Baroque sophistication. Antonio Vivaldi

The unique style of Vivaldi revolutionized the European musical world at the beginning of the 18th century. The work of Vivaldi is the quintessence of all the best that has been achieved italian art by the beginning of the 18th century. This brilliant Italian made the whole of Europe talk about "great Italian music."

Even during his lifetime, he received recognition in Europe as a composer and virtuoso violinist, who approved a new, dramatized, so-called "Lombard" style of performance. He is known as a composer who is able to create a three-act opera in five days and compose many variations on one theme. He is the author of 40 operas, oratorios, more than 500 concerts. The work of Vivaldi had a huge impact not only on his contemporary Italian composers, but also to musicians of other nationalities, primarily German. Here it is especially interesting to trace the influence of Vivaldi's music on J.S. Bach.

Vivaldi wrote music in the Baroque style. The word "Baroque" translated from Italian sounds weird, weird. The Baroque era has its own time limits - this is the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century (1600-1750). The Baroque style influenced not only the fashion of that time, it dominated all art: architecture, painting and, of course, music. Baroque art has a passionate character: splendor, brightness, emotionality.
Vivaldi entered the history of music as the creator of the instrumental concerto genre. It was Vivaldi who gave it the traditional three-part form. Of the three concertos, he also created a work of a larger form, reminiscent of a modern symphony. One of the first works of this kind was his essay The Four Seasons, written around 1725. Truly innovative in concept, the cycle “The Seasons” was significantly ahead of its time, anticipating the search for romantic composers in the field of program music. 19th century.

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Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice on March 4, 1678. His father Giovanni Battista (nicknamed "Redhead" for his fiery hair color), son of a baker from Bresci, moved to Venice around 1670. There for some time he worked as a baker, and then mastered the profession of a barber. In his spare time from earning his daily bread, Giovanni Battista played the violin. And he turned out to be such a gifted musician that in 1685 the illustrious Giovanni Legrenzi, conductor of the Cathedral of St. Mark, took him to serve in his orchestra.

Vivaldi's house in Venice

The first and most famous of the six children of Giovanni Battista Vivaldi and Camilla Calicchio, Antonio Lucio, was born prematurely 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.

From birth, Antonio had a serious illness - a constricted chest, he was tormented by asthma all his life, suffered from asthma attacks, could not climb stairs and walk. But physical handicap could not affect inner world boy: his imagination truly knew no barriers, his life was no less bright and colorful than others, he just lived in music.

When the future great composer was 15 years old, he was shaved off tonsure (a symbol of the crown of thorns), and on March 23, 1703, twenty-five-year-old Antonio Vivaldi took holy orders. However, he did not feel a sincere desire to be a priest. Once, during a solemn mass, the “red-haired priest” could not wait for the end of the service and left the altar to capture on paper in the sacristy what came to his mind interesting idea about the new fugue. Then, as if nothing had happened, Vivaldi returned to the "workplace". It ended with the fact that he was forbidden to serve the mass, which the young Vivaldi, perhaps, was only happy about.

From his father, Antonio inherited not only the color of his hair (rather rare among Italians), but also a serious love for music, especially for playing the violin. Giovanni Battista himself gave his son the first lessons and brought him to his place in the orchestra of the Cathedral of St. Brand. Antonio studied composition, learned to play the harpsichord and the flute.

Among the many palaces and churches that adorned Venice, there was a modest cloister - the Ospedale della Pieta girls' shelter (literally - "compassion hospital"), where in September 1703 Vivaldi began to teach music. All music lovers in Europe considered it an honor to go there and hear the famous orchestra, consisting entirely of orphans. This "musical miracle" was led by Abbot Antonio Vivaldi, who was called Pretro Rosso - the Red Monk, the Red Priest. The nickname betrayed a cheerful disposition and fiery temperament. And all this despite the fact that Maestro Vivaldi was seriously ill all his life and choked when walking.

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 writings of the "red-haired priest" gained extraordinary popularity. In just a few years, Antonio Vivaldi became the most famous violin composer in Europe. Subsequently, Vivaldi's creations were printed in London and Paris - the then publishing centers of Europe.

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi

At the beginning of 1718 he received an invitation to serve as a conductor at the court in Mantua. Here the composer stayed until 1720. And here, in Mantua, Vivaldi met the singer Anna Giraud, the owner of a beautiful contralto. At first she was his student, then - the main performer in his operas and, finally, to everyone's indignation, became his mistress.

Mantova

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.

In 1740, Vivaldi finally abandoned work at the Ospedal della Pieta and went to Vienna, to the court of Emperor Charles VI, his longtime and powerful admirer. But the bright plans of the great composer 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. Public preferences changed, and baroque music quickly found itself on the fringes of fashion.

The sixty-three-year-old musician, who had never been distinguished by good health, could not recover from these blows of fate and fell ill with an unknown disease.

Vivaldi died on July 28, 1741 in Vienna from "internal inflammation" (as it was recorded in the funeral protocol), in the arms of his student and friend Anna Giraud. The funeral was modest: only a few strokes of the bell sounded, and the procession consisted only of people hired to carry the coffin.

