An outstanding Italian composer, talented violinist, conductor, teacher - such was the famous musician of the Baroque era. This talented Italian managed to gain recognition during his lifetime and conquer all of Europe. Let's take a closer look at such an outstanding personality.
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born on March 4, 1678. His father was a violinist at the Cathedral of San Marco in Venice. And the future composer received his first musical lessons from his father, who attracted Antonio to work in the cathedral. The father's many years of activity in the chapel became the fundamental factor that influenced the choice of the career of the young Antonio priest. In 1693, at the age of fifteen, Vivaldi was tonsured a monk. After another seven years, he becomes a deacon. And already in 1703, having renounced all worldly claims, he received the rank of priest and the right to serve Mass. But he served in the church for a very short time. According to Vivaldi himself, his health did not allow him to hold long church services. But that was not the reason at all.
Even while receiving a spiritual education, the young man was passionately interested in music, devoting all his free time to this occupation. And the result was not long in coming. Already in 1703, almost immediately after taking the priesthood, he gave his first violin lessons. He is invited as a teacher to the then-famous charitable orphanage for girls in Venice, Ospedale della Pietas. After all, the environment in which he found himself at the conservatory was distinguished by brilliant musical traditions.
All the activities of Vivaldi in this shelter (it was also called the conservatory) were very rich and multifaceted. Like all music teachers of that time, he was obliged to compose various music (secular, spiritual) for his students. These were various oratorios, concertos, sonatas and many other works. Also, Vivaldi, as a teacher, taught his pupils to play the violin, monitored the safety of the instruments. It was thanks to his strong passion for his work that his conservatory in a short time began to stand out noticeably against the background of similar institutions.
In 1705 he publishes his first 12 sonatas, and three years later his first collection of violin sonatas was published. Vivaldi is gaining more and more popularity in his homeland. His works are distinguished by simplicity and clarity, expressive disclosure of one melody. The composer became a real discovery for his contemporaries, a genius who managed to find a new approach in instrumental music. But the successful composer did not stop at one genre. He became seriously interested in opera. And in 1713, having become the main composer of "Pieta", he is engaged in staging his first opera "Ottone" (Ottone in villa). This opera was followed by a number of successful productions that brought fame to the composer.
After such dizzying successes, Vivaldi decides to tour Italy and Europe. In 1718 he lived in Mantua and worked for the ducal court. 1723-1724 significant in that the composer was able to present his music to the Pope and make a good impression on him. The most famous work that brought European fame to Vivaldi was his collection of essays The Seasons, released in 1725. But already in the 30s, his fame began to wane. The long absence from Venice due to travel had an effect. In 1737 the composer's operas were banned under the pretext of an immoral relationship with an opera singer. The contract with the conservatory was terminated. And in 1741, on July 28, forgotten and impoverished, Antonio Vivaldi dies.
To introduce educators to the biography and the most famous works of composers. They can use the information received to consolidate the material of a musical lesson with children or when using musical works in their classes.
(1678-1741) - Italian composer, violinist, conductor, teacher.
Antonio Vivaldi was born on March 4, 1678 in Venice in the family of a professional violinist: his father played in the Cathedral of St. Mark, and also took part in opera productions. "Prete rosso" ("Red priest") - such a nickname was given to Antonio Vivaldi in the memoirs of Carlo Goldoni. Indeed, he was both red-haired (“Redhead” was the nickname of his father) and a priest.
Antonio received a church education and was preparing to become a priest. But shortly after he was ordained a priest (1703), which gave him the right to celebrate Mass on his own, he refused this, citing poor health (he suffered from asthma, which was the result of a chest injury suffered at birth). In 1703 he was listed as a violin teacher at the Ospedal delle Pieta. This is one of the Venetian orphanages. With a break of two years, Vivaldi held this post until 1716. Later, when he was already far from Venice, he retained his contacts with Pieta (at one time he sent two of his new concerts there every month).
Vivaldi's reputation began to grow rapidly with his first publications: they, containing some of his finest concertos, were published in Amsterdam and circulated widely in northern Europe; this forced the musicians who visited Venice to look for Vivaldi there, and in some cases to order new works from him. Bach liked Vivaldi's concertos so much that he arranged five concertos for harpsichord, and a number of concertos for organ.
Antonio Vivaldi wrote operas for the theaters of Venice (participated in their production). As a virtuoso violinist, he gave concerts in Italy and other countries. He spent his last years in Vienna. He died July 28, 1741, here in Vienna.
"Seasons"
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. Secondly, it has always been endowed with a certain philosophical meaning: the change of seasons was considered in the aspect of changing 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.
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).
The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi is one of the most popular works of all time. For many, the very name "Vivaldi" is synonymous with "The Seasons" and vice versa (although he wrote a lot of other works). The composer prefaced each of the concertos with a sonnet, a kind of literary program. In "The Seasons" we are really dealing with a real program: the music exactly follows the images of the poems. The sonnets correspond so well to the musical form of the concertos that one involuntarily raises a suspicion that, on the contrary, the sonnets were not composed to already written music? The first part of this concerto illustrates the first two quatrains, the second part the third quatrain, and the finale the last. It is assumed that the author of the poems is Vivaldi himself. So…
We will listen to a short excerpt from the concert, which is called "Spring", and you will hear how accurately, colorfully the musical language conveys to us the joyful feeling of the arrival of spring, when nature wakes up, birds gleefully scream, streams ring, the first thunder rumbles. This work was written by the composer Vivaldi. He also wrote poems to this music, so that people who are little familiar with the musical language could recognize all the colors of spring in music. Here are the verses.
"Spring" (La Primavera)
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. - First part
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. - The second part
Shepherd's bagpipe sound
Buzzing over the meadows,
And the nymphs dancing the magic circle
Spring is colored with marvelous rays. - The third part
- And now let's listen carefully to the musical picture of spring. (First audition)
- How did the composer manage to draw spring nature for us so accurately? The different sounds of the instruments helped him in this (the whole orchestra - a loud joyful jubilation from the arrival of spring, very high singing of the violins - the singing of birds, peals of thunder - the sounds of the entire orchestra rush forward swiftly and menacingly). We listen to this music. passage again, and you will try to draw what you heard, imagine the music in color . (Second audition)
You can start right away by listening to music (after meeting the composer), be sure to voice its name. In this case, we will read the poems before the second listening, and we will draw along with the third listening to music)
First part the concerto opens with an unusually joyful motive, illustrating the jubilation caused by the arrival of spring - "Spring is coming!"; the whole orchestra plays (tutti).
The music, which sounds in a high register, depicts “the singing of birds” here (literal translation of the line of the sonnet: “the birds joyfully greet her (spring. - A.M.) with their singing”). How wonderfully this is conveyed by the sound of the violins!
Vivaldi depicts this phenomenon of nature in the highest degree ingeniously: the peals of thunder are conveyed by the formidable rapid sound of the entire orchestra, playing in unison. Flashes of lightning sound for the first time in all three violin soloists.
And again - in the next episode - the birds sing ("Then it (the thunder - A. M.) died down, and the birds began their beautiful singing again"). This is by no means a repetition of the first episode - here is a different song of birds.
