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

By Aaron Green, About.com

3 of 5

Vivaldi's Four Seasons: Summer - Sonnet Text

(Monet)

  1. In the harsh season scorched by the sun, man and flock languish, and the pine is on fire; the cuckoo begins to call and soon after, the turtledove and the goldfinch are heard singing. Zephyr [the west wind] gently blows, but Boreas [the north wind] suddenly enters into a contest with its neighbor, and the little shepherd weeps for he hears the awesome threatening storm and his fate.
  2. To his tired limbs rest is denied by the fear of lightning, awesome thunder, and the furious swarm of flies and hornets!
  3. Alas, his fears are justified. The sky is filled with thunder and lightning and hail cuts down the proud grain.

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  5. Vivaldi's Four Seasons: Concerto No.2 in g minor, RV 315, "SUMMER"

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