After his death, the musical heritage of Antonio Vivaldi was forgotten for almost 200 years. Only in the twenties of the twentieth century, an Italian musicologist accidentally discovered a collection of Vivaldi's manuscripts. It contained 19 operas and more than 300 instrumental compositions, as well as a large number of vocal and sacred music. Since that time, the revival of the former glory of this once widely famous composer.

One of the largest representatives of the Baroque era A. Vivaldi went down in history musical culture as the creator of the genre of instrumental concerto, the founder of orchestral program music.

Vivaldi was from Venice, where from his youth he became famous as a magnificent virtuoso violinist. He was a little over 20 years old when he was invited to the best of the Venetian conservatories. Vivaldi worked here for over 30 years, leading the choir and orchestra. According to contemporaries, the Vivaldi orchestra was not inferior to the French court orchestra of Lully. The famous Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni wrote in his memoirs that Vivaldi was better known by the nickname "Red Priest" than by his own. The composer, indeed, took the rank of abbot, but there was little in him from the clergyman. Very sociable, carried away, during the service he could leave the altar to record the melody that came to his mind. The number of works written by Vivaldi is enormous: he composed with truly Mozartian ease and speed in all genres known to his era. But Vivaldi was especially willing to compose concertos, he has an incredible number of them - 43 grossos and 447 solos for a variety of instruments.

Vivaldi can be considered one of the founders of program symphonism. Many of his concerts have program titles that explain the content of the music. A prime example can serve as a cycle of four concertos for violin, string quintet and organ (or cembalo) "The Seasons". In modern performing practice, they are combined into the cycle “Le quattro stagioni” - “The Four Seasons” (there is no such title in the original):

Concert E-dur "Spring" (La primavera)

Concert g-moll "Summer" (L'estate)

Concert F-dur "Autumn" (L'autunno)

Concert f-moll "Winter" (L'inverno)

Concert programming. Each of the concerts has a detailed literary program set out in 4 sonnets: "Spring", "Summer", "Autumn", "Winter". Perhaps their author was Vivaldi himself (the exact authorship has not been established). In addition to sonnets, separate musical episodes of the Four Seasons cycle are preceded by explanatory remarks commenting on the content of the music. So, for example, in the first part of "Winter", where the composer reaches the heights of artistic depiction, remarks explain that here is depicted how teeth chatter from the cold, how they stamp their feet to keep warm.

There is a lot of genre in the concerts, bright sound-depicting details. Here there are not only peals of thunder and gusts of wind, but also the barking of dogs, the buzzing of flies, the roar of a wounded beast, and even the image of tipsy villagers with their unsteady gait. From the very first part of "Spring" the music is filled with the "joyful singing" of birds, the cheerful murmur of the brook, the gentle wind of the marshmallow, which is replaced by a thunderous squall. "Summer" vividly depicts assertive "peals of thunder". "Autumn" conveys the mood of folk festivals, festivities. In "Winter", the ostinato "beat" of the eighths masterfully conveys the feeling of a piercing winter cold.

Concert structure. In each of the concertos of the "Seasons" cycle, the slow parts are written in a parallel (in relation to the main) key. Their music stands out for its calm picturesqueness after the dynamic Allegri.

Theme "Seasons" in music. The theme of the seasons has always been popular in art. This is explained by several factors. Firstly, it made it possible, by means of this particular art, to capture the events and deeds most characteristic of a particular season. If we take into account that all 4 concerts are three-part, then a parallel with the 12 months of the year is not excluded. Secondly, she was always endowed with a certain philosophical sense: the change of seasons was considered in the aspect of the change of periods of human life, and in this aspect, spring, that is, the awakening of natural forces, personified the beginning and symbolized youth, and winter - the end of the path - old age. An allusion to the four regions of Italy, corresponding to the four cardinal points, is also possible.

The history of music knows four famous interpretations of the theme of the seasons. These works are called "The Seasons". These are a cycle of concerts by Vivaldi, an oratorio by Haydn (1801), a cycle of piano pieces by P. I. Tchaikovsky (1876), a ballet by A. K. Glazunov (1899).

Concert "Spring".

Spring is coming! And joyful song
Full of nature. Sun and warmth
Streams murmur. And holiday news
Zephyr spreads, Like magic.

Suddenly velvet clouds roll in
Like a blasphemy, heavenly thunder sounds.
But the mighty whirlwind quickly dries up,
And twitter again floats in the blue space.

The breath of flowers, the rustle of herbs,
The nature of dreams is full.
The shepherd is sleeping, tired for the day,
And the dog barks a little audibly.

Shepherd's bagpipe sound
Buzzing over the meadows,
And the nymphs dancing the magic circle
Spring is colored with marvelous rays.

The first part of this concerto illustrates the first two quatrains, the second part - the third quatrain, and the final - the last.

First part of the concert opens with an unusually joyful motif, illustrating the jubilation caused by the arrival of spring - "Spring is coming!"; the whole orchestra plays (tutti). This motive (each time performed by the entire orchestra and the soloist), in addition to framing this part, sounds several more times in the course of the part, being a kind of refrain, which gives the whole piece a rondo-like shape. Followed by episodes illustrating the following lines of the sonnet. In these cases, three soloists play - the main one (I remind you that all the concertos of this cycle are written for the solo violin with the orchestra) and the accompanists of the first and second violin groups; all other participants are silent.

