldi's official church baptism did not take place until two months later. His father, Giovanni Battista, a barber before becoming a professional violinist, taught him to play violin at first and then toured Venice playing violin with his son. Vivaldi had a medical problem which he called the tightening of the chest (asthma). His medical problem, however, did not prevent him from learning to play the violin, compose and take part in any musical activities. At the age of 15 (1693) he began studying to become a priest. In 1703, at the age of 25, Vivaldi was ordained as a priest, soon nicknamed Il Prete Rosso, "The Red Priest," probably because of his red hair.

Not long after, in 1704, he was given a dispensation from celebrating the Holy Mass because of his ill health. In late 1706 he withdrew from the priesthood and became maestro di violino at an orphanage for girls called the Pio Ospedale della Pietà in Venice. Shortly after his appointment, the orphans began to gain appreciation and esteem abroad, too; Vivaldi wrote for them most of his concertos, cantatas, and sacred music. In 1705 the first collection (raccolta) of his works was published. Many others would follow. At the orphanage he covered several different duties, only interrupting them for his many travels. In 1709, he was let go for economic reasons, but in 1711, he was offered the job again and, in 1713, became responsible for the musical activity of the institute.

Vivaldi was promoted to maestro de' concerti in 1716. It was during these years that Vivaldi wrote much of his music, including many operas and concertos. In 1718, Vivaldi began to travel. Despite his frequent travels, the Pietà paid him to write two concertos a month for the orchestra and to rehearse with them at least four times when in Venice. The Pietà's records show that he was paid for 140 concertos between 1723 and 1729.

Most of his repertoire was rediscovered only in the first half of the 20th century in Turin and Genoa and was published in the second half. Vivaldi's music is innovative, breaking a consolidated tradition in schemes; he gave brightness to the formal and the rhythmic structure of the concerto, repeatedly looking for harmonic contrasts, and invented innovative melodies and themes. Moreover, Vivaldi was able to compose non-academic music, particularly meant to be appreciated by the wide public and not only by an intellectual minority. The joyful appearance of his music reveals in this regard a transmissible joy of composing. These are among the causes of the vast popularity of his music. This popularity soon made him famous also in countries like France which was, at the time, very independent in its musical taste.

Vivaldi is considered one of the composers who brought Baroque Music (with its typical contrast among heavy sonorities) to evolve into a classical style. Johann Sebastian Bach was deeply influenced by Vivaldi's concertos and arias (recalled in his Passions and cantatas). Bach transcribed a number of Vivaldi's concertos for solo keyboard, along with a number for orchestra, including the famous Concerto for Four Violins and Violoncello, Strings and Continuo (RV 580). However, not all musicians have shown the same enthusiasm: Igor Stravinsky provocatively said that Vivaldi had not written hundreds of concertos but one concerto hundreds of times. Despite his priestly status, he is supposed to have had possible love affairs, one of which was with the singer Anna Giraud, with whom he was suspected of reusing materials from old Venetian operas, which he only slightly adapted to the vocal capabilities of his protegée. This business caused him some troubles with other musicians, like Benedetto Marcello, who wrote a pamphlet against him. There is no concrete evidence, however, that links Vivaldi romantically to anyone.

Vivaldi's life, like those of many composers of the time, ended in poverty. His compositions no longer held the high esteem they once did in Venice; changing musical tastes quickly made them outmoded, and Vivaldi, in response, chose to sell off sizeable numbers of his manuscripts at paltry prices to finance a migration to Vienna. Reasons for Vivaldi's departure from Venice are unclear, but it seems likely that he wished to meet Charles VI, who adored his compositions (Vivaldi dedicated La Cetra to Charles in 1727), and take up the position of royal composer in his Imperial Court. But shortly after Vivaldi's arrival at Vienna, Charles died. This tragic stroke of bad luck left the composer without royal protection and a source of income. Vivaldi had to sell off more manuscripts to make ends meet, and eventually died not long after, in 1741. He was given an unmarked pauper's grave (the assumption that the young Joseph Haydn sang in the choir at Vivaldi's burial was based on the mistranscription of a primary source and has been proven wrong). Equally unfortunate, his music was to fall into obscurity until the 20th century. His burial spot is next to the Karlskirche in Vienna, at the site of the Technical Institute. The house he lived in while in Vienna was torn down. In its place now stands the Hotel Sacher. Memorial plaques have been placed at both locations, as well as a Vivaldi "star" in the Viennese Musikmeile and a monument at the Rooseveltsplatz.

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Posthumous reputation

Vivaldi remained unknown for his published concerti, and largely ignored, even after the resurgence of interest in Bach, pioneered by Mendelssohn. The resurrection of Vivaldi's unpublished works in the 20th century is mostly thanks to the efforts of Alfredo Casella, who in 1939, organised the now historic Vivaldi Week, in which the rediscovered Gloria in excelsis (RV 589) was first heard again. Discoveries continue to be made: a setting of Nisi Dominus (RV 803) was discovered as recently as 2003, in a German library among manuscripts of Galuppi; it was recorded in 2005. Following World war II Vivaldi's compositions have enjoyed almost universal success, and the advent of historically informed performances has all but catapulted him to stardom once again. In 1947, the Venetian businessman Antonio Fanna founded the Istituto Italiano Antonio Vivaldi, with the composer Gian Francesco Malipiero as its artistic director, with the purpose of promoting Vivaldi's music and putting out new editions of his works.

