The violinist and composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741) was born and spent much of his life in Venice, a city that, by making streets of its canals, disowned the magical invention and "ignored the wheel", as pointed out by a biographer of the composer.
This special and unique linkage with the Adriatic Sea allowed a unique tradition to be born, as well. Every year, on August 15, during the Feast of the Ascension, the ceremony of the "Sposalizio del mare" took place, offshore, two miles from Venice.
Lo sposalizio del mare
"We wed thee, sea, as a sign of true and everlasting domination", said the Doge as he threw his golden ring into the sea.
The ceremony was highly venerated, but in those years sarcasm was already present and Voltaire did note that in those weddings only the consent of the bride was missing. Not to be outdone, the renowned lover and writer Giacomo Casanova expressed concern about the possibility of a tragic accident that would make the Europeans say that “the Doge had finally consummated the marriage ".
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| Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741) |
Just like Casanova, the master Vivaldi must have known the old tradition but, as far as is known, he did not make a mockery of it, perhaps because of his ecclesiastical investiture. The maestro had received minor orders in 1693 and was ordained a priest in 1703, but many scholars have no hesitation in admitting that the religious vocation of "Il Prete Rosso" (because of the color of his hair, a family trait) was due to a sense of opportunism; it was a way of reaching a status to which he was not entitled by birth, since in the musician’s ancestry the sailors, pirates and bandits were abundant.
L'Ospedale della Pietá
As a priest and teacher of violin, Vivaldi began in 1703 a fruitful relationship with the Conservatory of Ospedale della Pietá. L'Ospedale was an institution in charge of hosting orphaned girls or illegitimate daughters to be educated exclusively in the art of music. Vivaldi would remain at the Conservatory until 1740, eventually becoming its Director. There he would compose most of his works which surpass the number of 450 if only the works for soloist with orchestral accompaniment are counted.
The Four Seasons - Winter
The twelve concerts that make up the collection titled “Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'invenzione” were published in 1724. The first four concerts, taken together, were later titled The Four Seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) and became in the most popular work of Antonio Vivaldi, an authentic bestseller of the eighteenth century's instrumental music.
The fourth concert, in F minor, Winter, is presented here in an amazing rendition by the Italian chamber orchestra I Musici, a musical ensemble that does not include a conductor, although here the baton is played, as the soloist, by the Italian virtuoso Federico Agostini.
Movements:
00:00 Allegro non molto
03:38 Largo
05:48 Allegro
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