Autumn Concerto
On 26th March 2019, I listened to the autumn concerto by Antonio Vivaldi on YouTube. Com. I chose autumn because I found it the most exciting violin concerto in the Four Seasons.
Antonio Vivaldi was one of the most famous composers during the Baroque period. He was born on 4th March 1678 in Venice, Italy, as the firstborn in a family of nine children. He composed more than 500 pieces during his time, including the Four Seasons for which he is celebrated. Vivaldi’s father, Giovanni Battista, taught him how to play violin in his early years. He accompanied his father when he toured Venice to play the violin. Vivaldi joined the priesthood in 1693 but withdrew in 1703 due to chest pains, but since then, he concentrated more on his music aspirations. One of his famous works is the Four Seasons, which is a piece consisting of four sections, which are winter, autumn, summer, and spring. He composed the pieces to offer a musical representation of the four seasons in a year.
Autumn turned out to be my favorite concerto since it was more relaxed and blissful. The concerto stays in the major key, which makes its texture smooth and cheery. It is a joyful and jubilant section depicting peasants who are celebrating an abundant harvest. The peasants a relieved that their crops survived summer, and in celebration, they drink heavily and fall asleep. The second movement reveals the peaceful sleep that occurs after the harvest celebrations. The piece depicts how a cool breeze replaces the songs and dances in the festival, and when the joyful music fades away, it is replaced by peaceful melodies to represent a peaceful nap. In the third movement, the concerto brings s dramatic feeling as it recovers a cheerful mood. However, the cheerful mood fades as the peasants start showing panic of the prey, and they start preparing for winter.
The concerto has many rhythms, which makes it smooth and flowing. Its timbre is light and warm, which produces a pleasant and relaxing atmosphere when listening to the piece. The soloist in the piece leads the band and brings out a sweet, smooth, and cheerful melody throughout the concerto. In the background, the orchestra maintains a tempo beat of a sixteenth note with the second violins accentuating the beats to bring an orderly effect. The progression of the soloist through the melody is followed by the roots of the chords from the complete notes played by the violas, and they produce a pleasant harmony. The scale of the piece results in a little variation when it progresses to higher notes. The dynamics of the concerto rise in each phase but progressively relax and rise again.
In summary, the autumn presents jubilant instants after a bumper harvest. The orchestra reveals the relief of the peasants after their crops survive the harsh winter. When the celebrations intensify, the rhythm of the music changes and reveals a quiet melody. The soft melody is used to represent the sleeping state of the peasants after they indulge in too much alcohol during the festival. However, a cheerful mood is introduced again to depict the moment of preparation by the hunters. The first round of the orchestra, together with the violin solo, reproduces the sounds made by the hunting horn. A series of dialogue is created between the band and the violinist when they describe the adventure of the hunters.