The second part ("The Peasant's Dream"). An example of Vivaldi's amazing wit. The melody of the solo violin illustrates the peasant's sweet dream. Pianissimo sempre (Italian - “very quiet all the time”), all the violins of the orchestra play in a soft dotted rhythm, drawing the rustle of leaves. Altam, Vivaldi instructed to portray the barking (or yapping) of a dog guarding the owner's sleep. All these details of the literary program need to be known to the performers themselves, first of all, and - secondly - to the listeners. Then it will be possible to find an interesting color and sound character, and in the violas you will hear a harsh “wow-wow”, amusingly contrasting with the melody of the solo violin in the bel canto style, and not the mellifluous “bye-bye”
Third movement ("Pastoral Dance"). In it, 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)!
TYUMEN REGION KHANTY-MANSIYSKY AUTONOMOUS DISTRICT - YUGRA
Abstract on the topic:
ANTONIO VIVALDI.
LIFE AND CREATION.
Performed: violin teacher
Bazanova N.A.
Langepas, 2012
VIVALDI
ANTONIO
(1678-1741)
Italian composer,
violinist, conductor and teacher of the Baroque period
Rapid movements
pursue from the sound of revealing the secret
ambiguity of its content.
Antonio Vivaldi
Born on March 4, 1678 in Venice in the family of a violinist in St. Mark's Chapel. The legend associated with the birth of Antonio Vivaldi has survived to this day. The child was born at the age of seven months, with an extremely small weight - everyone was sure that the baby would not survive. Ten days later, the doctor declared death ... Early in the morning, a small procession arrived at the country cemetery to bury the calf in the ground. During the short speech of the priest, a child's cry was suddenly heard from a hastily knocked together coffin. The child was alive!
Father, Giovanni Battista Vivaldi, was originally a hairdresser, along the way selling musical instruments and playing music with clients, but he became so carried away by art that he abandoned his main craft. At the age of 5, under the guidance of his father, Antonio begins to learn to play the violin, and at the age of 10, he already replaces his father in the chapel. The head of the chapel, Giacomo Lengrenzi, could not but appreciate the talent of a handsome red-haired boy and personally began to teach him composition and playing the organ. Probably, Lengrenzi influenced the formation of Vivaldi's instrumental thinking, with his passion for the luxurious variety of the timbre palette.
But in the future, at the insistence of his father, Antonio chooses not a musical, but a spiritual education, and in 1693, at the age of fifteen, he takes the priesthood. Vivaldi did not have to hold divine services - during this period, his asthma attacks worsened. But there is another story: the reason for this was his passion for music, to which Vivaldi devoted every free minute, and if there was none, he composed his works directly .. during the service. For which one fine day he was deprived of dignity. Once the composer was celebrating mass, and suddenly the theme of the fugue came to his mind. Leaving the altar, he went to the sacristy to write down the theme, and then returned "to the original place." Zealous priests, of course, did not leave this glaring fact without attention. A denunciation followed, but the Inquisition, considering Vivaldi a musician, which was actually equated with a madman, only limited himself to forbidding him to continue to serve mass. Vivaldi himself, however, denied this, nevertheless referring to the disease: he could not walk, climb stairs. Sometimes he used a gondola or a carriage.
I had to go to work in one of the musical charitable shelters for girls - orphans as a violin teacher. He taught here for most of his life. His duties included teaching the violin and viola, as well as overseeing the safety of the instruments. He composed his music for them and for himself, and incredibly quickly - on the score of one of the oratorios, he wrote: "Worked with God's help in five days." He writes a huge number of oratorios, cantatas, concertos, sonatas. Here he became interested in opera. It is known that Vivaldi's spiritual father did not bless him to engage in the operatic genre, arguing that God gave Antonio the gift of writing brilliant concertos and church cantatas, and the operas coming out from under his hand are rather mediocre. And it is not befitting for a person of spiritual dignity to write "opera pieces" - they will not bring him good luck.
The composer disobeyed, although, as time has shown, the spiritual mentor was right: Vivaldi's operas were forgotten, and during his lifetime they managed to bring him a lot of problems.
By the end of the first decade of his stay in the monastery shelter, the scale of Vivaldi's activities had grown so much that in 1711 he received a solid annual salary and became the main director of the pupils' concerts. From that moment on, his fame went beyond the boundaries of his native city. Noble foreigners who stayed in Venice did not miss the opportunity to attend Vivaldi concerts. It is known that in 1709 among his listeners was the Danish king Frederick IV. Vivaldi's works are published in Venice, Amsterdam, London, Paris.
In 1713, Vivaldi took a leave of absence to stage his first opera, Ottone at the Villa, in Vicenza. Starting with the second - "Roland pretending to be mad" (1714) - a series of successful premieres in his native city followed (only 8 in 5 years!), which strengthened his fame as an opera composer. After the premiere of the second opera, Vivaldi himself began to act as a theater impresario: he did not allow the slightest infringement of his copyrights. After the creation of 8 operas, including Nero Made Caesar (1715), The Coronation of Darius (1716), Permanence Triumphing Over Love and Hate (1716), Skanderbeg (1718), Kandache, or True friends "(1720)," Deceptions out of revenge "(1720), two oratorios appear. Foreign musicians come to study with Vivaldi.
In 1723 - 1724, Vivaldi experienced the triumphant success of three carnival seasons in Rome, with the operas Hercules on Thermodon (1723), Justin (1724) and others.
One of Vivaldi's contemporaries wrote in a letter in 1727 that Vivaldi wrote three operas in less than three months. The premieres, apparently, were accompanied by material success, since the composer had the opportunity to attract the best Italian vocalists to perform.
While serving in Mantua with the Prince of Darmstadt in 1720-1723, a significant event occurred in the composer's personal life - he fell in love with the singer Anna Giraud. In 1726, she first appeared in the opera "Fapnace" and since then has become a regular participant in its premieres. With her he traveled to Europe for 14 years to present his operas. Anna's sister Paolina, who took care of the composer's health, also became Vivaldi's constant companion. Both constantly lived in the Vivaldi house. This connection immediately became known in church and musical circles, and the public reaction to the violation of the vow of celibacy by the priest was not long in coming - the "condemnation" of the composer began. But this did not interfere with the creative activity of Vivaldi.
In 1725, one of the composer's most famous opuses, An Experience in Harmony and Invention, came out of print, uniting 12 concertos. The first four - "Spring", "Summer", "Autumn", "Winter" make up the cycle "Seasons".
The end of the 20s - 30s - a period of travel. The popularity of Vivaldi may be evidenced by the fact that during his stay in Vienna in 1728 he was given a favorable reception by Emperor Charles VI. For 14 days of the visit, he spoke with Vivaldi more than with his ministers for 2 years, the composer was awarded a knighthood and a gold chain with a medal.
In 1726 - 1732. Vivaldi's operas were often performed in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, which is part of the Austrian Empire.
In August 1735, Vivaldi returned to the position of orchestra conductor, but continued to compose operas.
But on November 16, 1737, Vivaldi suffered a severe blow of fate: the apostolic nuncio in Venice forbade him to enter Ferrara in the name of Cardinal Ruffo. The reason was quite understandable: being a clergyman, he did not serve Mass and at the same time lived with Anna Giraud. At that time, this was an unheard-of shame, equated to public condemnation. No less significant was the material damage - productions of operas with the participation of the composer were canceled, and opera performances ceased to be a success.
And already in 1740, he was dismissed from the monastery shelter, as the Committee of Governors "did not encourage wanderlust."