The first episode depicts here" Birdsong". The refrain returns. The second episode (after the refrain) illustrates the words of the sonnet about running streams. And again the refrain. Third episode - Thunder("The sky is covered with blackness, spring announces itself with lightning and thunder"). Thunderstorm is replaced by refrain music. In the fourth episode - birds are singing("Then he (thunder) died down, and the birds began their beautiful singing again"). This is by no means a repetition of the first episode - here is another bird song.

The second part ("Dream of the peasant"). An example of Vivaldi's amazing wit. Above the accompaniment of the first and second violins and violas (basses, that is, cellos and double basses, and, consequently, the harpsichord and the organ that duplicate them do not play here), the melody of the solo violin soars. She illustrates sweet Dreams peasant. Pianissimo sempre (Italian - "very quiet all the time") in a soft dotted rhythm, all the violins of the orchestra play, drawing the rustle of leaves. Altam, Vivaldi instructed to portray the barking (or yapping) of a dog guarding the owner's sleep.

Third movement ("Pastoral Dance"). Here reigns a full of energy and cheerfulness mood. It's amazing how Vivaldi in a small sound space manages to convey so many shades of joy, up to a kind of sad joy (in a minor episode)!

Concert "Summer".

The herd wanders lazily in the fields.
From the heavy, suffocating heat
Everything in nature suffers, dries up,
All living things are thirsty.

Suddenly a passionate and powerful
Borey, exploding silence peace.
It's dark around, there are clouds of evil midges.
And the shepherd cries, overtaken by a thunderstorm.

From fear, poor, freezes:
Lightning strikes, thunder roars,
And pulls out ripe ears
The storm is mercilessly all around.

First part. It was necessary to have the talent and imagination of Vivaldi in order to reflect in the first, that is, the fast part, the mood and state of laziness and languor, which are mentioned in the first two quatrains, which are the program of this part. And Vivaldi does it brilliantly. " Heat Exhaustion"- this is the composer's first remark. There are many breaks, "sighs", stops in the musical fabric. Next we hear the voices of birds - first cuckoo, then a goldfinch. First a gust of cold north wind represent all the violins of the orchestra (including the soloist), while the violas and basses, according to the notes in the score, have "sharp gusts of wind" and simply "different winds". the music that started the concert). But this also passes: only one solo violin and bass remain. The violin has intonations of complaint: this "shepherd's complaint", explains his intention to Vivaldi. And the wind blows again.

Second part wonderfully built on the sharp contrast of the melody, personifying the shepherdess, his fear of the elements of nature, and the menacing thunder of the approaching thunderstorm. This is perhaps the most impressive example of dynamic contrast in the music of the pre-Beethoven period - an example that can safely be called symphonic. Vivaldi's remarks alternate: Adagio e piano (Italian - "slow and quiet") and Presto e forte (Italian - "fast and loud").

The third part is Storm. Streams of water rush in different directions, represented by scale passages and arpeggios (chords played very quickly one after another, and not simultaneously), rushing up and down. The integrity of the whole concerto is given by some features of the composition, which are revealed only by attentive listening to the musical fabric of the whole work: for example, in the middle, when fast passages are entrusted to violas and basses, the violins perform a rhythmic and melodic figure akin to the episode with "different winds" from the first movement .

Concert "Autumn"

Noisy peasant harvest festival.
Fun, laughter, fervent songs ringing!
And Bacchus juice, igniting the blood,
All the weak knocks down, bestowing a sweet dream.

And the rest want to continue
But singing and dancing is already unbearable.
And, completing the joy of pleasure,
The night plunges everyone into the deepest sleep.

And in the morning at dawn they jump to the forest
Hunters, and huntsmen with them.
And, having found a trace, they lower the pack of hounds,
Gamblingly they drive the beast, blowing the horn.

Frightened by the terrible noise,
Wounded, weakening fugitive
Runs stubbornly from the tormenting dogs,
But more often than not, it dies.

First part. "Dance and Song of the Peasants"- explains author's note at the beginning of the part. Cheerful mood is conveyed by the rhythm, by the way, reminiscent of the rhythm of the first part of "Spring". The brightness of the images is given by the use of the echo effect, so beloved not only by Vivaldi, but by all baroque composers. This is played by the whole orchestra and the soloist along with it. New section of the first part - genre scene "Tips"(or "drunk"). The soloist in the passages flowing at the violin "spills" the wine; melodies in the orchestral parts, with their unsteady gait, depict drunken villagers. Their "speech" becomes intermittent and slurred. In the end, everyone falls asleep (the violin freezes on one a sound that stretches for five measures!). The first part ends with what it began with - the jubilant music of a merry festival.

Second part. A small part, only two pages of the score, draws with sounds the state of deep sleep and quiet southern night. The way the string instruments perform their parts gives a special flavor to the sound: Vivaldi instructs the musicians to play with mutes. Everything sounds very mysterious and ghostly. When performing this part, the harpsichordist has a special responsibility: his part is not written out by the composer in full, and it is assumed that the harpsichordist improvises it.

The third part("Hunting"). The musical and poetic genre caccia (Italian - caccia, "hunt") was cultivated in Italy as early as the 14th-15th centuries. In vocal pitches, the text described scenes of hunting and pursuit, while the music depicted jumps, chases, and the sound of hunting horns. These elements are also found in this part of the concerto. In the middle of the hunt, the music depicts "a shot and the barking of dogs" - this is how Vivaldi himself explains this episode.

