Antonio Vivaldi: La Primavera, Movement I
In 1703, Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), already well known as a violinist, secured the
position as maestro di concerto at the Ospedale della Pietà, one of four Venetian institutions for
the care and musical training of orphaned girls. In his solo career, he had at times been criticized
for having too great a command of his instrument, and “being of a volatile disposition, having
too much mercury in his constitution.” His new position at the Ospedale provided him with
performing ensembles and audiences eager for his compositions. While at the institution, he
composed 500 concertos, forty-nine operas for the Venetian opera houses, and many other
works.
The instrumental concerto style of Vivaldi was the result of a century of development and
experimentation on the principle of concertato, or concerted music, in which contrasting sections
are placed side by side in a single piece of music. Early concerti often contrasted solo, choral,
and instrumental sections, as seen in the compositions of Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli,
organists at the Church of St. Mark in Venice from 1566 to 1612. The unusual physical design of
St. Mark’s, featuring multiple choir lofts, was especially conducive to sectional contrasts in
dynamics, instrumentation, and spatial separation. The principle of contrast and unification is the
primary feature of the later baroque concerto in which an instrument or small group of
instruments is contrasted with the orchestra.
Listening Tips:
La Primavera (“Spring”) is a concerto that is also an early example of program music,
music that references external objects or concepts. Vivaldi clearly indicated his references by
writing the phrases of a poem in the musical score. (Those references are included in the
listening guide below.) In addition, the music is structured by contrasting sections for the
orchestra and the violin soloist, who is accompanied by the orchestra. This movement opens with
an energetic orchestral section called a ritornello. Each of the ritornello’s two phrases is played
loudly and then repeated softly in the terraced dynamics typical of baroque music. The pictorial
passages in the solo sections of this movement provide contrasts between returns of the ritornello
theme and contain tone painting, in which Vivaldi attempts to imitate the sound of natural
objects: birds, a stream, a storm. Birdsongs are imitated by high trills and repeated notes played
by violins. Murmuring streams are suggested by soft running notes. Rapid loud scales and
chordal figures represent thunder and lightning.
Listening Guide:
00:00
Ritornello opening phrase: loud
Spring has come,
and soft
00:14
Ritornello closing phrase: loud and
soft
00:32
High repeated notes and trills
And joyfully, the birds greet it with a
happy song.
01:06
Ritornello closing phrase
01:14
Running notes below sustained
And the streams, fanned by gentle breezes,
tones in violins.
flow along with a sweet murmur.
01:38
Ritornello closing phrase
01:46
Upward rushing scales introduce
Covering the sky with a black cloak,
high solo violin, brilliant virtuoso
thunder and lightening come to announce
passages answered by low strings
the season.
02:15
Ritornello closing phrase
02:23
High repeated notes and trills
When these have quieted down, the little
birds return to their enchanting song.
02:43
Ritornello, varied
02:55
Solo violin, running notes
03:11
Ritornello closing phrase
03:32
End