In 1740, Vivaldi went to Vienna, hoping for the favor of Emperor Charles VI, but he died, which led to the War of the Austrian Succession. The elderly, lonely maestro found himself in a war-ravaged country. He died in Vienna on July 28, 1741 and was buried as a pauper (the cost of the funeral was 19 florins 45 kreuzers).
For a long time, Vivaldi was remembered only because J.S. Bach made a number of transcriptions of the works of his predecessor. Then the name of Vivaldi was forgotten for many years, until his writings were found in the 20s of the 20th century. The creative heritage of Vivaldi is extremely large. It covers about 700 titles of various kinds of compositions.
VIVALDI CONCERT.
The favorite genre of the “red-haired priest” was the concerto, with its characteristic festivity, brilliance, large touch - in a word, a style designed for a wide, diverse and thirsty audience. Vivaldi wrote a great many concertos - forty-six grossi and four hundred and forty-seven solo, and for a wide variety of instruments and compositions: two hundred and twenty-one for violin, twenty for cello, six for viol, sixteen for flute, eleven for oboe, thirty-eight for bassoon. He has concertos for mandolin, horn, trumpet, various mixed compositions, for example, for flute, oboe, violin, bassoon, or for two violins, a lute, or two flutes, an oboe, an English horn, two trumpets, a violin, two violas, bow quartet and two cembalos, etc.
He obviously possessed an extremely highly developed timbre perception and thinking, tirelessly experimented with timbres, not only instrumental, but also vocal, which even earned the censure of some contemporaries. One of them wrote:
“He (Vivaldi) taught the singer, called Faustina, and forced her to imitate the violin, oboe, flute. The public, always greedy for extraordinary effects, demanded, one might say, from all singers and castrati that they follow these paths. This is the time of the decline of music in Italy.
Probably, the attraction of the composer's artistic fantasy to the instrumental-timbre sphere had an effect here, the more his genius talent unfolded with the greatest power and beauty. His instrumentalism was completely alien to abstraction. On the contrary, in comparison with Corelli's strictly classical generalization and harmony of ideally balanced relations, Vivaldi's images are much more concrete, "tangible", outlined by relief genre features. Hence the plastic-laconic solution in architectonics: he compresses the cyclic structure of the concerto to a three-part one (most often Allegro - Largo - Allegro), realizing it in a sharply contrasting plan.
Perhaps the most remarkable is the very theme of Vivaldi's concertos, unusually convex, lively, expressive, impressive to the general public and sometimes capable of evoking in it visual associations with various phenomena of life. Vivaldi's melody is impulsive, temperamental, with a sharply defined contour and expressive figurative options. Its rhythm is extremely individualized for that time, and each part of any concert has its own original rhythmic profile and texture.
Important acquisitions were made by Vivaldi in the field of thematic development and compositional form. For the first parts of his concertos, he finally worked out and established the rondo form, which was subsequently adopted by J. S. Bach. The main theme of tutti returns as a refrain, interspersed with development-type solo episodes. Thematically, they are connected with the refrain, borrowing material from it; but here, in the episodes, the themes of the completed structure are dissolved in a sequence-figurative movement.
So there is a periodic change of thematic accumulations and rarefaction. The theme is boldly set off by episodes that create a fluid, moving background for it, often of a pictorial nature. This form for the first parts of the concert cycles survived until J.S. Bach.
CONCERTS "NIGHT"
The solutions of the image are completely different in concerts on the theme of the night - these first symphonic nocturnes in the history of world music.
In the concerto "La notte", which Vivaldi composed for bassoon, bow ensemble and cembalo, the light and clear coloring of B-flat major is poured into all three parts of the cycle. The first embodies the image of the coming silence; it is still full of echoes of the day's affairs, of a lively restless life. In the second - Andante - sleep comes into its own; in an even rhythmic figure, one hears not the calm breathing of a sleeping person, not the bright swaying of his visions. Final Allegro - the dawn breaks, the shepherds drive their flocks to pastures (intonations of a flute tune).
This nocturne is an idyll.
But here is a completely different solution to the theme of the night: the concerto in G minor for flute, bassoon, bowed strings and cembalo. This fantasy is gloomy and poetic, akin, perhaps, to some images of painting of that century. The introductory Largo paints an image of the coming silence with sparing means. In the inhibited run-ups and breakdowns of the melodic movement, an association involuntarily arises with the etchings of Capriccios by Francisco Goya: as if the thought is trying to stay awake, to rise - and cannot. And when the mind falls asleep, ghosts (Fantasmi, Presto) fly out in the night, scurry, circle and evoke horror. Then they are replaced by some kind of bright visions and a dream sets in, deep and sad. The man is sleeping, and the dusk is swaying around, filled with disturbing rustles. Soon a new day will dawn, people will wake up.. Will he bring them something?
LIST OF USED LITERATURE:
1. 166 biographies of famous composers / Compiled by L. V. Mikheeva. - St. Petersburg: Composer, 2000
2. Beletsky I. A. Vivaldi. Brief essay on life and work. popular monograph. - L .: "Music", 1975
3. Vainkop Yu., Gusin I. Brief biographical dictionary of composers, edition 5. - L .: "Music", 1982
4. Ladvinskaya A. A. 70 famous composers: fate and creativity. - Rostov n / a: "Phoenix"; Donetsk: "Credo", 2007
5. "Music": Encyclopedia / ed. G. V. Keldysh. - M .: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 2003
6. Rosenshild K. History of foreign music. Issue 1. Until the middle of the XVIII century. Edition 4. - M .: "Music", 1978
The Red Priest by Antonio VivaldiAt all times, people of art sought to fill the world with beauty and harmony, they sought consolation and the meaning of life in them. The era accepted everything, but, having a changeable disposition, it either exalted the creator, or subverted it.
She made no exception for Antonio Vivaldi. In 1770, only 30 years after his death, Vivaldi's name is not even mentioned in the list of Italian composers. In the 19th century, they spoke of him only as a composer whose notes were rewritten by the great Bach. And at the beginning of the 20th century, a miracle happened: from 1912 to 1926, most of his works were found, and in a short time his music spread around the world, touched the souls of many, many. She seemed to be waiting for the right moment to sound again. Maybe our time is something akin to that difficult era?
After almost 200 years of oblivion, Antonio Vivaldi has returned to the world! Now a rare orchestra does not have the famous "Seasons" in its repertoire. Any musicologist will tell you that these are pictures of nature, understandable to everyone: the singing of spring birds, a summer thunderstorm ... But in the hands of a genius, everything takes on a different meaning: familiar images evoke associations with something more subtle and deep - not just with pictures of nature, but with her laws. Vladimir Spivakov once called this work "a fresco of human life", because a person goes through the same path as nature - from birth to death.
What is it - a fresco of the life of Antonio Vivaldi himself?
F. M. La Cave. Portrait of a Venetian musician (presumably Vivaldi). 1723
The beginning of the way
On March 4, 1678, in Venice, the first-born Antonio was born in the family of a hairdresser and musician Giovanni Battista Vivaldi.
“We create our cities, and they create us,” said Aristotle. Venice - countless islands connected by canals, magnificent palaces and cathedrals, a clear rhythm of colonnades, harmony of proportions ... Venice is a free republic that has withstood both the conquerors and the Vatican. In the space reclaimed from the sea, life was in full swing. “Instead of streets there are canals, instead of weekdays there are carnivals,” was sung in a folk song. If in Florence the carnival was held once a year, then in Venice it was interrupted only during Lent, almost no tragedies were played in the theaters, the city was filled with music - songs of gondoliers, opera arias ...
