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Composer of the Month - November, 2004

Antonio Vivaldi, 1678-1741
by Daryl Lee

Affectionately known as Il Prete Rosso (the Red Priest) because of his flaming red hair, Vivaldi was born to a barber-turned-violinist in the St. Mark's orchestra in Venice.  He trained for the priesthood, to which he was ordained at the age of 25, but quickly abandoned his liturgical responsibilities to become violin master at a well-funded Venetian girls' orphanage. His relationship with the orphanage continued for the rest of his life, including several full-time posts of increasing influence.  When away from the orphanage pursuing his opera career, he continued to support the orphanage by supplying them with original compositions for their repertoire.  One such piece is the Gloria (actually one of two Glorias) to be performed by the MOS in its 2004 Christmas Concert.

Vivaldi's creativity is exhibited by both his originality and his productivity.  In the course of producing approximately 550 concerti, an unknown number of operas (22 of which have survived), and about 60 choral works, he created several forms that served as models for contemporaries and followers, not the least of which was J. S. Bach. For instance, he pioneered the three-movement structure, sandwiching a slow movement between two fast ones. Not only was his creativity musical, but it also extended into the actual publishing realm. Rather than have his work published in Italy, he sent it north to a Dutch printer, because this printer used engraved plates rather than moveable type.  The result was a page of higher quality, and had the side effect of introducing Vivaldi to Northern Europe, broadening his influence.

After spending his entire career centered in Venice, Vivaldi moved in 1740 to Vienna under the patronage of Emperor Charles VI.  Unfortunately for the Viennese music world, his health failed him and he died the following year.

As popular as Vivaldi is in the early twenty-first century, he actually faded from view from his death until the middle of the twentieth century. At his death, he had exhausted his funding , his patron Charles VI had predeceased him, and he was buried with the paupers in Vienna. His work disappeared until 1926.  A few pieces were held as collectors' items, but performance of Vivaldi concerti and other music basically vanished.  Then through a near-miraculous chain of events, fortunately coinciding with a revival of interest in the Baroque period, his music was discovered in the archives of a boarding school, catalogued and protected through World War II, and finally given a season-long performance in London in 1951.

For further reading on Antonio Vivaldi:
http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/vivaldi.html
http://www.antonio-vivaldi.org/VIVcomposer.htm
http://www.baroquemusic.org/bqxvivaldi.html
http://www.lessontutor.com/bf_vivaldi.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Vivaldi

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