265 Anniversary of the Death of Antonio Vivaldi (Red Priest)
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Biography
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born on March 4, 1678 in Venice, Italy. He was baptized immediately at his home by the midwife due to "danger of death" . It is not determined what that means, but it probably referred to the infant's poor health or the earthquake that shook the city that day. Vivaldi's official church baptism (at least, the rites which remained other than the actual baptism itself) did not take place until two months later. His father, Giovanni Battista, a barber before becoming a professional violinist, taught him to play violin at first and then toured Venice playing violin with his son. Vivaldi had a medical problem which he called the tightening of the chest (probably some form of asthma). His medical problem, however, did not prevent him from learning to play the violin, composing and taking part in the prescribed musical activities. At the age of 15 (1693), he began studying to become a priest. In 1703, at the age of 25, Vivaldi was ordained as a priest, soon nicknamed Il Prete Rosso, "The Red Priest," probably because of his red hair.
Not long after, in 1704, he was given a dispensation from celebrating the Holy Mass because of his ill health. In late 1706 he withdrew from the priesthood and became maestro di violino at an orphanage for girls called the Pio Ospedale della Pietà in Venice. Shortly after his appointment, the orphans began to gain appreciation and esteem abroad, too; Vivaldi wrote for them most of his concertos, cantatas, 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, only interrupting them for his many travels. In 1709, he was let go for economic reasons but in 1711, he was offered the job again and in 1713, became responsible for the musical activity of the institute.
Vivaldi was promoted to maestro de' concerti in 1716. It was during these years that Vivaldi wrote much of his music, including many operas and concertos. In 1718, Vivaldi began to travel. Despite his frequent travels, the Pietà paid him to write two concertos a month for the orchestra and to rehearse with them at least four times when in Venice. The Pietà 's records show that he was paid for 140 concertos between 1723 and 1729.
Most of his repertoire was rediscovered only in the first half of the 20th century in Turin and Genoa and was published in the second half. Vivaldi's music is 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 was able to compose 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 in other countries such as France which was, at the time, very independent concerning its musical taste. -
Major works
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Published works in his lifetime
Opus 1, 12 Sonatas for 2 violins and basso continuo (1705)
Opus 2, 12 Sonatas for violin and basso continuo (1709)
Opus 3, L'estro armonico (Harmonic inspiration), 12 concertos for various combinations. Best known concerti are No. 6 in A minor for violin, No. 8 in A minor for two violins and No. 10 in B minor for 4 violins (1711).
Opus 4, La stravaganza (The extraordinary), 12 violin concertos (c. 1714)
Opus 5, (2nd part of Opus 2), 4 sonatas for violin and 2 sonatas for 2 violins and basso continuo (1716).
Opus 6, 6 violin concertos (1716-21)
Opus 7, 2 oboe concertos and 10 violin concertos (1716-21)
Opus 8, Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione (The Contest between Harmony and Invention), 12 violin concertos including the celebrated work, Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons), consisting of the first four concertos in opus 8 (1723).
Opus 9, La cetra (The lyre), 12 violin concertos and 1 for 2 violins (1727)
Opus 10, 6 flute concertos (c. 172
Opus 11, 5 violin concertos, 1 oboe concerto, the second in E minor, RV 277, being known as "Il favorito" (1729)
Opus 12, 5 violin concertos and 1 without solo (1729)
Opus 13, Il pastor fido (The Faithful Sheperd), 6 sonatas for musette, viela, recorder, flute, oboe or violin, and basso continuo (1737, spurious works by Nicolas Chédeville).
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Operas
Ottone in villa (1713)
Orlando finto pazzo (1714)
L'incoronazione di Dario (1716)
Il Teuzzone (1719)
Tito Manlio (1719)
La verità in cimento (1720)
Ercole sul Termodonte (1723)
Il Giustino (1724)
Dorilla in Tempe (1726)
Farnace (1727)
Orlando furioso (1727)
Rosilena ed Oronta (172
La fida ninfa (1732)
Motezuma (1733)
L'Olimpiade (1734)
Bajazet (Tamerlano) (1735)
Griselda (1735)
Catone in Utica (1737)
Rosmira (173
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Concertos
Vivaldi wrote hundreds of concerti for various instruments. Concertos not published in his lifetime include:
Mandolin:
Concerto in D major, RV 93
Concerto for Mandoline in C major, RV 425
Concerto for two Mandolins in G major, RV 532
Recorder:
Concerto in D major, RV 95, "La pastorella"
Concerto in C minor for Treble Recorder, RV 441
Concerto in F major for Treble Recorder, RV 442
Concerto in C major for Sopranino Recorder, RV 443
Concerto in C major for Sopranino Recorder, RV 444
Concerto in A minor for Sopranino Recorder, RV 445
Trumpet:
Concerto for Two Trumpets in C Major
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Vivaldi