Vivaldi! About the Program

By Dr. C Matthew Balensuela 

Biography

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) was the eldest of at least eight children born to Giovanni and Camilla Vivaldi. Giovanni was a well-known violinist and composer in Venice with bright red hair—traits he passed on to his son. Antonio seems to have suffered from a dire sickness from birth because he was baptized quickly at home (rather than at a church) for fear of his passing. Current thinking is that Vivaldi had asthma as he suffered from chest ailments all his life. With instruction from his father, Antonio began to make a name for himself as a violinist in Venice. Perhaps because of his near-death experience as an infant, the family directed the young man to the priesthood, and he was ordained in 1703, although his chest condition limited his ability to say the Mass. By 1704 he began teaching violin at the ospedale (orphanage) supported by the Church of La Pietà, where he would work for much of his life, although not continually.

His early publications culminated in the famous set of violin concerti, L’estro amonico, op. 3 (1711). The concerto had been a flourishing genre in Italy through the works of musicians like Giuseppe Torelli (1678-1709), who published their works in Italy. By publishing his op. 3 in Amsterdam, Vivaldi introduced the developments of the concerto to northern musicians, who quickly followed Vivaldi’s model. Meanwhile, Vivaldi was carving out a place for himself within the busy opera houses of Venice, even taking over the management of the S. Angelo theatre for a few years starting in 1713. Vivaldi was a prodigious opera composer—22 of his works have been preserved (although some lack at least one act), along with several fragments.

Vivaldi’s growing fame brought him opportunities outside of Venice. In 1718 he began extensive travels to other cities including Turin, Mantua, Rome, and Prague. He nevertheless remained employed by the Ospedale de la Pietà, composing at least 140 concertos for the institution while traveling in the 1720s. Although his ceaseless travel and composing must have earned Vivaldi substantial sums, at the end of his life he appears to have saved very little. He hoped to find new sources of income on a trip to Venice, where he died in 1740. 

Program Notes

The term “concerto” most likely comes from the Latin “concertare”—meaning to debate or to dispute, but also to work together. Vivaldi’s Concerto in C Major (RV 114) presents an example of an orchestral concerto. The opening Allegro is in ritornello form and alternates a tutti orchestral theme featuring dotted rhythms with more “soloistic” playing by the violins. Vivaldi wrote only a three-chord framework as the Adagio, allowing for improvised work by the orchestra and/or continuo group. The third movement is a bright ciccona (or chaconne) in triple meter featuring a descending theme with a set of variation. The movement veers into C minor for several variations to create an upbeat return to C major for the conclusion. This movement was revised for solo violin and orchestra for a concerto in D Major (RV 808), something Vivaldi often did to create the constant stream of works he was able to produce.

The Concerto in B-flat Major (RV 458) is a concerto grosso that features two soloists, oboe and violin, concerting with the strings. The first movement Allegro presents contrasting themes of scale passages with arpeggios while the use of multiple soloists allows for a conversational tone in the solo passages. The Largo is in the style of a Siciliana with a lyrical oboe line over an arpeggiated violin and continuo accompaniment. The concluding movement is in the style of a passepied (like a fast minuet). 

The Sinfonia “Al Santo Sepolcro” RV 169—the one work on today’s program not listed as a concerto—is from an undated manuscript in Turin. As many chapels in Italy are dedicated to the Holy Sepulcher, it is difficult to give an exact location for the work’s creation or if it is a general depiction of the Christ’s entombment for performance at the end of Holy Week. Performed without keyboard, the brief work (less than 65 measures) has an austere timbre. It begins with a quiet Adagio leading to a contrapuntal Allegro that builds in volume to the end, perhaps indicating the work was used as a prelude for a larger work.

By combining higher and lower wind soloists in the Concerto for Oboe and Bassoon (RV 545), Vivaldi was able to have the solo bassoon act as the basso continuo line with the oboe during the solo sections, creating a contrast between the wind soloists and the strings tuttis in the outer allegro movements. The Largo features both soloists in imitation over a simple harmonic plan.

Vivaldi wrote 16 concertos for solo flue and orchestra, 6 of them published as his op. 10 in 1728, including RV 428. The nickname “Il Cardellino” comes from the motives in the soloist that mimic the call of the goldfinch, in the same way he featured bird calls and other sounds of nature in his most famous set of concertos, The Four Seasons, published three years earlier. RV 428 is a revision of an earlier work that Vivaldi used a number of times for various combinations of soloists.

The orchestral concerto in G minor, RV 156, appears in a Turin manuscript. As in the first work on the program, the “soloist” portions are carried by the entire violin section. The final movement is notable for its brief, imitative theme which alternates with contrasting episodes which begin with an upward octave leap.  

The Concerto Grosso RV 570 must have been one of Vivaldi’s favorite creations, as he reused the material in works for solo violin (op. 8/5, 1725) and solo flute (op. 10/1, 1729) as well as the concerto grosso on today’s program. The first movement Allegro ends incompletely on a dominant chord, leading to a Largo featuring the flute soloist. To be honest, the storm at sea is rather tame apart from the constant rising and falling of the waves—everyone makes it safely to harbor.