Posted on 03/04/2010 7:34:04 AM PST by Pyro7480
Today is the 332nd birthday of revered Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, most famous for his 1723 composition The Four Seasons, a violin 'concerti'.
Vivaldi was writer of nearly 500 concertos of various types, composing at least 50 operas and a plethora of other vocal and instrumental pieces.
His work has been described as one of the strongest influences on the development of modern violin technique, being a primary influence on Johann Sebastian Bach.
While a prolific composer, Vivaldi was also an incredibly talented technical violinist having been trained by his professional violinist father.
In 1703, at the age of 25 Vivaldi was ordained as a priest, having begun his initial training in 1693, aged just 15.
It was this training, alongside his bright red hair, that gave Vivaldi is nickname Il Prete Rosso (The Red Priest).
Like Mozart, Vivaldi died in abject poverty in 1741, being buried in an unmarked grave.
The Italian composer is being honoured by Google in a special Google Doodle on the search engine's homepage....
(Excerpt) Read more at gear4music.com ...
My wife is a very talented classically trained pianist. She loves Bach. Perhaps it is the joy she finds in playing Bach.
I, on the other hand, am not a musician, but I am very talented in math. I don't really care that much for most of Bach's pieces (too mechanical for me, not enough real melody). I would rather listen to most Praetorius, Schutz, Gabrieli, Rameau, Pergolesi, Purcell, and Vivaldi than the great majority of Bach pieces. I even prefer some Charpentier and Lully pieces to Bach. This all might be because I do not play an instrument.
Vivaldi's operas (I have many), oratorios (I have one), and Serenata a tre (I have one) are favorites of mine. Vivaldi apparently wrote 94 operas, but unfortunately most have not survived.
When I saw this thread, I took out the Humperdinck Hansel and Gretel I had been listening to and put on the rollicking hunt music of Vivaldi's Dorilla in Tempe opera (Ensemble Baroque de Nice version). Try to duplicate that, Bach!
I forgot Handel. How could I have left him off my list.
In Search of Lost Sounds Why you've never really heard the "Moonlight" Sonata.
Ping to post #23.
Here is Kevin Ferguson — Vivaldi violin concerto, electric guitar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txd5YTSYTrA
I can’t Handel being baroque. I like having lots of notes in my pocket.... OK, I’ll stop now.
The belly dancer were a nice touch! LOL ...was that Geneva?
Yea, the dancers are a hoot and distract from the music. I laughed too when I first watched it, but his guitar playing is amazing.
Chopin wood for dinner?
His guitar work is amazingly wonderful! I’ve been enjoying more of it tonight. Thank you!
That sonata funny. Are you Hayden something from me?
Thank you so much for this post. Vivaldi is one of the really great ones.
Happy Birthday Antonio.
God Bless all the Italians with their design, art, wine, food, shoes, clothes and beautiful women. Mamma mia!
That’s what I thought at one time until I heard a local orchestra play it yet again and I was amazed at how good it was.
No many how times the 4 Seasons is overplayed, it’s still a great piece of music.
JS Bach is one of the greatest composers and most creative human beings to ever walk the face of the planet. Bach is one of the peaks of civilization and what it means to be human on Earth.
“Mechanical”,.........absurd. He is endlessly inventive and creative. Bach represents everything that is great about civilization and logic on the planet.
I would think that for a mathematician, Bach would be a peak experience.
I also love Vivaldi and Purcell, Rameau, etc., but it certainly doesn't exclude me from loving Bach.
Buon Compleanno, Maestro.
What this article does not mention is that Vivaldi’s work was largely lost to the world until the mid-20th century when the heirs of two different families found manuscripts in two different attics, all split right down the middle. I sang for one of the people who matched up the various pieces as part of a graduate student project. Among them was the Beatus Vir (all solos should be sung by light, young voices) and the Magnificat. Honestly, these works are nice pieces. It’s very sad that so many people only know the Four Seasons and not the wealth of music Vivaldi produced.
Baroque is my favorite classical era by far and I could listen to Vivaldi, Handel, Bach, Monteverdi, Telemann for the rest of my life and never get bored.
Yes, I know. That is what I hear all the time. But that doesn't hold true for me. I'm not interested in listening to how many different ways Bach can play some non-musical theme. At least, that is how much of his music sounds to me.
Perhaps I'm the exception that proves the statement that mathematical people should love Bach. Or maybe it simply shows that there are lots of different ways the brain can be wired.
Bach is one of the peaks of civilization and what it means to be human on Earth.
Some people feel that way. I'm happy for you. It is great that you really love some composer's music like that.
My introduction to baroque music and Bach was in a course at MIT that was titled something like, "Music Before 1750." This was back when you didn't hear much baroque music at all on the classical music stations. I bought some Bach cantatas on records. I still like a few of his cantatas. After the course, I used to study for hours in the old music library there. I listened to other baroque composers and over a period of two or three years of exposure to them, I came to feel that they left Bach in the shade. But that is just how their music appealed to me. Others feel differently. Viva la difference!
and yet, Godel and Escher loved him...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.