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Quarter Paper: Antonio Vivaldi and the music of his time
Throughout history there have been many distinct periods of time.
These various eras are all alike in a way because they all slowly flow
into each other. One of these unique times was called the Baroque period.
The Baroque time began during the 1600's and ended early during the early
1700's. The way Baroque music was looked at was varied depending on where
you looked at it from. In Italy, it was largely energetic and spectacular.
Yet, if you were to travel North, you would encounter the "gloom's of
muted firelight." This, along with the "shadowy pales of another world,"
simply means that this music wasn't greatly appreciated in Southern Italy,
as it was more towards the North. The people of the North were not as
affectionate towards this type of music. Although, the more time that had
passed in the 1600's, the more popular the baroque music became. It was
greatly adored by the listeners. The beauty that this type of music
contained was extremely astonishing. Also the drama in this type of music
and theatre was what made this time stand out from the rest.
The actual term "baroque" is extracted from "baroco" which is a
name used by medieval philosophers to identify a reasoning that writers of
the 16th century found absurd and pointless. On the contrary, Baroque
music is far from being absurd or pointless. The word "baroque" is
derived from that or from the word "barrochio" that is an Italian word
used since the middle ages to indicate shifty or tricky procedures.
Wherever it's beginnings, the word "baroque" had been used since the 18th
century to indicate paintings, poems, architecture, literature, and all
else that is dynamic, dramatic, and to some eyes, astonishing and
incredibly even ugly. This really comes to a surprise to me because I've
listened to baroque music like Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Sebastian Bach
and none of the music struck me as being "ugly." The first word that came
to mind when I was listening was "relaxing." Like all other music, there
are some people that think higher of it then others. Sir Francis Bacon
said, "^+I cannot but be raised to this persuasion, that this third period
of time will far surpass that of the Grecian and Roman learning^+" After
reading this quotation you can clearly see that Sir Francis Bacon thinks
the Baroque time is far superior to the Grecian and Roman periods. The
basis of his opinion probably rests on the fact that he has seen artwork,
or heard music from the other two times he had compared to the Baroque
period (the Grecian and the Roman.)
The Baroque time itself was filled with musical geniuses. People
like Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philip Telemann, Johann Pachelbel, Franz
Josef Haydn, and Georg Frideric Handel. All of these people, were amazing
when holding an instrument, sitting at a piano, or writing on manuscript
paper, but the finished products (whatever they might be) were and always
will be superb. Among these people, was Antonio Vivaldi. Antonio Vivaldi
was born on March 4, 1678, and on May 6, 1678 he was baptized by a mid-
wife, because she was afraid he might die. This woman's name was Madama
Margarita. Antonio Vivaldi's mother Camilla, the daughter of a Venetian
tailor Camillo Calicchio, marries Gianbattista Vivaldi on August 6, 1677.
Due to the stato libero, Antonio was presumably born prematurely, and
declared to be free from any impediment from matrimony, also because he
was not baptized in church until two months after his birth. Antonio
Vivaldi, being a sickly child from the very start was ill, and in fear of
his death before being baptized, Madama Margarita had had him baptized.
The people, who studied and researched Antonio Vivaldi, in trying
to trace back his family history, could not trace back any farther than
his paternal grandparents, who lived in Brescia. Their son Giovanni
Battista (or Gianbattista) was born in 1665, and when he was ten, his
mother took him to Venice, presumably on the death of his father.
Originally Vivaldi's dad had become a barber, but he was also an
accomplished violinist. Which makes it easy to understand where Antonio
got his musical talent from (especially with the violin.)
Antonio Vivaldi's output was enormous. He wrote 94 operas, and
although theses are rarely revived, 19 of them are preserved. He had
written around 500 concertos. It is said that he invented the ritornello
form. This is where varied restatements in different keys of a refrain,
alternate with modulating episodes of free thematic character, where a
soloist predominates. If he did not invent this, he was certainly the
first to use this technique . If can be found in almost all of his works.
The same is true with the three-movement plan. Several occasional
features of Vivaldi concertos were taken farther and standardized by his
successors. Some of his successors were the northern Italians, including
Tartini and Locatelli.
These men often used Antonio Vivaldi's techniques and strategies
for their own personal musical interpretations.
Roughly 350 concertos are for one solo instrument and strings,
over 230 of them were made for the violin (this alone, shows Antonio
Vivaldi's love for the instrument.) Other solo instruments (in descending
order of frequency) are bassoon, cello, oboe, flute, viola d'amore,
recorder, and mandolin. There are 40 double concertos (meaning it was
written for two different instruments in particular,) mostly for two
similar instruments but including such rare combinations as viola d'amore
and lute. He also really liked, and wrote often, ensemble concertos, in
which three or more soloists participate, number over 30 and introduces,
among other instruments, clarinets, therbos, horns and timpani, also did
this. Antonio Vivaldi also has his own original way of interpreting his
thoughts into his music. He will start out with an idea. Then, think of
the music in his head,which comes to mind when thinking of his idea. After
that, he writes down his ideas on manuscript paper and changes voices and
other noises into instrumental riffs and parts in the piece. For example,
in the central movement of the "Spring" concerto, we hear simultaneously a
sleeping shepherd (solo violin,) a rippling brook (orchestral violins,)
and a vigilant sheepdog (a viola.) This is just one of many examples of
his outer surroundings interpreted into his music.
Going back to the baroque period, this is how that period of time
and Antonio Vivaldi tie together. Approximately 90 of his sonatas are by
in form and style reflecting the life and culture of Italy during the time
of Baroque. The special role of what was going on in Italy could easily be
interpreted through his music. His most interesting sonatas are probably
the ones written for groups of two violins performable without bass. These
are the ones that sound the most acoustic. It sounds like this because of
the absence of the bass.
Antonio Vivaldi died in July of 1741. The exact day of his death
is unknown (like his birth date) but he was buried on July 28, 1741. The
Italian composer was a major figure in Baroque music and he exercised a
big influence on the development of the concerto. His techniques and
strategies will be looked at and admired for years. His style has and will
be mimicked and redone. Antonio Vivaldi's music was forgotten for a
century after his death. Yet, after his death, Johann Sebastian Bach had
arranged a number of Antonio Vivaldi's concertos for the keyboard. As
predicted, before his death, his work was copied. Johann Sebastian Bach, a
talented composer need not use the work of others yet took it upon himself
to use the previously done work of Antonio Vivaldi, and arrange what he
had done, for the keyboard. Large quantities of Antonio Vivaldi's works
have been found since the 1920's and they are now widely published,
performed, and recorded. Even though directly after his death Antonio
Vivaldi was in a way forgotten about, he will always be remembered and
honored as his works play throughout churches, studios, and homes
throughout the globe.
Endnotes
1) http://www.islandnet.com/~arton/baroque.html
2) http://www.columbia.edu/~ijhl/vol1no1.html
3) http://www.islandnet.com/~arton/baroque.html
4) http://www.columbia.edu/~ijhl/vol1no1.html
5) http://weber.u.washington.edu/~acamp/music/baroque.html
6)Vivaldi, Alan Kendall, p.13, 1978
7)Baroque, Harold Kellwroth, p.212, 1982
8)Baroque, Harold Kellwroth, p.245, 1982
9)Vivaldi, Alan Kendall, p.11, 1978
Word Count: 1306
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