Four Seasons (winter) Essay 2d7311

Samuel Wong – Year 11 Music How does Vivaldi evoke a sense of winter in Concerto No. 4 of The Four Seasons? The Four Seasons, composed by Antonio Vivaldi in 1723, was arguably his most famous composition. Consisting of four concertos, each is named after the four seasons and evokes the characteristics of its respective season and name. In particular, Concerto No. 4 “Winter”, induces a sense of distance and chilliness. The first movement begins with steady, consistent quavers (bars 1-11). The duration of the note values is extremely short, especially with the added effect of the staccato.This uniform rhythm helps invoke a sense of pattering rain, while the short duration of notes gives it the quiet chill; each note lasts for barely a second despite the slow initial tempo of the piece. In of pitch, there is also auniform melody in each half-bar; this repetition again highlights the steady pattering of rain.Another observable effect is the piece commencing in F minor. While there is no avoiding the sense of cold rain if the piece began in a major key, the piece would instead be conveying a sense of joy and celebration, rather than the detached, dismal sensation. There is much dissonance throughout this 11-bar opening, with a few seventh chords sprinkled throughout (bars 1-4, bar 8). Throughout this section, the dynamics are gradually increasing, showing a sharp growth in intensity, culminating in bar 12.There is a sudden change in texture at bar 12, dropping all other accompanying parts and leaving only the solo violin to play the demisemiquaver melody.This melody consists of scale runs and broken chords; both are also in minor. It has uses a much larger range of notes and is in forte, much louder than the introduction’s mezzo piano dynamics. This suggests it being stormy and unpredictable;a harsh wind interrupted only by the occasional chattering of teeth as a response the storm’s call.Most of the piece continues like so, although the repeated notes have a gradually shortened duration (bar 20 begins with semiquavers, bar 33 begins with consistent demisemiquavers). Combined with an increase in volume, this creates a sense of urgency and is seemingly resolved with a tonic chord. A much lighter melody is present in the second movement, with little to no dissonance accompanied by a major key. It is also relatively much slower(largo) and consists of pizzicato arpeggio progressions in the high strings for Violin I and Violin II. This movement contrasts vastly with the previous one, suggesting crowding around a warm fireplace rather than struggling against the bitterly harsh wind. There are also various sequences in the solo violin part (bars 3, 12-13); this serene progression can likewise be contrasted to the previous movement, with no build-up of dynamics or tension and no shortening of note durations. This movement is quite solid texturally; consisting of harmonising chords and the lack of solo parts. The final note is an E flat major chord, in the tonic key of this movement. The final movement of this piece also begins at a fast tempo (allegro), with F minor being the central key again. This movement begins quite loud, and remains louder than the first movement for most of the piece. However, this, especially at the beginning of the piece, does not suggest boldness. Rather, it suggests hesitancy, as shown by the repeated patterns before moving on to the next one.The note at the end of the bar is slightly higher than the one before it also suggests that this movement begins by conveying a sense of hesitancy and question. Furthermore, the first four bars do not resolve themselves before moving on to the next idea. This reminds of a sense of caution, as though someone were walking along the ice on a frozen lake. The limited range of notes used in each motif (bars 1-4, 6-9), shows that the person walking across the lake is most likely doing so

Samuel Wong – Year 11 Music slowly. The cello pedal note continues up to bar 47; in bar 42, the main violin and first violin have their parts written as a quickly descending melody, moving in oblique motion above four stationary parts. These notes have a shorter duration than before, again suggesting urgency, as though there was something great that was being foreshadowed. This foreshadowing occurs once again in bars 62 to 71, with a sequence that consists primarily of descending semiquavers. This suggests the harsh, unrelenting nature of the winter wind. In bar 120, the fast and unstoppable demisemiquaver runs start again. Similar to the first movement, there is a call and response between the leading violin and the other instruments. This sequence, concluding in bar 136, leads up to the finale of the piece which, with increasing dynamics and a much fuller texture, builds up the urgency, with the piece completing with a tonic chord. Vivaldi has successfully captured the characteristics of winter through his fourth concerto of The Four Seasons; he shows the winter wind is harsh and unrelenting.Seizing these attributes, Vivaldi has placed them into a piece, which portrays these characteristics extraordinarily well.