Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons: Notes, Historical Information, and Sonnets

By Aaron Green, About.com Guide

Vivaldi's Four Seasons is unmistakably Antonio Vivaldi's most famous work. Obviously, out of 500 composed concertos, one of them is bound to be a hit. You've heard many movements of Vivaldi's Four Seasons in movies like Tin Cup, Spy Game, A View to Kill, What Lies Beneath, White Chicks, Saved!, Pacific Heights, The Other Sister... the list keeps going, but I think I've proved my point. Perhaps you've attended a wedding where Vivaldi's Four Season's was played? In most cases, you have. If you stop and listen, chances are it's playing somewhere.

Notes and Historical Information

Vivaldi's Four Seasons was published in 1725, in a set of twelve concerto's entitled Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione (The Test of Harmony and Invention). Each concerto is in the distinct form of fast-slow-fast movements. Vivaldi's Four Seasons especially appealed to the French. King Louis XV took a liking to 'Spring' and ordered it to be performed at the most unexpected moments.

Vivaldi's Four Seasons are among the boldest program music of the baroque period. Antonio Vivaldi wrote the individual Sonnets to go along with each movement of the Four Seasons. What's amazing is how accurately Vivaldi musically portrays each Sonnet without losing the overall quality and balance of the work. I strongly recommend listening to each movement of the Four Seasons while reading the corresponding Sonnets. It's truly unique experience.

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• Vivaldi's Four Seasons: Notes and Historical Information
• Vivaldi's Four Seasons: Spring - Sonnet Text
• Vivaldi's Four Seasons: Summer - Sonnet Text
• Vivaldi's Four Seasons: Autumn - Sonnet Text
• Vivaldi's Four Seasons: Winter - Sonnet Text

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