Concert "Winter"

Trembling, freezing, in the cold snow,
And the north wind wave rolled.
From the cold you knock your teeth on the run,
You kick your feet, you can't keep warm

How sweet in comfort, warmth and silence
From the evil weather to hide in the winter.
Fireplace fire, half-asleep mirages.
And the frozen souls are full of peace.

In the winter expanse, the people rejoice.
Fell, slipped, and rolls again.
And it's joyful to hear how the ice is cut
Under a sharp ridge that is bound with iron.

And in the sky Sirocco and Boreas agreed,
There is a fight going on between them.
Although the cold and blizzard have not yet given up,
Gives us winter and its pleasures.

First part. There is a really cold atmosphere here. Remarques explain that it depicts how teeth chatter from the cold, stamping their feet, howling fierce wind and running to keep warm. For the violinist, the greatest technical difficulties are concentrated in this part. Masterfully played, it sweeps as if in one breath.

Second part. And then there are the joys of winter. Complete unity of the soloist and the accompanying orchestra. A wonderful aria is flowing in the style of bel canto. This part is unusually popular as an independent, completely finished work.

The third part. Again a genre scene: ice skating. And who in Italy knows or knew how in the days of Vivaldi, when there was no artificial ice, to skate? Of course, no one. Here Vivaldi depicts - in funny "tumbling" passages of the violin - how you can "slip and fall easily" or how "ice breaks" (if you literally translate the content of the sonnet). But then a warm south wind (sirocco) blew - a harbinger of spring. And between him and the Boreas, a confrontation unfolds - a stormy dramatic scene. This is the end - almost symphonic - of "Winter" and the entire cycle of "Seasons".

On March 4, 1678, Antonio Vivaldi was born - a composer without whose music no violinist could learn. Among his many concerts, there are those that are within the power of students of music schools - while others will do honor to recognized virtuosos. The creative heritage of Antonio Vivaldi is striking in its scale - he wrote 90 operas alone, but his other creations are much more famous - 49 works in the concerto grosso genre, 100 sonatas, cantatas, oratorios, spiritual works, and the number of concerts for one solo instrument with an orchestra - violins, flutes, cellos, bassoons, oboe - more than three hundred.

Antonio Vivaldi was a pioneer in many ways. He became one of the first who gave a “start in life” to the horn, bassoon and oboe, using these instruments as independent instruments, not duplicating them. Along with Arcangelo Corelli, he became the founder of the solo instrumental concerto.

Not much is known about his childhood. His homeland is Venice, he was the eldest among the six children of a violinist who served in the Cathedral of St. Mark (and before that combined amateur music-making with the work of a barber) - and the only one who followed in his father's footsteps as a musician (other sons inherited their father's first profession). The boy was not born prematurely and weak - so much so that he was urgently baptized, fearing that he would not survive. Antonio survived, but his health was never strong. The symptoms of his illness were described as "chest tightness" - apparently, it was about asthma, and for this reason Vivaldi could not play wind instruments, but he perfectly mastered the violin and harpsichord.

At the age of fifteen, Antonio became a monk, but health problems prevented him from living in a monastery. After ten years, he takes the holy orders. Contemporaries called the musician a "red priest", which was quite true - combining a musical career with a spiritual career was the norm in those days. Another thing was considered reprehensible - the habit of the holy father to leave the temple during worship. The holy father himself explained this by a state of health - but it was clear to many that he was simply leaving in order to record the melodies that came to mind. However, relations with the church leadership are heating up more and more, and in the end, Vivaldi, under the pretext of poor health, seeks release from the obligation to participate in worship.

At the age of twenty-five, the young priest and violin virtuoso has other duties - he becomes a "violin master" in the women's orphanage "Pio Ospedale delia Pieta". He is in charge of the acquisition of instruments, ensures the safety of the existing ones, and most importantly, teaches pupils to play the violin and viola. At the same time he creates a lot of music. Through the efforts of Vivaldi, divine services in the church at the shelter turn into real concerts, the inhabitants of Venice come there to listen to beautiful music.

But Vivaldi's work is not limited to liturgical music. He creates many secular works: sonatas for violin and harpsichord, trio sonatas, collections of concertos Extravagance and Harmonic Inspiration. Vivaldi also performs as a virtuoso violinist. In this capacity, he was so famous that his name was included in the Guide to Venice. There were a lot of travelers visiting Venice, which allowed Vivaldi's fame to spread far beyond its borders. The concerts were especially popular. made organ and clavier transcriptions of some of them.

But although today the name of Vivaldi is associated with an instrumental concerto, the beginning of his composing activity was associated with opera. His first creation in this genre was "Otto in the Villa" - a typical opera series: a plot from ancient roman history, intricate intrigue, the participation of castrati. The opera was a success, followed by others. However, in this area, Vivaldi was never able to achieve such success as, for example, Alessandro Scarlatti. He was much more successful in the concert genre. One of his most famous works - "The Experience of Harmony and Invention" - appears in 1725. More precisely, four concertos included in this collection, entitled "Spring", "Summer", "Autumn" and "Winter" gained special fame - subsequently they began to be performed as a cycle under the title "Seasons", although the author did not have such a name. These concerts became one of the first examples of a program symphonic work.