It was here that the first public opera house in Italy was opened in 1637. The opera was a national favorite: the theaters were bursting with thirsty new spectacles. Of course, something else was hidden behind the magnificent facades: huge debts, palaces coexisted with dirty shacks, the Inquisition was not going to give up, flooding the city with spies ... But life did not stop boiling, giving birth to new talents.
Giovanni Antonio Canale (Canaletto). View of the Ducal Palace in Venice. 1755
The stormy character of the city was passed on to young Antonio, but he just couldn’t show it: from birth he had a serious illness - a constricted chest, he was tormented by asthma all his life, and he suffocated when walking. But on the other hand, along with the fiery hair color and equally fiery temperament, the boy inherited musical abilities from his father. Music often sounded in the Vivaldi house: the father played the violin, the children learned to play musical instruments (at that time it was common), and they also started fun games, sometimes fights.
Antonio would have gladly shared their adventurous life with the brothers, but he could not, and he transferred all his energy, all his dreams to music. The violin set him free. A physical handicap could not affect the boy's inner world: his imagination truly knew no barriers, his life was no less bright and colorful than others, he just lived in music.
A new life for Antonio began when his father was invited to the chapel of the Cathedral of San Marco, the largest orchestra of the then Italy. Four organs, a large choir, an orchestra - the majestic sound of the music was amazing. Seven-year-old Antonio did not miss a single rehearsal, eagerly absorbed the music of the masters, including Monteverdi, "the father of Italian opera."
Soon Giovanni Legrenzi - the famous violinist, composer and teacher - became interested in a talented boy. In addition to musical knowledge, Legrenzi instilled in him a desire to experiment, to look for new forms in order to express his ideas more vividly and more accurately. Antonio began to write music (the works that he wrote at the age of 13 have been preserved) ... But life took a sharp turn.
virtuoso priest
Giovanni Battista Vivaldi, perhaps because of his son's poor health, decided to make him a priest, because dignity will always ensure a position in society. And so Antonio began to climb the church stairs: already at the age of 15, Vivaldi received a tonsure and the title of "goalkeeper" - the lowest degree of priesthood, which granted the right to open the gates of the temple. In subsequent years, he took three more lower and two higher degrees of initiation, necessary for obtaining the title of priest and the right to celebrate mass. All these years, the young man regularly comprehended church sciences, but his heart was drawn to creativity, and finally he could decide for himself what to do. He soon stopped serving Mass, citing severe asthma attacks. True, it was rumored that at the height of the service, the “red-haired priest” often retired behind the altar to record the melody that came to mind ... But, be that as it may, Vivaldi was eventually relieved of this duty.
Francois Morellon de la Cave. Antonio Vivaldi
Music again became his main occupation! 25-year-old Antonio Vivaldi was quite attractive: with large expressive eyes, long red hair, witty, friendly and therefore always a welcome companion, he masterfully played the violin and other instruments. And the clergy opened the way for him to one of the women's conservatories in Venice, where he became a teacher. The future looked very bright. Even disagreements with the clergy did not bother Antonio, because they did not affect his work in any way. This will not always be the case. However, while liberal Venice forgave everything to her favorite, Antonio plunged headlong into the world of music - with the energy and enthusiasm of a man who finally came out of a dark narrow street to the carnival square.
He worked with passion at the "Ospedale della Pietà" conservatory. Conservatories - shelters at monasteries - gave a good education, including music. Vivaldi was at first officially listed as Maestro de Coro, the head of the choir, then he also became Maestro de Concerti, the head of the orchestra - conductor. In addition, he taught playing various instruments and vocals and, of course, wrote music. "Pieta" was already in good standing with Venetian music lovers, but under the leadership of Vivaldi it became the best in Venice, so that even wealthy citizens began to send their daughters there.
With short breaks, Vivaldi worked there all his life and wrote all his spiritual works: cantatas, oratorios, masses, hymns, motets for Pieta. The spiritual music of Vivaldi usually remains in the shadow of his own concerts, which is a pity. Let us recall at least the famous cantata Gloria: when you listen to it, delight seizes the soul - this is truly praise to heaven for the unchanging triumph of Life, and the piercing music of the second part of "Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis" ("And on earth peace to people of good will" ) is a real prayer for our earthly path, coming from the very depths of the heart. The spiritual music of Vivaldi is evidence of sincere love for God, regardless of relations with the church.
At the conservatory, Antonio perfectly combined studies of sacred and secular music. He had an excellent orchestra, and he could immediately hear his new works performed, and everything new in Pieta was always welcome. Vivaldi wrote more than 450 concertos for her orchestra and often soloed on the violin himself. Few people at that time could compete with him in virtuosity: in the guidebook for guests of Venice for 1713, Giovanni Vivaldi and his priest son are mentioned as the city's best violinists. And a little earlier, in 1706, the first collection of concerts "L'estro armonico" ("Harmonic inspiration") was published. In it, Vivaldi developed a new form of concerto - a three-part concerto, proposed by his predecessor Arcangelo Corelli from Bologna. For the fiery temperament of Vivaldi, the usual four parts at that time lasted, probably, too long - his experiences and vivid images required immediate embodiment in music. No one had such a violin - singing with a human voice, with a human heart, only the other great Italian Niccolo Paganini was said the same way.
All this was already quite enough to be considered an outstanding musician and composer. But our hero did not want to stop - he was attracted to the enchanting and unpredictable world of opera.
In 1723-1724, Vivaldi during the three carnival seasons had great success in Rome, a performance in which was considered a serious test for any composer.
Theatrical concert in Rome in the 18th century.
Opera Odyssey by Vivaldi
“In order to understand the history of opera using modern concepts, we must equate the Italian opera of the eighteenth century with today's opera and add cinema, television and ... football to it,” wrote R. Strom. The audience demanded new impressions all the time, so new operas were written extremely quickly and after two or three rehearsals they were played on stage, and after several performances they were safely forgotten. Plots - the more exciting, the better, no one thought about the artistic level of the libretto. Spectacular numbers led the audience into ecstasy, and the fame of fashionable opera composers was huge, though not constant. Composers worked tirelessly. So, from 1700 to 1740, Francesco Gasparini and Vivaldi wrote 50 operas each, and Alessandro Scarlatti - 115!
Performance at the Italian Opera House
Everything in the opera existed for the pleasure of the audience. Carlo Goldoni wrote that the opera is subject to "special rules and customs, which, it is true, are devoid of common sense, but which must be followed unquestioningly." For example, at first minor characters were brought on stage so that the audience had time to sit down ...
And here are the impressions recorded by eyewitness Joachim Nemeitz in 1721: “There are many opera houses in Venice ... Operas go on every day, starting at seven in the evening and continuing until eleven at night, after which most people go to the masquerade, dressing in fancy clothes. Foreigners should not be ashamed to take seats near the orchestra in the opera... But don't do anything wrong, because people in boxes, especially the upper ones, are sometimes so impudent that they can do something - even spit - especially when they see that someone is using a small candle to read the libretto. The most impudent of all are the barcaruoli (gondoliers) who are allowed in for free, and the other common people who stand below the boxes... They clap, whistle and yell so loudly that they drown out the singers. They don't pay any attention to anyone and they call it Venetian freedom."
