A Fling with Vivaldi's Spring
I. Allegro
Le quattro stagioni, Op. 8: Concerto No. 1 in E major, RV 269 ("La primavera")
Hello, I'm Vivaldi, and I'd love to explain the I. Allegro movement of Spring (Four Seasons) to you. You'll learn to spot the moment when low, rumbling strings roll in like thunder and quick rising scales flash across them, which turns a sunny birdsong scene into a storm. Once the storm has passed, try a round in the Trainer , where my fellow composers and I teach you to recognize our pieces whenever they play.
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Fasten Your Ears, Not Your Seatbelt
Here's how I'd listen to this movement, my friend: treat it as a little story told without a single word. The soloist is one violin, and the rest of the strings play the orchestra around it, with the continuo quietly keeping the ground steady underneath. Follow the violins first, because they do the chirping, the rippling and the flashing, while the low strings supply the rumble. When the same cheerful tune comes back now and then, don't worry, because that's the refrain, and it's there to help you find your way.Why It's Simply Called Allegro
The title is really a tempo marking, a note to the players that this music should move along briskly and with energy. I chose it because spring, the way I picture it, doesn't tiptoe in, since the whole countryside wakes up at once. I also published a sonnet alongside the concerto, and the story goes that I may have written it myself, though nobody can prove it. The printed score is marked to show which passages stand for which lines of the poem, so the music tells you exactly where you are in the story.A Refrain With Adventures
Choosing the form was an adventure in itself, and I settled on a ritornello, which is simply a refrain that keeps returning. The opening refrain has a small shape of its own, with each half played twice, which gives the pattern aabb. In the next paragraphs I'll take you through five sections: the refrain announcing spring, the birds, the streams and breezes, the storm, and the return of the birds. The whole movement is in E major, and I'll point out how the mood shifts from section to section even while the music stays at home in that sunny key.Section 1: The Doorbell Of Spring
The refrain opens the movement in E major, and it announces the arrival of Springtime with a bright, bouncing tune. Each half of it is played twice, that aabb shape I mentioned, so the melody sticks in your head before it has even finished. The tempo is Allegro, lively and steady, and the mood is one of plain, open joy. Remember this tune well, because it's the home you keep coming back to during the rest of the movement.Section 2: The Birds Have Opinions
Next, the solo violin and two of the orchestral violins take up the song of the birds. They twitter back and forth in short, bright phrases that seem to answer each other across the treetops. The section ends with violin trills, those quick shivering notes that sound like a bird holding on to one last cheerful note. The sonnet says the birds celebrate spring's return with festive song, and the mood here is light and playful.Section 3: A Breeze Does The Talking
Then the music softens, because the sonnet turns to murmuring streams that are softly caressed by the breezes. The pace stays steady, but the energy settles into a gentle, flowing motion, a bit like water slipping over smooth stones. Listen for the quieter playing, since the bouncy celebration gives way to something tender and calm. It's a short moment of peace, and I placed it there so that the storm that follows would feel all the more sudden.Section 4: The Sky Loses Its Temper
Now the sonnet speaks of thunderstorms casting their dark mantle over heaven, and the mood changes sharply. Low tremolos in the orchestra imitate the thunder, a shaking rumble that you almost feel more than you hear. Quick ascending scales stand for the lightning, and over them the soloist plays rapid arpeggios that race up and down. This is the darkest and most dramatic stretch of the movement, and I wrote it so that the calm afterwards would feel like real relief.Section 5: An Encore For The Birds
Then the storm dies away to silence, just as the sonnet says, and the music thins out until there is hardly anything left. Out of that quiet the birds take up their charming songs once more, with the violins chirping and trilling again. The bright spirit of the opening refrain returns, and the movement ends in the same sunny mood in which it began. After a thunderstorm, I find birdsong to be the most cheerful sound there is, and I wanted you to hear that too.Your Turn To Step Outside
Now it's your turn to hear it, so press play and let the music carry you along. Keep our little map in mind: the refrain, the birds, the streams, the storm and the birds once more. You don't need to know anything about music to follow it, because you only have to listen the way you would listen to a story. I hope you enjoy the journey through this movement as much as I enjoyed creating it.---
We've reached the end of this listen guide, and I hope the first movement of Spring now feels like a story you can follow from the first bird to the last. Did you enjoy this listen guide to the first movement of Spring, and does it give you something new to listen for? The next time you hear it, I think you'll notice the birdsong, the thunder and the returning song a little sooner than before. There is still a lot more to explore in Spring (Four Seasons), from the quiet second movement to the pastoral dance that closes the concerto. The sonnets that go with the music are worth a look too, even though nobody knows for certain who wrote them. If you'd like to keep going, click on the links below to explore Spring (Four Seasons) further. I'd be glad to have you along for the rest of the journey.