Antonio Vivaldi ranks behind only Bach and Handel among famous composers of the Baroque era. Though he is most celebrated for his concerti for soloists and orchestra, helping to elevate the form to one of the most important in classical music, he was also a prolific composer of operas and sacred vocal music, making similarly important contributions to those genres.
- The twelve concerti published as Op.3 under the title L'estro armonico (The harmonic inspiration) comprise four concerti for four violins, four for two violins, and four for one violin, and they include some of his most enduringly popular works.
- By far the most popular concerto from L'estro armonico in Vivaldi's lifetime was the sunny No.5 in A major,
full of fluid and birdsong-like passagework for the two soloists, and once considered the rite of passage for aspiring concert violinists. While it may have been eclipsed by some of Vivaldi's other compositions in the centuries since, it is such a genial work that it's hard not to be won over by it. - Concerto No.6 in A minor is now a more familiar rite of passage for aspiring concert violinists, and its strident opening movement, plaintive slow movement, and stately finale may be light on technical demands compared to Vivaldi's other concerti, but they still serve as a sterling example of his style and a perfect introduction to the composer for student violinists.
- No.8 in A minor boasts magnificent interplay between the two soloists threaded through all three movements; Bach was a particular fan of the piece, and produced a captivating arrangement for organ that retains the orchestral textures of Vivaldi's version while still sounding fresh and new.note
- Bach was also a fan of Concerto No.10 in B minor, with its four soloists racing in and out of the spotlight every few measures as though in a musical relay race in the outer movements, and then all coming together for the intense Larghetto episode at the centre of the slow movement. Bach's arrangement for four harpsichords and orchestra is a particular highlight of his output for soloist(s) and orchestra.
- And L'estro armonico goes out on a high with the infectiously cheerful No.12 in E major, the pure joy of the first and third movements framing a dignified Largo that requires as much emotional sensitivity as the outer movements do technical prowess. Once again, Bach loved this concerto, and produced a virtuosic arrangement for solo harpsichord.note
- By far the most popular concerto from L'estro armonico in Vivaldi's lifetime was the sunny No.5 in A major,
- The Four Seasons is a set of four violin concertos, one associated with each season, and they rank among the most famous classical pieces ever composed.note All four give the solo violinist plenty of opportunities to show off, and Vivaldi's career as an operatic composer gave him a keen sense of how to paint pictures with music. Each concerto is accompanied by a sonnet (sometimes attributed to Vivaldi himself) that describes the scenes portrayed in the music.
- The first movement of Concerto No.1 in E major, La primavera (Spring), is the best known of the twelve movements across all four concerti, with an instantly recognisable main melody and interludes representing birdsong, the flow of a brook, and a sudden spring storm that ends almost as quickly as it began. The second movement is more sombre, with a violin drone imitating the dog of a snoozing goatherd, but the joys of spring return in full force in the dancelike third movement.
- Concerto No.2 in G minor, L'estate (Summer), suggests that Vivaldi didn't care for the hottest months of the year. The first movement radiates heat so oppressive even the musicians can only play a few notes at a time (apart from another interlude of birdsong), while the second movement paints a musical picture of swarms of insects, and both movements foreshadow the furious summer thunderstorm that breaks in the finale, the most exhilarating movement across all four concerti. The accompanying sonnet suggests that we are seeing summer through the eyes of a farmer fretting over the approaching storm, and we can almost feel his despair as his crops are destroyed by the hail and heavy rain.
- The upbeat mood returns for Concerto No.3 in F major, L'autunno (Autumn), at least at first. The opening movement is a merry gathering of villagers for food and drink, but before we even reach the end of the movement, the villagers' overindulgence has left them too tired to move, and they sleep right through the cool breezes of the harmonically unstable second movement. The boisterous "hunting party" finale is another of the most famous movements of the set, with ferocious pizzicato from the orchestra to imitate the blast of hunting rifles, and when the prey, fatally wounded, finally dies... the hunters simply gallop off into the sunset, making plans for the next hunt.
- Concerto No.4 in F minor, L'inverno (Winter), has a chill in the air in its first movement, the soft opening measures conjuring up images of snow falling, and tremolo passages later in the movement imitating chattering teeth. The serene slow movement, another of the set's most famous, imagines a scene by a fire as cold rain falls against the windowpane (represented by pizzicato arpeggii), while the finale paints a scene of people trying to keep their footing on the icy ground. There is a strange sense of delight below the surface throughout the concerto, confirmed by the accompanying sonnet which concludes, "This is winter, but what joy it brings."
- The first movement of Concerto No.1 in E major
- Vivaldi was one of the first composers to write concert works for flute and orchestra, and the most awesome of his flute concerti - and possibly the first flute concerto ever composed - is Op.10 No.1 in F major, nicknamed "La tempesta di mare" ("The sea storm"). The title, one Vivaldi used for several of his concerti, is perhaps a bit misleading, as far from being stormy, the concerto is full of joy and life in its outer movements, with plenty of opportunities for the flautist to show off technical prowess, while the second movement provides a moment of solemnity.
- The most famous of Vivaldi's sacred vocal works is the Gloria in D major. Although there are awesome moments in the early movements (such as the sprightly "Laudamus te" for solo soprano and alto and the buoyant "Domine Fili unigenite" for full chorus), Vivaldi saves the best for last; singing the concluding double fugue on "Cum Sancto Spiritu" makes you feel ten feet tall.note