Antonio Vivaldi threw himself into this whirlpool - like a true Venetian. At the age of 35, he worked in the theater "for three": he wrote operas (three or four a year), staged them himself, and even solved all financial issues himself - he became a co-owner of the Sant'Angelo Theater. In addition, he continued to teach and write music for Pieta, taking vacations there to stage his operas in other cities. Few healthy people can afford such a rhythm of life, and yet Vivaldi could hardly overcome even the distance from the door to the carriage without outside help, he was so tormented by shortness of breath. But he did not seem to notice this, because his plans could not wait, he did himself the only indulgence: the theater "Sant'Angelo" is the closest to his house.
Generally speaking, participation in such amusements is a strange occupation for the holy father, but he considered the opera his vocation, the main business of life, gave her maximum strength. Because of this passion of his, he ruined relations with both the Pieta leadership and the church authorities. And most importantly, he began to pay less attention to instrumental music. You can recall the "two birds with one stone", but do we have the right to judge a genius? Perhaps the theater gave him that feeling of fullness and brilliance of life, which he was deprived of in his youth due to illness and a long stay in the seminary. But time put everything in its place: it was the concerts that immortalized the name of the composer, perhaps because in them he was real, sincere, not constrained by any conventions, while the opera brought him short-term fame and big problems.
Trouble began in 1720. At the very height of the season, an anonymous pamphlet appeared, ridiculing the then opera in general and Vivaldi's operas in particular. The pamphlet was caustic, witty, the author very aptly noticed all the theatrical clichés, of which there were many. Much later it turned out that its author was Benedetto Marcello, a successful composer and publicist who failed in the operatic genre.
For Vivaldi, this was a strong blow - both moral and financial (the audience openly laughed at the performances, recognizing another stamp). But he got out of this situation with dignity: he did not start squabbles, for almost four years he did not stage new operas, he revised a lot in his operatic work (for example, the level of the libretto). The new operas were a great success, the most famous of them - written in 1734 "Olympias" to the libretto of the outstanding playwright Pietro Metastasio - is staged in our time.
Joys and sorrows
The opera brought Vivaldi an unexpected gift. Anna Giraud, a pupil of Pieta, was invited to the main role in his new opera. Vivaldi spent an unacceptable amount of time with her for the holy father, and, of course, rumors immediately spread. Antonio defended Anna's honor in every possible way, arguing that he needed help and Anna and her sister only looked after him, but few believed him, and relations with the clergy completely deteriorated.
These vicissitudes are of little importance now, something else is much more important: this is not an easy, but beautiful time, when his life was lit up with love, gave us the most beautiful music. It was then that the cycle "The Seasons", the concert "Night", many wonderful concerts and spiritual works ("Gloria", "Magnificat") were born.
The last period of Antonio Vivaldi's life is similar to his concerts: joy and sadness succeed each other. On the threshold of his 50th birthday, our hero was full of energy and ideas. Operas rained down like a cornucopia (for the carnival season of 1727, he composed as many as eight operas), many of the roles in them were written specifically for Anna Giraud. In 1728, the Austrian king Charles VI, a great connoisseur of music, invited Vivaldi to Vienna. For two years he traveled and gained European fame (thanks to European admirers, most of his legacy has been preserved).
The trouble came unexpectedly. In 1737, Vivaldi was going to stage new operas in Ferrara, everything was going well, when suddenly the bishop of Ferrara, which, unlike Venice, belonged to the papal region, forbade the composer to enter the city. After many years, the church remembered everything about Vivaldi: the refusal to lead the mass, his personal life, successes in the musical field. When the operas were still allowed to be staged, they failed: the city was opposed to the failed priest. Vivaldi was in despair, he blamed only himself and his operas for the failure. Venice, too, no longer felt the same enthusiasm for them - either the fashion for it had passed, or its innovations turned out to be difficult for the public. Only in instrumental music did Vivaldi still have no equal. On March 21, 1740, in Pieta, he gave his farewell concert, at which his newly created works were played, the last ones ... Among them, the Echo concert is music filled with light, life, telling about the ideal harmony of nature and man.
At the end of 1740, Vivaldi parted forever with Pieta, which for so many years owed him his musical fame. The last mention of his name in the documents of the "conservatory" is connected with the sale of many concerts by him on August 29, 1740 at one ducat apiece. Such a low cost is undoubtedly due to the financial difficulties of Vivaldi, who was forced to prepare for a long journey. At the age of 62, he made a courageous decision to leave his ungrateful homeland forever and seek recognition in a foreign land.
He went to Vienna to Charles VI, but here, too, failure awaited him: the king died, the war began, and no one needed music. Soon the life of Vivaldi himself was cut short.
Forgotten and abandoned by everyone, Antonio Vivaldi died in Vienna on July 28, 1741 "from internal soaring", as was recorded in the funeral protocol.
Concertos for violin and flute
Concertos for mandolin
Flute Concertos
Oboe Concertos
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucho (Lucio, Lucio) Vivaldi (Italian: Antonio Lucio Vivaldi). Born March 4, 1678 in Venice - died July 28, 1741 in Vienna. Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher, conductor, Catholic priest.
It is considered one of the largest representatives of the Italian violin art of the 18th century, which during his lifetime received wide recognition throughout Europe.
Master of the ensemble and orchestral concert - concerto grosso. Many of his compositions were written for the women's musical ensemble Ospedale della Pieta?
Antonio Vivaldi is one of the most prolific composers.
He is the author of 90 operas, including "Roland the Furious" (Orlando furioso), "Nero, who became Caesar" (Nerone fatto Cesare, 1715, ibid.), "The Coronation of Darius" (L'incoronazione di Dario, 1716, ibid. ), "Deception triumphant in love" (L'inganno trionfante in amore, 1725, ibid), "Farnak" (1727, ibid., later also called "Farnak, ruler of Pontus"), "Cunegonde" (1727, ibid.), Olympias (1734, ibid.), Griselda (1735, San Samuele Theatre, Venice), Aristides (1735, ibid.), Tamerlane (1735, Philharmonic Theatre, Verona ), "Oracle in Messenia" (1738, theater "Sant'Angelo", Venice), "Ferasp" (1739, ibid.); oratorios - “Moses, God of the Pharaoh” (Moyses Deus Pharaonis, 1714), “Triumphant Judith” (Juditha Triumphans devicta Holo-fernis barbarie, 1716), “Adoration of the Magi” (L’Adorazione delli tre Re Magi, 1722), etc.
44 concertos for string orchestra and basso continuo;
49 concerti grossi;
352 concertos for one instrument accompanied by string orchestra and/or basso continuo (253 for violin, 26 for cello, 6 for viol d'amore, 13 for transverse, 3 for longitudinal flutes, 12 for oboe, 38 for bassoon, 1 for mandolin ); 38 concertos for 2 instruments accompanied by string orchestra and/or basso continuo (25 for violin, 2 for cello, 3 for violin and cello, 2 for horns, 1 for mandolins);
32 concertos for 3 or more instruments accompanied by string orchestra and/or basso continuo.
One of the most famous works is the first 4 concertos from the 8th opus, a cycle of 12 violin concertos - "The Four Seasons" - an early example of program symphonic music.
Vivaldi made a significant contribution to the development of instrumentation, he was one of the first to use oboes, horns, bassoons and other instruments as independent, and not duplicating.