In the 1730s the composer travels a lot. This passion for travel was the reason for his dismissal from Pio Ospedale delia Pieta. On his last journey - to Vienna - the composer went in 1740, where he died.

During his life, Vivaldi knew a lot: the threat of death in infancy - and a long life, ups and downs, the delights of the public - and lonely old age by everyone forgotten person. But it is unlikely that his creations will ever be forgotten. The name of Antonio Vivaldi is immortalized even in space - one of the craters on Mercury is named after him.

Music Seasons

Exquisite luxury, splendor and whimsical aesthetics of the Baroque era are fully embodied in the work of the famous Venetian Antonio Vivaldi. He is called the “Italian Bach”, and for good reason: over 63 years of his life, the musician wrote about 800 works, including operas, choral works, more than 500 concerts for various tools and the orchestra. A talented innovative composer, virtuoso violinist, brilliant conductor and teacher, he left behind not only a rich creative heritage, but also so many mysteries that many of them have not yet been solved. Even the exact place of his rest is unknown to his descendants. But the extraordinary music of Vivaldi, over whose magnetism time has no power, has been preserved in its original form and today occupies place of honor among the greatest treasures of the world musical art.

Brief biography of Antonio Vivaldi and many interesting facts read about the composer on our page.

Brief biography of Vivaldi

In 1678, in Venice, the son of Antonio was born in the family of the barber Giovanni Battista Vivaldi. IN late XVII century, Venice was the recognized capital of entertainment, a city-festival, where all life passed to the sounds of music, and the house of the future composer was no exception in this sense. The head of the Vivaldi family was so skillful in playing the violin that he was invited to perform as part of the orchestra of St. Mark's Cathedral.

Antonio suffered from a physical ailment from birth - a form of asthma. But of all the six children of Vivaldi, he was most like his father - not only with fiery red hair, rare for the inhabitants of Venice, but most importantly - the ability to hear and feel music. The musical talent of Antonio Vivaldi made itself felt with early childhood. He quickly mastered the game violin and at the age of 10 often performed in the cathedral orchestra instead of his father. And at the age of 13, the boy first tried to compose his own music.

The biography of Vivaldi says that at the age of 15, Antonio's life took a sharp turn - at the insistence of his parents, he chose a career as a clergyman and devoted the next 10 years of his life to the study of church sciences. At the same time, he did not give up music lessons, and by 1703 he not only received the priesthood, but also became famous as a virtuoso violinist. For the color of his hair, he was nicknamed the "red priest", but Vivaldi did not perform church duties for long. Very quickly, he refused to lead masses - according to one version, due to the fact that his health did not allow, according to another, again because of his addiction to music.

Almost immediately after receiving the rank, Vivaldi began working in one of the schools in Venice, "Ospedale della Pieta" - that was the name of the orphanage at the monastery for orphans. "Ospedale della Pieta" became a real cradle for Vivaldi's work. As a violin teacher and choirmaster, he acquired a unique opportunity to implement the most daring and diverse creative ideas. On duty, he had to write a lot of music for the pupils of the school, both spiritual and secular content - cantatas, chorales, oratorios, vocal and symphonic compositions, concerts. The results of such a vigorous and diverse activity quickly made themselves felt - among connoisseurs and connoisseurs of music, the school began to be considered the best in the city.

For the Pieta orchestra, Vivaldi composed more than 450 concertos and often performed solo violin parts himself. Such a violin, giving birth to sounds as if from the depths human soul, Venice has not yet heard.

Very quickly, the popularity of the young composer stepped far beyond the borders. hometown. Every distinguished guest who comes to Venice considered it his duty to attend the performances of Antonio Vivaldi. In 1705 and 1709, the musician's sonatas were published in separate collections.

But Antonio was already carried away by another idea - to become an opera composer. At that time, the opera was considered the most popular genre among the audience, and Vivaldi, with his inherent determination and indomitable temperament, plunged into a new kind of creativity for him. His operatic debut, Otto at the Villa, staged in 1713, was a resounding success. Vivaldi begins to work at a crazy pace - he manages to create 3-4 operas a year. His fame is like opera composer grows, and Antonio receives an invitation from the Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, a connoisseur of musical art, who holds the position of governor of Mantua, to become a bandmaster at his court.

In 1721-22, Vivaldi worked in Milan and Rome, continuing to compose new operas.

In his declining years, the composer's affairs were greatly shaken. He decided to return to Venice, hoping to find peace of mind in his native city, which applauded him for almost 40 years. But disappointment awaited him. The music he composed no longer aroused its former delight, the public had new idols. Even in his native conservatory, with which he was associated for 38 years of fruitful work, he was given to understand that his services were not really needed.

According to Vivaldi's biography, in 1740, in search of a way out, the composer went to Vienna, to the court of Emperor Charles VI, his longtime and powerful admirer, in the hope that his talent would be in demand there. But fate prepared another blow for Vivaldi - he did not have time to arrive in Vienna, when Charles VI died. The composer survived his failed patron for a short time. He died on 28 July 1741 and was buried in Vienna in a pauper's grave.

Interesting Facts:

• After 1840, many handwritten versions of Vivaldi's works were lost and disappeared from people's memory for a long time. Some of the notes ended up in the hands of his fellow composers, as well as close relatives.

