Antonio Vivaldi (from Vivaldi)
Antonio Vivaldi (March 4, 1678, Venice - July 28, 1741, Vienna), nicknamed Il Prete Rosso, was an Italian priest and music composer.
His father, a barber and a talented violinist himself (some have said he was a virtuoso), had helped him in trying a career in music and made him enter the Cappella di San Marco orchestra, where he was an appreciated violinist.
In 1703 Vivaldi became a priest, soon nicknamed Il Prete Rosso, "The Red Priest", probably because of his red hair. In 1704 he was given a dispensation from celebrating the Holy Mass because of his ill-health (he suffered from asthma), and became a violin teacher at an orphanage for girls called Ospedale della Pietà in Venice. The orphans little after started to gain appreciation and esteem, abroad too; Vivaldi wrote for them most of his concertos, cantate 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, with the only interruption for his many travels, and in 1713 became responsible for the musical activity of the institute. He was indeed a prolific composer and is most well-known for composing:
over 500 concertos (210 of which for violin or violoncello solo), 46 Operas, sinfonias, 73 sonatas, chamber music (even if some sonatas for flute, as Il Pastor Fido have been erronously attributed to him, but were composed by Cedeville) and sacred music ("oratorio" Juditha Triumphans, written for Pietà, two Gloria, the Stabat Mater, the Nisi Dominus, the Beatus Vir, the Magnificat, the Dixit Dominus and others); his most famous work is perhaps Le Quattro Stagioni (the Four Seasons). Not so well known is the fact that most of his repertoire was re-discovered only in the first half of 20th century in Turin and Genoa, but was published in the second half. Vivaldi's music is particularly 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 quite frankly was able to compose a 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, at the time very closed into its national schemes. He is considered one of the authors that brought Baroque music (with its typical contrast among heavy sonorities) to evolve into an impressionist style. Vivaldi has been also indicated as a precursor of romantic musicians. Johann Sebastian Bach was deeply influenced by Vivaldi's concerto and Aria (recalled in his Passions and cantate). However, not all the musicians showed the same enthusiasm: Igor Stravinskij provocatorily said that Vivaldi had not written hundreds of concertos, but one concerto, repeated hundreds of times. Despite his sacerdotal status, he is supposed having had many love affairs, one of which with the singer Anna Giraud, with whom he was suspected of a not cleared activity of commerce in old Venetian operas that he only slightly adapted to the vocal capabilities of his mistress; this business caused him some troubles with other musicians, like Benedetto Marcello who wrote a pamphlet against him.
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.
Selected works
The Four Seasons - Le Quattro Stagioni
Gloria
Concerto in A minor
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi Piano Sheet Music
Antonio Vivaldi: Four Seasons - Piano Solo
Composed by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), arranged by R. Fred Kern. For piano. Format: piano solo single. Baroque. 10 pages. 9x12 inches. Published by Warner Brothers. | ||
Antonio Vivaldi: 6 Sonatas For Cello And Piano
Composed by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), edited by Nikolai Graudan. For cello and piano. Schirmer's Library, volume 1794. Format: set of performance parts (includes separate pull-out cello part). With solo part, piano accompaniment and performance notes. Baroque. 73 pages. 9x12 inches. Published by Schirmer. | ||
Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
Composed by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). For violin solo, violin I, violin II, viola and basso continuo. Urtext. Format: study score. With introductory text. Baroque. 95 pages. 6.5x9 inches. Duration 46m. Published by Baerenreiter-Taschenpartituren (German import). Average customer rating: | ||
Antonio Vivaldi: Gloria (RV 589)
Composed by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), edited by William Herrman. RV 589. For SATB choir, 2 soprano solo voices, alto solo voice and piano accompaniment. Format: conductor's score. With vocal score, piano reduction, introductory text and lyrics. Baroque. Text language Latin and English. 73 pages. 6.7x10.5 inches. Published by G. Schirmer, Inc. | ||
Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons - Guitar
Composed by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), arranged by Alexander Gluklikh. For guitar. Format: guitar tablature single. With guitar tablature, standard notation and performance notes. Baroque. 9 pages. 9x12 inches. Published by Warner Brothers. Composed by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), arranged by Alexander Gluklikh. For guitar. Format: guitar tablature single. With guitar tablature, standard notation and performance notes. Baroque. 9 pages. 9x12 inches. Published by Warner Brothers. (WB.4883FGTX
) Average customer rating: | ||
Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto In D Major
Composed by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), arranged by Mario Abril. For classic guitar solo, string ensemble (Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Violoncello, Contrabass, Cembalo or Harp, Continuo Harp (optional)) and basso continuo. Includes full score and performance part (guitar). With standard guitar notation and full score notation. Classical Period. D Major. 23 pages. Published by Belwin Mills. Average customer rating: | ||
Antonio Vivaldi: Spring (from Four Seasons, Op. 8)
(for Violin and Piano) Composed by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), arranged by Rok Klopcic. Op. 8. For violin solo and piano accompaniment. Format: violin solo single. With solo part, standard notation, fingerings, piano accompaniment and introductory text. Baroque. E Major. 16 pages. 9x12 inches. Published by G. Schirmer, Inc. Average customer rating: | ||
Themes for Organ
The Four Seasons - Water Music - Music for the Royal Fireworks. By Antonio Vivaldi and George Frideric Handel. For Organ. solos. Kevin Mayhew Ltd. Classic. Level: Beginning-Intermediate. Book. Size 9x12. 48 pages. Published by Kevin Mayhew Ltd. | ||
Concerto in G minor, RV 531 (GHEDINI-STARKER)
By Vivaldi, Antonio (1680-1743). Two cellos and piano. Published by International Music Co. Average customer rating: | ||
Antonio Vivaldi: Violin Concerto
Composed by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), edited by Ferdinand Kuechler. Opus 3, No. 6. For violin and piano. Format: set of performance parts (includes separate pull-out violin part). With solo part and piano reduction. Baroque. A Minor. 19 pages. 9x12 inches. Published by C.F. Peters. | ||
<<Previous biography: Verdi | Next biography: Wagner>> |