Antonio Vivaldi - composer and priest
Antonio Vivaldi was born on March 4, 1678 in Venice, which at that time was the capital of the Venetian Republic. Until the middle of the 20th century, researchers of Vivaldi's biography assumed various dates of the composer's birth, there were statements that he was born in 1675, and other dates were given.
The records of the church parish of St. John the Baptist (San Giovanni in Bragora, Castello district) discovered in January 1963 by the English scientist Eric Paul made it possible to finally establish the composer's date of birth.
He was baptized immediately after his birth in his home by a midwife who convinced everyone that the baby's life was in danger. Although it is not known for certain, the child's early baptism was most likely due to either his poor health or the earthquake that shook the city that day. Impressed by the earthquake, Vivaldi's mother already initially identified her son as a priest. The official baptism of Vivaldi in the church took place two months later.
Antonio's distant ancestors were respected people in Brescia, where the composer's father, Giovanni Battista (1655-1736), was also born in 1655. At the age of ten, Giovanni moved with his mother to Venice, where he studied hairdressing. At that time, in Italian barbershops, as a rule, various musical instruments were kept to occupy clients' free time. Giovanni played the violin from time to time and subsequently devoted himself entirely to music.
In 1677, Giovanni marries Camille Calicchio (1655-1728) and a year later they have a son, Antonio. According to church records, Antonio had three sisters - Margarita Gabriela, Cecilia Maria and Zanetta Anna, and two brothers - Bonaventure Tomaso and Francesco Gaetano, who continued their father's work and later became barbers.
In 1685, the name of Giovanni Battista was included in the list of founders of the musical community "Sovvegno dei musicisti de Santa Cecilia", whose director was the famous composer, author of a number of operas, Giovanni Legrenzi. Subsequently, Giovanni became the chief violinist in the chapel of St. Mark's Cathedral. It is noteworthy that in those years the full name of Giovanni Vivaldi was listed as Giovanni Battista Rossi. For the unusual red hair color for the Venetians, which Antonio inherited from his father, he was subsequently called the "red priest" (Italian: il prette rosso).
In 1689, an opera was staged called "La Fedeltà sfortunata", which was composed by Giovanni Battista Rossi, from which it can be assumed that Vivaldi's father was himself a composer.
There is little information about the youthful years of the composer and his musical education. Probably, it was his father who became his first musical mentor, teaching him to play the violin, which the young composer joined from the age of ten, and already in 1689-1692 he replaced his father in the chapel of St. Mark's Cathedral due to his frequent absences from Venice.
According to some sources, Antonio studied music theory and composition with Giovanni Legrenzi, but given that Legrenzi died in 1690, many researchers question the fact that Legrenzi mentored the young Antonio.
Although the Luxembourg scholar Walter Kolneder noted the influence of Legrenzi's style already in one of Vivaldi's first composer works - "Laetatus sum ..." ("Let's rejoice ..."), written by him in 1691 at the age of thirteen. Violin virtuosity and echoes in Antonio's early works of the musical style of the famous Roman violinist Arcangelo Corelli have led to speculation that Antonio may have studied violin with this master. However, to date there is no clear evidence to support this, and the time chronology of the dates of Antonio's church service does not coincide with the date of his alleged training in 1703 in Rome.
Vivaldi's health was poor - symptoms such as "strettezza di Petto" ("chest tightness") were interpreted as a form of asthma. Although this did not prevent him from learning to play the violin, composing, and also taking part in musical events, it still did not give him the opportunity to play wind instruments.
The father's service in the church cathedral and contacts with the clergy influenced the choice of young Antonio's future career. He decided to become a clergyman, and this is quite understandable, since in Italy of those times it was common to combine spiritual and musical careers.
Shortly after his ordination in 1704, he received an indulgence in celebrating Mass on account of ill health. Vivaldi held mass as a priest only a few times, after which he left his duties in the church, although he remained a clergyman.
In September 1703, Vivaldi became Maestro di Violino (violin maker) at an orphanage called "Pio Ospedale della Pietà" in Venice. Being, first of all, a famous composer, Vivaldi at the same time was considered an exceptional violinist in terms of virtuosity. Vivaldi was only 25 years old when he started working at the Ospedale della Pietà. It was there that he composed most of his major works over the next thirty years.
There were four similar institutions in Venice. Their goal was to provide shelter and education for children who were left behind, as well as orphans whose families could not support them. These institutions were financed from the funds of the Republic. The boys were trained in trade and at the age of 15 had to leave the educational institution. The girls, on the other hand, received a musical education, while the most talented remained and became members of the famous orchestra and choir in Ospedale.
Vivaldi wrote concertos, cantatas, as well as vocal music based on biblical texts for students. These compositions, which number more than 60, are diverse: they include solo chants and large-scale choral works for soloists, choir and orchestra.
In 1704, Vivaldi, in addition to his duties as a violin teacher, also received the duties of a viola teacher. The position of maestro di Coro, which was accepted at one time by Vivaldi, required a lot of time and work. He had to compose a new oratorio or concerto for each holiday, as well as teach orphans music theory and how to play certain instruments.
Relations with Vivaldi with the board of directors of Ospedale were often tense. The council held a vote every year on whether to keep him at work as a teacher. The votes were rarely unanimous, and in 1709 it was not supported. A year after serving as a freelance musician, the Ospedale Council unanimously decided to return the composer back (in 1711). During Vivaldi's year-long absence from the Council, the importance of his role was realized.
In 1716 he was appointed musical director of the Ospedale and became responsible for all the musical activities of the institution.
In 1705, Giuseppe Sala's publishing house in Venice published his 12 sonatas, designated opus 1. In later years, Vivaldi repeatedly turned to the sonata genre for one and several instruments.
In 1706, Vivaldi's first public performance took place in the palace of the French embassy. The names of the virtuoso violinists, father and son of Vivaldi, are also mentioned in the edition of the Guide to Venice, prepared by the Italian cartographer Vincenzo Coronelli.
During this period, Vivaldi moved from Piazza Bragora to a new, more spacious house in the neighboring parish of San Provolo.
In 1711, 12 concerti "L'estro armonico" ("Harmonic Inspiration") were published. In the same year, he received a solid annual salary and became the main director of the pupils' concerts, since 1713 the director of the women's conservatory "Pieta" ("Ospedale della Pietà").
During these years, the young Vivaldi worked hard, combining teaching and composing. His name becomes famous in his native Venice, and given that Venice was visited by a large number of travelers at that time, Vivaldi's popularity spread beyond Venice. So, in 1709, during the presentation of the oratorio in Pieta, Vivaldi was introduced to the Danish king Frederick IV, to whom he later dedicated 12 violin sonatas.
In 1712, during his stay in Venice, the German composer, bandmaster from Breslau Gottfried Stölzel met with Antonio. Thus, Stölzel was the first German musician to have personal contact with Vivaldi.
Despite Vivaldi's frequent absences on tour, starting in 1718, Pietà paid him 2 sequins a month for the obligation to write two concertos a month for the orchestra, and also to rehearse with them at least five times during his stay in Venice. Pietà records show that the composer was paid for 140 concerts between 1723 and 1733.