Three films about Antonio Vivaldi are in production as of 2005. One of them, with the working title Vivaldi, will be directed by Catherine Hardwicke for Emagine Entertainment, while the second could have Ashley MacIsaac in the title role. A third, made by French/Italian producers with Stefano Dionisi as Vivaldi and Michel Serrault in the main roles, is scheduled to be completed in 2005.

Vivaldi's music, together with Mozart's, Tchaikovsky's and Corelli's, has been included in the theories of Alfred Tomatis on the effects of music on human behaviour, and used in music therapy.

The 11-movement "Dixit Dominus" for choir and soloists, uncovered in the German city of Dresden in early 2005, will be played there in full in 2006.

He was a prolific composer and is most well-known for composing:

  • over 500 Concertos. Approximately 350 of these are for solo instrument and strings, and of these about 230 are for violin; the others are for bassoon, cello, oboe, flute, viola d'amore, recorder, and mandolin. Approximately 40 concertos are for two instruments and strings, and approximately 30 for three or more instruments and strings.
  • 46 operas,
  • sinfonias,
  • 73 sonatas,
  • chamber music (even if some sonatas for flute, as Il Pastor Fido, have been erroneously attributed to him, but were composed by Chédeville) and
  • sacred music ("oratorio" Juditha Triumphans, written for Pietà, two Glorias, the Stabat Mater, the Nisi Dominus, the Beatus Vir, the Magnificat, the Dixit Dominus and others);
  • his most famous work is perhaps 1723's Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons). In essence, it resembled an early example of a tone poem, where he attempted to capture all the moods of the four seasons without the use of percussion to dramatize the effects he sought to portray.
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Major works

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Published works in his lifetime

  • Opus 1, 12 Sonatas for 2 violins and basso continuo (1705)
  • Opus 2, 12 Sonatas for violin and basso continuo (1709)
  • Opus 3, L'estro armonico (Harmonic inspiration), 12 concertos for various combinations. Best known concerti are No. 6 in A minor for violin, No. 8 in A minor for two violins, and No. 10 in B minor for 4 violins (1711)
  • Opus 4, La stravaganza (The extraordinary), 12 violin concertos (c. 1714)
  • Opus 5, (2nd part of Opus 2), 4 sonatas for violin and 2 sonatas for 2 violins and basso continuo (1716)
  • Opus 6, 6 violin concertos (1716-21)
  • Opus 7, 2 oboe concertos and 10 violin concertos (1716-21)
  • Opus 8, Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione (The Contest between Harmony and Invention), 12 violin concertos including the celebrated work, Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons), consisting of the first four concertos in opus 8 (1723)
  • Opus 9, La cetra (The lyre), 12 violin concertos and 1 for 2 violins (1727)
  • Opus 10, 6 flute concertos (c. 1728)
  • Opus 11, 5 violin concertos, 1 oboe concerto, the second in E minor, RV 277, being known as "Il favorito" (1729)
  • Opus 12, 5 violin concertos and 1 without solo (1729)
  • Opus 13, Il pastor fido (The Faithful Sheperd), 6 sonatas for musette, viela, recorder, flute, oboe or violin, and basso continuo (1737, spurious works by Nicolas Chédeville).
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Operas

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Concertos

Vivaldi wrote hundreds of concerti for various instruments. Concertos not published in his lifetime include:

Mandolin:

  • Concerto in D major, RV 93
  • Concerto for Mandoline in C major, RV 425
  • Concerto for two Mandolins in G major, RV 532

Recorder:

  • Concerto in D major, RV 95, "La pastorella"
  • Concerto in C minor for Treble Recorder, RV 441
  • Concerto in F major for Treble Recorder, RV 442
  • Concerto in C major for Sopranino Recorder, RV 443
  • Concerto in C major for Sopranino Recorder, RV 444
  • Concerto in A minor for Sopranino Recorder, RV 445

Trumpet:

  • Concerto for Two Trumpets in C Major
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Sacred Works

  • Kyrie a 8, RV 587
  • Gloria, RV 588
  • Gloria, RV 588, RV 589
  • Credo, RV 591
  • Credo, RV 592
  • Domine ad adiuvandum me, RV 593
  • Beatus vir, RV 597
  • Credidi propter quod, RV 605
  • Laetatus sum, RV 607
  • Magnificat, RV 610
  • Stabat Mater, RV 621
  • Introduzione al Gloria, RV 639
  • Oratorio Juditha triumphans, RV 644
  • Nisi Dominus, RV 803
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Media

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Selected historically informed performance ensembles specialising in Vivaldi

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See also

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References and further reading

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External links

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