Essay Sample on Summer Concerto by Vivaldi

Introduction

Summer is the second concerto in Vivaldi's "Four Seasons." The season is characterized by a gently blowing west wind and scorching sun that makes both man and flock languish. Despite the hardship, birds like turtledove and goldfinch still sing as though everything is well. Summer also makes shepherds worried because of possible storms while they are in the field with their flocks (Stubbs et al., 5). The shepherds also fear the possibilities of lightning and thunder. Unfortunately, hail, lightning, and thunder befell people in the fields.

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In his instrumental music, Vivaldi tactfully utilizes a three-phase movement. The fast-slow-fast design formed the basis of the classical three-movement concerto. In the first movement, the fast plan, the music brings a slow sensation and a dizzy feeling (AnAmericanComposer, 2011). The movement describes how rhythmic the cuckoos sing in the warm summer night. Still, the fast design symbolizes the languid songs during sunset in the season. The instruments correlate to specific occurrences among people, considering the season's intense heat. As evening comes, a refreshing cool breeze and singing birds replace the days blazing heat (Stubbs et al., 6). In the second movement, where a farmer returns home after a busy day at work, the instruments get louder to signify an unsettled sleep. The farmer tries to sleep, but his sleep is interrupted by thunderclap all through his sleep. The disturbance interferes with his dream while asleep. Fortunately, the noisy night calms down as dawn sets in. The tranquility of dawn is represented by the calming and harmony in the instruments.

As the second movement starts, it is slow but gets speedy as the farmer gets more aware of a lurking stormy night. The orchestra imitates not only thunder but also the noisy insects as dusk progresses. The final movement is more hurried. As evident in the art, the movement is also dramatic and anxious. In the poetic version of the piece, this movement equates to the moment shepherds discover that storms are never good (Stubbs et al., 6). Hurried instruments also compare to hailstones that destroy crops that are still in the field. Ideally, the instruments capture shepherds' worry, strong winds, thunder, and hail that come with storms.

Vivaldi's art has used musical styles that have contributed to making the piece accepted among his listeners. Contemporary thought is one of the techniques that he has used. In "Four Seasons," Vivaldi has used seasons to help him to compose his instrumentals. With each movement representing a particular season, Vivaldi tries to explain the nature of activities and emotional status of people, as well as the effects of weather on crops and animals. Volatile brilliance is also another style that Vivaldi has used. Volatile brilliance explains the extent of disposition or command of instruments an artist decides to use (Stubbs et al., 8). Vivaldi has skillfully manipulated dominance of devices represent each of the four seasons.

Conclusion

With each movement representing a specific season, Vivaldi also brings seasonal inspiration. As a musical style, seasonal inspiration manifests when an artist varies musical notes. Other than varying musical notes, Vivaldi has also modified air, harmonized, and exciting ideas to depict seasons (Stubbs et al., 7). In the lyrical version of the music, each season has unique activities. Similarly, with each plan for a season, people mimic the beats by engaging in appropriate activities as per the artist. Hence, each season gets motivated and appreciated from the nature of activities people carry out.

References

AnAmericanComposer. (2011, January 30). Four Seasons ~ Vivaldi. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRxofEmo3HA&t=159s

Stubbs, S., Cunningham, T., Reed, E., Zhu, B., Lamotte, A., Myers, C., & Moore, C. (2016). Pacific MusicWorks Presents: Viva Vivaldi! February 28, 2016.