• Vivaldi owes his "second birth" to the Italian musicologist Alberto Gentili, who studied active search composer's works. In the 1920s, he heard a rumor about the sale of handwritten scores that were kept in the monastic college in San Martino. Among them, Gentili discovered 14 volumes of Vivaldi's works, still unknown to the public - 19 operas, more than 300 concerts, many spiritual and secular vocalizations.
• Searches for the lost works of Vivaldi are ongoing to this day. In 2010, his Flute Concerto was found in Scotland. In 2012, the world recognized his unknown opera Orlando Furioso.
• Admirers of Vivaldi's art were famous contemporaries of the musician. Among his listeners were King Frederick IV of Denmark and Pope Benedict.
• In a Venetian guide for foreigners dated 1713, Vivaldi's father and son are mentioned as the most skilled violinists among the musicians of Venice.

• The most popular image of the composer is considered to be the canvas of the French portrait painter Francois Morelon de la Cave. For the portrait, Antonio had to wear a white wig - the etiquette of those times did not allow men to appear in society without a wig.
• "Business card" Vivaldi - a cycle of violin concertos "Seasons"- in the original version it is called "The Four Seasons" "Le quattro stagioni".
• Only 40 of the 90 operas mentioned by the composer managed to confirm his authorship.
• The epigraphs for the concerts that make up the cycle "The Seasons" are sonnets. Their author is unknown, but it is assumed that they also belong to Vivaldi.
• In 1939, the Gloria was revived. It was performed in Siena as part of the "Vivaldi Week", organized by the Italian Alfredo Casella.
• The Siena Institute is named after Vivaldi.
• In a buiding former school"Ospedale della Pieta" in currently is a restaurant and hotel complex.
• Vivaldi and Mozart buried in a cemetery in Vienna, where some of the poorest members of the population were buried.

• "To the music of Vivaldi" - this is the name of the song of the luminaries of the author's song V. Berkovsky and S. Nikitin to the verses of A. Velichansky. Vivaldi's music in this song text is a symbol of the spiritual harmony of the lyrical hero.
• One of the open craters on the planet Mercury is named after the composer.
• "Vivaldi Orchestra" - this is the name of the group, the creator of which in 1989 was the violinist and conductor Svetlana Bezrodnaya. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it consists exclusively of women. This is a kind of "remake" of the orchestra of pupils, organized by Vivaldi at the Ospedale della Pieta school at the beginning of the 18th century.
• In the famous film "Pretty Woman", Vivaldi's music, according to the directors, became one of the illustrations of the world of high society. Vivaldi's "Seasons" sound in the tape - three concerts out of four.

• Vivaldi belongs catchphrase: "When one violin is enough, do not use two."
• About three years ago, Italian scientists made an amazing discovery - they revealed the so-called "Vivaldi effect". They conducted an experiment, as a result of which it turned out that periodic listening to "The Seasons" strengthens the memory of the elderly.
• Swiss figure skater Stéphane Lambiel won a silver medal at the 2006 Turin Olympics, skating to Vivaldi's Four Seasons.

"Girlfriend of the red-haired priest"

There are many "blank spots" in the composer's biography, and his personal life is no exception. His name is closely associated with only one woman - the singer Anna Giraud. The musician met Anna during his work in Mantua. He returned to Venice with her. The famous Venetian playwright K. Goldoni mentions that Vivaldi introduced Anna Giraud to him, calling her his student. But evil tongues quickly dubbed the young singer "the girlfriend of the red-haired priest", and not without reason. The composer clearly favored her, from the moment they met he wrote operas especially for her, and it was Vivaldi who owed Anna the fame of an opera singer. In addition, Anna, along with her sister Paolina was part of his inner circle, accompanied the composer on all trips, and this gave rise to a bunch of rumors about the fact that the composer leads a lifestyle that is not befitting a clergyman.

There is no direct evidence of their romantic connection. Moreover, Vivaldi fiercely defended Anna's honor, explaining to everyone that due to health problems he needed help, and Anna and Paolina, who was a nurse, only looked after him. In a letter to his patron Bentivoglio dated November 16, 1737, he explained that only friendship and professional cooperation connected them with Anna. The only hint that Anna was the composer's muse and the lady of his heart is the magical music he wrote after meeting her. It was then that the cycle “The Seasons”, the concerts “Night”, the masterpiece of sacred music “Gloria” appeared, which immortalized his name.

Whoever Anna is for Vivaldi, we must pay tribute to her - she did not leave the composer at a difficult time for him and was his devoted companion and friend until his last breath.

The role of Vivaldi in the development of world musical art

Vivaldi's influence on the development of musical art extends to a wide range of musical activities, which confirms the uniqueness of the creative personality of a talented composer and virtuoso violinist.

