understanding vivaldi.


finally i can play one of vivaldi's concerto. and im also glad that im almost done with my violin book, i have 2 more pieces to go though, but its gettin there :D

today im tryin to rediscover vivaldi. back then i really dont care much about learning the life of famous composers, i dont even attend music classes in highschool. but now, while im playin vivaldi's concerto, it made me wonder what made vivaldi's composition different from the rest. i want to understand more of vivaldi's music. i also re-discovered his life today.

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (March 4, 1678 – July 27 or 28, 1741), nicknamed Il Prete Rosso ("The Red Priest"), was a Venetian priest and baroque music composer, as well as a famous virtuoso violinist; he was born and raised in the Republic of Venice. The Four Seasons, a series of four violin concertos, is his best known work and a highly popular Baroque music piece.

im a fan of the four seasons, i think its really fun to play. my favorite is spring. i wish i have a string quartet right now. hah! anyways back to vivaldi.


Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born in Venice, the capital of the Republic of Venice. He was baptized immediately at his home by the midwife. It is not known how the life of the infant was in danger, but the immediate baptism was most likely due to his poor health or to an earthquake that shook the city that day. Vivaldi's official church baptism (at least, the rites which remained other than the actual baptism itself) did not take place until two months later. His father, Giovanni Battista, a barber before becoming a professional violinist, taught him to play violin and then toured Venice playing the violin with his young son. Giovanni Battista was one of the founders of the Sovvegno dei musicisti di Santa Cecilia, a sort of trade union for musicians and composers. The president of the association was Giovanni Legrenzi, the maestro di cappella at St. Mark's Basilica and noted early Baroque composer. It is possible that the young Antonio's first lessons in composition were imparted by him. The Luxemburgese scholar Walter Kolneder sees in the early liturgical work Laetatus sum (RV Anh 31, written in 1691, at the age of 13) an influence of Legrenzi's style. His father may have been a composer himself: in 1688 an opera titled ''La Fedeltà sfortunata was composed by a Giovanni Battista Rossi, and this was the name under which Vivaldi's father had joined the Sovvegno di Santa Cecilia ("Rossi" for "Red", because of the colour of his hair, a family trait).

Vivaldi had a medical problem which he called the tightening of the chest (probably some form of asthma). His medical problem, however, did not prevent him from learning to play the violin, composing or taking part in many musical activities. At the age of 15 (1693), he began studying to become a priest. In 1703, at the age of 25, Vivaldi was ordained as a priest, soon nicknamed Il Prete Rosso, "The Red Priest", probably because of his red hair.

Not long after his ordination, in 1704, he was given a dispensation from celebrating the Holy Mass because of his ill health. In late 1706 he withdrew from active priesthood.

so yup, it was great learning bout vivaldi today. i wanna learn more and play more of his music. and then maybe i could understand baroque music too.