Western music historians generally define title music as a product of the Romantic period. In fact, Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" in the Baroque period already has the title music.

In 1725, Vivaldi released a set of violin concerto "Practice of Harmony and Creativity". The first four of the twelve concertos were titled "Spring", "Summer", "Autumn" and "Winter" respectively. This is the "Four Seasons" which is famous for music fans and talks about music fans.

Vivaldi wrote 49 operas in his life, about 450 concertos (more than 470 at first), 23 orchestras and 75 solo or trio sonatas. Of the more than 400 concertos, there are as many as 220 violin concertos, which is obviously his true behavior as a well-known violinist. The most popular violin concerto, and the most often performed in concerts, is "Four Seasons". But Vivaldi has very little personal information left for posterity. All we know is that he was a monk at the age of 25, so that he is called "red-haired priest". In 1714, Vivaldi could not recite chanting due to congenital chest disease, and turned to the poor female music school in Venice as a music teacher and music leader.

When was the production of "Four Seasons", and the background of the creation is no longer known, it can be known that in the years before the publication of "Four Seasons", Vivaldi basically traveled around Italy. The beauty of the four seasons and the customs of life that people change with the seasons, and the emotional changes brought about by the seasons, may leave a deep imprint in Vivaldi's mind, which touched him. Perhaps while traveling, Vivaldi has already written this popular movement.

Vivaldi is the first of many composers to use notes to describe nature and praise the four seasons. The four concertos are composed of standard concerto three movements. The total length of the four concerts does not exceed 50 minutes. Vivaldi is a violinist, and it is of course the first choice to use the violin to express the beauty of the four seasons. Saying "Four Seasons" is the precursor to the title music, not only because the first four concertos of "Harmony and Creative Practice" were titled "Spring", "Summer", "Autumn", "Winter", but also because Vivaldi left to In our "Four Seasons" score, each capital has a fourteen lines of anonymized poems praising the four seasons, and these short poems are subtitled before each movement. Although this famous poem is not wonderful, it accurately describes the scenery of the four seasons and people's emotional changes in the four seasons. Some people suspect that poems were written by Vivaldi, so whether there is poetry first and then music or music first and then poetry has become one of the topics of music critics. However, Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" accurately and beautifully interprets the word of poetry.

The first classic of "Four Seasons" is never tired of listening. The first movement of "Spring", "Spring Return to the Land," was the most famous, and later became the first choice of indoor concerts. The poem is:

First movement

The birds roared cheerfully and greeted spring warmly.

The breeze whispered the mountain spring, and the whispering streams flowed.

Dark clouds shrouded the sky, spring thunder burst, and light flashed.

The clouds and rain ceased, and the birds once again sang a beautiful movement.

Second movement

Flowers on the meadow,

The leaves murmured.

The shepherd boy slept in the company of a loyal dog.

Third movement

Under the bright spring sky,

With the lively and cheerful pastoral flute,

The fairy and the shepherd's wife danced.

The music started with a violin unison, telling people that spring is here and everything is recovering! Then the band's solo violin and the first violin responded and echoed each other, while the band accompanied, showing the birds roaring in the forest. Then use the broken bow on the bass to express the rumbling thunder, sparkling lights, spring thunder bursts. Finally, back to the melody at the beginning of the song, the bird cried again. The opening melody of this first movement has almost become Vivaldi's "signed music", and has even been praised as a business card for Baroque music by critics.

What is not lost in the first movement of "Spring" is the second movement of "Winter". This violin solo is one of the most famous and beautiful lyrical melodies written by Vivaldi. In the soothing and elegant piano sound, you can let go of your imagination: the snow is blowing outside and the wind is blowing, in the warm home, the fire is burning in the fireplace, you sit on the sofa near the fireplace, read a book and listen to music, your partner weaves wool on the sofa opposite. The puppy stretched its limbs and crawled beside the sofa ...

Like the first movement of "Spring", this violin solo has now become a must-have background music for high-end hotels and cafes. You can hear it all around the world and remind you of your home.

Just as poetry uses the method of freehand to portray the scenery of the four seasons, "Four Seasons" also uses plain music language and melody to present the four seasons. It is clear and clear, and there is no such deepness as a symphony. It is like a dialogue between family or friends. One hears it at the ear. I think this is the charm of "Four Seasons" that can penetrate everyone's heart, and also the greatness of Vivaldi.

Lei Jian