• It was thanks to Vivaldi that a performance technique that was completely unique in terms of dramatic intensity was strengthened, which is called “Lombard”, when the duration of the first note was shortened and the next became rhythmically supporting.
• The composer's genius Vivaldi came up with the idea of ​​a new genre of solo instrumental concerto.
• He put the genre of concerto grosso, an ensemble-orchestral concert, popular in Italy, to a new stage of development, after which he assigned a three-part form and, instead of a group of soloists, singled out a separate solo instrument, endowing the orchestra with an accompaniment function.
• Vivaldi's contribution to the evolution of the art of orchestration is enormous - he was the first to introduce oboes, horns, bassoons and other instruments into the orchestra as independent ones.
• The undoubted achievement of Vivaldi is that he embodied on the stage a special type of concerto - for the orchestra and violin, and another version - for two and four violins. In total, there are about two dozen such concertos in his creative heritage, among them the only concert for two mandolins in the world.

The works of Vivaldi had a great influence on famous representative musical art of the baroque era - Johann Sebastian Bach. He was seriously interested in and studied in detail the compositions of Vivaldi, actively applied the techniques of the musical language and the symbolism of his predecessor, making their meaning deeper. Some musicologists find undoubted echoes of works in Bach's famous mass in h-moll Italian master compositions. Subsequently, Bach transcribed 6 Vivaldi violin concertos for the clavier, converted 2 more into organ concertos and adapted one for 4 claviers. Ironically, these musical masterpieces for more than 150 years were considered to be composed by Bach.

On turn of XIX-XX centuries Austrian composer and musician Fritz Kreisler, a recognized master of stylization, writes a Violin Concerto in C major, to which he subtitles "In the Style of Vivaldi". The huge success accompanying this bright creation of Kreisler, by inertia, aroused interest in the works of Vivaldi, which were thoroughly forgotten. Thus began the victorious return of the famous Venetian and his masterpieces to the musical Olympus. Today, Vivaldi's music is one of the most beloved by violinists around the world.

Great and famous about the work of Vivaldi

• Violinist and conductor Vladimir Spivakov poetically called "The Seasons" "a fresco of human life", since man has to overcome the same path as nature - from birth to death.
• According to the Austrian scientist W. Kollender, Vivaldi was several decades ahead of the development of European music in terms of the use of dynamics and purely technical methods of playing the violin.
• Vivaldi's ability to write an infinite number of variations on the same musical theme became the basis for a sarcastic remark by I. Stravinsky, who called Vivaldi "a bore, capable of composing the same concerto six hundred times in a row."
• “Vivaldi is a celebration of instrumental music, a violin extravaganza. Hehe himself was a virtuoso violinist and knew better than others how to show the mostspectacular in the sound of the violin,” said Dmitry Sinkovsky, a contemporary violinist and winner of the early music competition in Bruges, about the work of the great maestro.

Film biographies:

The personality of the composer has always attracted the attention of filmmakers, who, based on the biography of Vivaldi, shot several films that tell about the life of a musician.

• Documentary "4" (2007)
• "Viva, Vivaldi" (France, 2000)
• "Vivaldi in Vienna" (1979)
• "Vivaldi, Prince of Venice" (France, 2006)
• "Vivaldi, the red-haired priest" (Great Britain, Italy, 2009)
• "Antonio Vivaldi" (USA, Belgium, 2016)

Vivaldi music in films

Work	Movie
Concerto for violin and orchestra in C major	"Mozart in the Jungle" (2015-2016)
"Seasons. Winter"	The Fault in Our Stars (2014), Beta (2014), Hannibal (2013)
"Seasons. Spring"	"Sing" (2016), " secret life Pets (2016), Fantastic Four (2015), Beauty and the Beast (2014), Arrow (2015), Bosch (2015), Castle (2014), House of Lies (2014 ), The Simpsons, Diana: A Love Story (2013), Bob's Diner (2013), Grimm (2012), Madagascar 2 (2008)
"Seasons. Summer"	"Force Majeure" (2014), "Three Nights" (2013), "Hummingbird Effect" (2013), " House of cards"(2013)," And yet Laurence "(2012)
"Seasons. Autumn"	"Marguerite and Julien" (2015), "These people" (2015)
Violin Concerto No. 6	"Agent Carter" (TV series, 2015-2016)
Cello Concerto in C minor	"Love and Friendship" (2016)
Sonata No. 12 "La Follia"	"Casanova" (2015)
Concerto for Strings and Basso Continuo in G Major	"Better Call Saul" (2015)
Concerto for lute and broken strings	"Hotel Grand Budapest" (2014)

The work of Antonio Vivaldi has become the quintessence of all best features and outstanding successes of the Italian musical school. But the fate of the maestro is a vivid illustration of the fact that fame and oblivion in human life go hand in hand. Just 30 years after his death, mention of Vivaldi, even in passing, is not found in any official sources, unlike other Italian composers. And only at the beginning of the 20th century, Vivaldi's music returned to us, touching souls with its sincerity and melody. Today it adorns the repertoires of the most famous orchestras. It took almost two centuries for the world to rediscover the music of the great Venetian and appreciate its magnificence.

Video: watch a film about Vivaldi

The most prominent representative of the Italian violin Art XVIII century is considered the composer, conductor, teacher and violinist Antonio Vivaldi, whose biography and work are still of interest to many professionals and amateurs. In Europe, he received recognition during his lifetime.

The work of Antonio Vivaldi is most popular thanks to instrumental, especially violin concertos. But at the same time, he is considered an unsurpassed master in other genres, such as opera, concerto grosso.