Vivaldi began his career as an opera composer in 1713- he wrote a three-act opera "Ottone in villa" ("Ottone in the villa"), which premiered on May 17 of the same year at the provincial Teatro delle Grazie in Vicenza (Teatro delle Grazie). This opera is a typical example of an opera seria with its protracted action and intricate plot intrigue. Written to a libretto by Domenico Lalli, with whom Vivaldi subsequently collaborated on several occasions, she recreates one of the episodes of Roman history. In accordance with custom, castrato singers performed as soloists, performing both male and female parts. Their performance combined the strength and brilliance of male voices with the lightness and mobility of female ones. Apparently, the production was a significant success, as it attracted the attention of the Venetian impresario.
Soon Vivaldi received a commission (scrittura) for a new opera from Modotto, owner of the San Angelo theater, with whom he maintained contact until his last opera, Feraspe (1739).
A year later, in 1714, he wrote his second opera, Orlando finto pazzo (Roland, the imaginary madman), written to a libretto by Grazio Braccioli, which is a loose adaptation of the famous poem Roland Furious by the Italian poet Ludovico Ariosto.
Soon the composer wrote two oratorios in Latin texts, "Moses, God of the Pharaohs" in 1714 and "Judith Triumphant" in 1716. The score of his first oratorio, Moses, God of the Pharaohs, was subsequently lost. In the Roman conservatory of Saint Sessilia, only the text of the oratorio with the names of the performers has been preserved, from which it can be seen that all parts, including male characters, were performed by girls - students.
The oratorio "Judith Triumphant", distinguished by the freshness of melodic inspiration and the subtlety of orchestral color, belonged to the best creations of Vivaldi. With the wide recognition of the talent of the composer and teacher, the number of Vivaldi's students also increased, but neither new students nor the abundance of composer work at the Pieta Conservatory could distract Vivaldi from intensive work in the theater.
In 1715, he received a commission from the theater of San Angelo - 12 main arias in the opera "Nerone fatto Cesare" ("Nero who became Caesar"). In 1716, Vivaldi, commissioned by the San Angelo Theater, wrote another opera, L'incoronazione di Dario (The Coronation of Darius). In the same year, he wrote the opera "La costanza trionfante degl'amori e de gl'odii" ("Permanence triumphing over love and hate") for the second most important Venetian theater of San Mose, with which the composer was also closely associated in subsequent years. These operas premiered at the Carnival of 1716.
The fact that Vivaldi becomes famous not only in Venice, but also beyond its borders, is also evidenced by the fact that in 1718 his opera "Scanderbeg" ("Skanderbeg") is staged on the stage of the Florentine theater.
Vivaldi's progressive operatic style caused him some problems with more conservative musicians, such as Benedetto Marcello, a magistrate and amateur musician. His article entitled "Il Teatro Alla Moda" (1720) denounces Vivaldi and his operas, although he does not mention him directly in the text. But the cover of the article showed a boat (Sant'Angelo), at the left end of which stands a small angel in a priest's hat and plays the violin.
In a letter written by Vivaldi in 1737 to his patron, the Marquis Bentivoglio, he refers to the fact that he wrote "94 operas". However, only about 50 Vivaldi operas have been discovered, and no other documentation of the remaining operas exists. While Vivaldi certainly wrote many operas in his day, he never achieved the fame of such great contemporary composers as Alessandro Scarlatti, Johann Adolph Hasse, Leonardo Leo, and Baldassare Galuppi.
His most successful operas are "La Costanza trionfante" ("Permanence triumphing over love and hate") and "Farnace" ("Farnace"), each of which was revived on stage six times.
In general, the period from 1713 to 1718 is considered by many researchers to be the most productive stage in the composer's work: during these five years he wrote a total of eight operas.
In 1717 or 1718, Vivaldi was offered a new prestigious position as Kapellmeister at the court of Prince Philip of Hesse-Darmstadt, governor of the city of Mantua. He moved there and within three years composed several operas, among which was "Tito Manlio" ("Tito Manlio").
In 1721, the composer was in Milan, where he presented the drama "La Silvia" ("Silvia"). He revisited Milan the following year with the oratorio L'Adorazione delli tre Re Magi (The Adoration of the Magi).
In 1722 he moved to Rome, where he staged his new style operas. And Pope Benedict XIII invited Vivaldi to play for him. In 1725, Vivaldi returned to Venice and wrote four more operas that same year.
During this period, Vivaldi wrote four violin concertos, each corresponding to the four seasons and depicting scenes suitable for each season. Three of the concertos are original concepts, while the first, Spring, borrows Sinfonia motifs from the first act of his simultaneous opera Il Giustino. The inspiration for the concerts was probably the area around Mantua.
These concertos proved to be revolutionary in their musical concept: they depict the flow of streams, the singing of birds (various species, each specifically characterized), the barking of dogs, the noise of mosquitoes, the weeping of shepherds, storms, drunken dancers, quiet nights, hunting by both hunters, riding on ice skating and warming winter evenings. Each concerto is associated with a sonnet, in which Vivaldi may have described the scenes depicted in the music. These concerti were published in Amsterdam in 1725.
In Mantua, Vivaldi met the opera singer Anna Giraud., the daughter of a French hairdresser. This acquaintance had a great influence on the subsequent fate of Vivaldi. In his letters to the playwright Carlo Goldoni, Vivaldi presents Anna Giraud to him as his "diligent student."
According to researchers, it is Vivaldi who has a great merit in the development of Anna Giraud as an opera singer. This is quite likely, since Italian opera composers usually knew the secrets of vocal technique to perfection. Contemporaries spoke of Anna as a skilled and spiritual singer with a pleasant, albeit modest in range, voice.
Carlo Goldoni wrote that “she was ugly, but very graceful, had a thin waist, beautiful eyes, beautiful hair, a lovely mouth. She had a small voice, but an undoubted acting talent.
Anna Giraud's sister, Paolina, became a constant companion of Vivaldi, who became a kind of nurse of the composer and took care of the health of the composer, who suffered from bronchial asthma. After a three-year service in Mantua, Vivaldi, together with Anna and Paolina, returned to Venice, where the Venetians called Anna sharp-tongued "the girlfriend of the red-haired priest." In Venice, both of them constantly lived in the house of Vivaldi and accompanied him on numerous journeys associated at that time with dangers and hardships.
These relationships, which are too close for a clergyman, with the Giraud sisters have repeatedly caused criticism from the clergy. This was facilitated by the emergence of a huge number of popular rumors and speculation around the person of Vivaldi. So, According to one of the rumors, Vivaldi was a eunuch. Violation of the norms of the priest's behavior led to grave consequences for Vivaldi and the aggravation of his relations with the church nobility of the Papal States. It is known that in 1738 the Cardinal-Archbishop of Ferrara forbade Vivaldi to enter the city and celebrate Mass due to the composer's fall into sin.
Despite all this, he always defended the honor and human dignity of his life companions with great spiritual firmness, invariably speaking of them with deep respect.
After a three-year service in Mantua, Vivaldi returned to Venice. In 1723 he made his first trip to Rome and staged a new opera, Ercole sul Termodonte (Hercules on Thermodon). This opera made a greater impression on the Romans. The famous flutist, composer and musical theorist Johann Joachim Quantz, who arrived in Rome six months after the premiere of the opera, noted that "the public liked Vivaldi's Lombard style so much that since then they did not want to listen to other music."
In February 1724, Vivaldi again visited Rome to participate in the premiere of the opera Giustino (Justin or Giustino). The third opera, "La virtù trionfante dell'amore, e dell'odio, overo Il Tirane" ("Virtue triumphing over love and hate"), written in 1724 and presented in the same year at the Roman carnival, completed the triumphal success of the works composer in Rome, a performance in which was considered a serious test for any composer.