Childhood Vivaldi

For a long time, the date of the composer's birth remained a mystery to biographers, but in the middle of the last century, thanks to church records found, it was established accurately. 1678 in Venice in the family of the barber Giovanni, the first child of Antonio Vivaldi. His biography is still full of secrets and contradictions. Due to frailty and the threat of death, the boy was baptized by the midwife on his birthday.

The talent of the child manifested itself early, already at the age of ten, Antonio replaced his father during periods of his absence in the chapel of the cathedral. The first composition of the child appeared already at the age of thirteen. It was the boy's parent who became his first teacher, and he was influenced by his career choice.

Young years

Fifteen and a half years old, he received the lowest degree of priesthood, according to which he had the right to open the gates of the church. A few years later, Antonio earned the title of priest, as well as the right to serve Mass. At this time, he gained fame as a virtuoso violinist. But a year later, he did not want to celebrate Mass due to physical ailment, although some of his contemporaries claimed that he was pretending, using this time to write his musical compositions. It was for this behavior that he was expelled from the church, which caused a large number of gossip.

Venice "conservatory"

In 1703, Antonio Vivaldi (whose brief biography as a priest was completed on this) was invited to one of the best Venetian conservatories. This was the beginning of the pedagogical and young man.

Caught in the midst of brilliant musical traditions, he wrote a large number of works of secular and sacred instrumental music, taught music theory, rehearsed with the orchestra, studied with choristers, and conducted concerts. Due to the multifaceted and fruitful activities of Antonio, his conservatory became noticeable among others.

The beginning of the composer's path

In the first years of his work, Antonio Vivaldi, whose biography and work were saturated with the composition of a large number of instrumental pieces, appeared before the vast public and the musical community as the author of trio sonatas. A little later, the publishing house published 12 more large-form works under one opus. The next one contained the same number of sonatas for violin and cembalo.

At 33, Vivaldi is already gaining fame far beyond the borders of his native city. At this time, he has a solid salary and becomes the main director of the concert of pupils. Danish nobles and even the king listen to his works.

Far beyond the borders of the country, his works begin to be performed and published. For the first time in Holland, his opus of twelve concertos for 1, 2 and 4 violins with accompaniment is released. The most performed are the best works this opus.

The music of Antonio Vivaldi strikes contemporaries with novelty, brightness of sensations and images. His biography during this period becomes richer, and creative activity- more successful.

Opera creativity

Already at the age of 35 he is the main composer of "Pieta". This obliges Vivaldi to regularly compose music for students. At the same time, he decides to turn to an unknown genre for himself - opera. More long years it will be the most significant area of ​​his activity.

In order to stage his first opera in Vincenza, Otgon in the Villa, Antonio takes a month's vacation. The production was successful and attracted the attention of the impresario of Venice. Starting with the next, within five years should be whole line premieres, which firmly establish for him the glory of an opera composer.

From this moment on, Antonio Vivaldi, whose biography is entering a new creative stage, seeks to win the recognition of the widest masses of listeners.

Despite the offers from other places, which were very tempting, as well as resounding success in the opera field, after long holidays, he still remained faithful and returned to the Venetian "conservatory".

Theatrical creativity

The first two oratorios on Latin texts appear at the same time, when he became passionately interested in the theater. "Judith triumphant" became one of the best creations of Vivaldi.

The students of that time consider it an honor to study with him, but neither they, nor a large amount of composing work can distract Antonio from active work in the theater, where he performs an order for twelve main arias for the opera Nero Made Caesar.

The opera "Coronation of Darius" was also created for the same theater. In just five years, the composer's fame is growing rapidly and goes beyond the borders of his country far into Europe.

After the first years of an opera tour associated with Venice, the composer Antonio Vivaldi decides to change the situation and enters a three-year service with Margrave Philip von Hesse-Darmstadt, who led the troops of the Austrian emperor in Mantua.

Service at the Margrave

This period is very significant for Vivaldi: it is he who influences his entire future life. He meets the daughter of a French barber and opera singer Anna Giraud, whom Antonio introduces to everyone as his student. Her sister took care of the composer's health and became his constant companion.

From the side of the church, there were constant complaints about such relationships that were inappropriate for a clergyman, because the sisters lived in the composer's house and accompanied him on tour. Subsequently, these relationships will lead to very unfavorable results for the musical creator.

At the end of his service, he returned to Venice, but travel to European capitals continues. Despite the brilliant premieres of composed operas, the most bright works contemporaries consider program concerts, especially "The Seasons".

Last period of life

The efficiency of Antonio Vivaldi (you can see his photo in our article) was amazing: it did not become lower, despite His operas being performed on many European stages and having a stunning success. But at the age of 59, a terrible blow of fate overtakes him. The Apostolic Nuncio in Venice, on behalf of Cardinal Ruffo, forbade the composer from entering one of the Papal States (Ferrara) in the midst of preparations for the carnival.

At that time, this was an unheard-of shame and entailed complete discrediting of both Vivaldi, a clergyman, and material damage. Relations in "Pieta" began to deteriorate, and Antonio's music began to be considered outdated due to the emergence of a large number of young creators at that time. He had to leave.

In the "conservatory" he is mentioned in last time in connection with the sale at an extremely low price of a large number of musical concerts. After that, the creator leaves his homeland forever.

He died of internal inflammation in Vienna at the age of 63, abandoned and forgotten by everyone.