On the same visit, he had an audience with Pope Benedict XIII, to whom the composer performed excerpts from two of his works. Although many researchers believe that Vivaldi was received by Pope Benedict XIII, according to the German researcher Karl Heller, this could have been an audience with his predecessor, Innocent XIII. If we assume that Vivaldi was received by Benedict XIII, then this means that he stayed in Rome longer than during his first visit, since Benedict XIII was elected pope only on May 29, 1724.
In 1725, a cycle of 12 concertos "Il Cimento dell'Armonia e dell'Invenzione" ("The Art of Harmony and Invention" or "The Dispute of Harmony with Invention"), written by him around 1720, was published in Amsterdam. World famous, in Russia inaccurately named "Seasons", the first four concerts of this cycle already then made an indelible impression on the listeners with their frantic passion and innovation. Correct name - "The Four Seasons" (Le quattro stagioni), which directly refers to the multi-valued symbolism of the cycle.
Working at that time in the French embassy in Venice, he highly appreciated the music of Vivaldi and liked to perform some of this cycle himself on his favorite flute. Vivaldi's concertos are also widely known - “La notte” (night), “Il cardellino” (finchfinch), for flute and orchestra, concerto for two mandolins RV532, which are distinguished by artistic depiction and harmonic generosity inherent in his works, as well as spiritual works: “ Gloria", "Magnificat", "Stabat Mater", "Dixit Dominus".
In 1735, he was again a bandmaster for a short time.
Antonio Vivaldi - Storm (Vanessa May)
At the height of his career, Vivaldi received commissions from European nobility and royalty. The serenade (cantata) "Gloria Imeneo" ("Gloria and Igomene") was performed in 1725 by the French ambassador in Venice in a celebration of marriage. The following year, another serenade was written - "La Sena festeggiante" ("Celebrating the Seine") - for and premiered at the French Embassy, as well as in honor of the celebration of the birth of the French royal princesses - Henrietta and Louise Elisabeth.
"La Cetra" ("Zither") was dedicated by Vivaldi to Emperor Charles VI.
In 1728, Vivaldi met the emperor when he visited Trieste to oversee the construction of a new port. Charles admired the music of the Red Priest so much that he is said to have talked with the composer during one meeting longer than with his ministers for two years. He awarded Vivaldi a knighthood, a gold medal and invited him to Vienna. In response, Vivaldi presented the emperor with a handwritten copy of La Cetra.
In 1730, Vivaldi went to Vienna and Prague, accompanied by his father, where his opera Farnace was staged. Some of his later operas were produced in collaboration with two major Italian writers of the day. The librettos for Olympias and Catone in Utica were written by Pietro Metastasio, court poet in Vienna. Griselda was transcribed by the young Carlo Goldoni from a previously written libretto by Apostolo Zeno.
Like many composers of that time, Vivaldi had many financial difficulties in the last years of his life. His compositions were no longer held in such esteem as they had once been in Venice. Changing musical tastes quickly made them obsolete. In response, Vivaldi decided to sell a large number of manuscripts for negligible prices in order to secure his move to Vienna. The reasons for Vivaldi's departure from Venice are unclear, but it is likely that after the success of his meeting with Emperor Charles VI, he wanted to take the position of a composer at the imperial court.
It is also possible that Vivaldi went to Vienna to stage his operas. However, shortly after the composer's arrival in Vienna, Charles VI died, leaving him without royal protection and a permanent source of income. The war for the Austrian inheritance began - Vienna was not up to Vivaldi, and the composer left for a short time to look for a new job in Dresden, Saxony, where he most likely fell ill. Forgotten by everyone, sick and without a livelihood, he returned to Vienna, where he died on July 28, 1741, at the age of 63.
The quarterly doctor recorded the death of "Reverend Don Antonio Vivaldi from internal inflammation." On July 28, he was buried in a simple grave in a cemetery for the poor for a modest fee of 19 florins 45 kreuzers (Vivaldi's grave was not preserved in Vienna). A month later, the sisters Margarita and Jeanette received notice of Antonio's death. On August 26, the bailiff described his property in payment of debts.
Vivaldi is the largest representative of the Italian violin art of the 18th century, who approved a new dramatized, so-called "Lombard" style of performance.
He created the genre of solo instrumental concerto, influenced the development of virtuoso violin technique. Master of the ensemble and orchestral concert - concerto grosso (concerto grosso). Vivaldi established a 3-part cyclic form for the concerto grosso, singled out the virtuoso part of the soloist.
Even during his lifetime, he became known as a composer, capable of creating a three-act opera in five days and composing many variations on one theme.
He became famous throughout Europe as a virtuoso violinist. The musical heritage of Antonio Vivaldi was little known in the 18th-19th centuries, was in oblivion for almost 200 years, and only in the 20s of the 20th century, collections of the composer's manuscripts were discovered by an Italian musicologist.
For a long time, Vivaldi was remembered only because J.S. Bach made a number of transcriptions of the works of his predecessor, and only in the 20th century was the publication of a complete collection of Vivaldi's instrumental opuses undertaken. Vivaldi's instrumental concertos were a stage on the way to the formation of a classical symphony. Contemporaries often criticized him for his excessive enthusiasm for the opera stage and the haste and illegibility shown at the same time. It is curious that after the production of his opera "Furious Roland", friends called Vivaldi, none other than Dirus (lat. Furious). The operatic heritage of the composer has not yet become the property of the world opera scene. Approximately 94 operas are attributed to him, although only about 40 of them have been accurately identified.
Only in the 1990s, Furious Roland was successfully staged in San Francisco.
The work of Vivaldi had a huge impact not only on contemporary Italian composers, but also on musicians of other nationalities, primarily German. Here it is especially interesting to trace the influence of Vivaldi's music on J.S. Bach. In the first biography of Bach, published in 1802, its author, Johann Nikolaus Forkel, singled out the name of Vivaldi among the masters who became the subject of study for the young Johann Sebastian.
The strengthening of the instrumental-virtuosic nature of Bach's thematicism in the Köthen period of his work (1717-1723) is directly related to the study of Vivaldi's music. But its impact was manifested not only in the assimilation and processing of individual expressive techniques - it was much wider and deeper. Bach took Vivaldi's style so organically that it became his own musical language. The inner affinity with the music of Vivaldi is palpable in the most diverse works of Bach, right up to his famous "High" Mass in B minor.
The influence exerted by Vivaldi's music on the German composer was undoubtedly enormous. According to A. Casella, "Bach is his greatest admirer and probably the only one who at that time could understand all the greatness of the genius of this musician." Bach transcribed six Vivaldi concerti for clavier, three for organ, and one for four harpsichords, strings and basso continuo (BWV 1065), based on the concerto for four violins, two violas, cello and basso continuo (RV 580).
A crater on the planet Mercury is named after Antonio Vivaldi; the Italian Institute in Siena, (headed by Francesco Malipiero); Vivaldi browser, developed by former employees of Opera Software.
Antonio Vivaldi in cinema:
Vivaldi, Prince of Venice (France, 2006, directed by Jean-Louis Guillermoux);
"Vivaldi, the red-haired priest" (Italy, 2009, director Liana Marabini);
Tales of the old piano. Antonio Vivaldi (cartoon, Russia, 2007, director Oksana Cherkasova)
