Classical Music - Corelli Ensemble

Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice on March 4th 1678 and was baptised on the spot, perhaps because a massive earthquake had hit the lagoon city on the same day and it was feared that the sickly infant wouldn’t survive any aftershocks. This was the first of many threats to the remarkable musical legacy left to us by the composer known as ‘il Prete Rosso’ (the Red Priest, because of the unusual colour of his hair). He never enjoyed good health (he suffered from chronic asthma) and suffered a negative reaction from conservative critics to the operatic style of his music. No matter: he soldiered on and became one of the most popular composers of his day. The Four Seasons, perhaps the most listened-to piece of classical music in modern times, was a big contemporary hit, too. Whatever you think of the piece now (and one can’t help feeling a little over-exposed to its charms) it was a radical departure from the norm in its time, accompanied by four self-written sonnets and dealing with the quotidiana of contemporary life, such as barking dogs, buzzing mosquitoes, and drunken dancers.

Vivaldi died a pauper and his work lost favour after his death, so much so that he became virtually forgotten until a chance rediscovery of some of his manuscripts just before WW2. His revival has been meteoric. The Corelli Ensemble will be playing The Four Seasons tonight, preceded by works from Corelli (Concerto Grosso in D) and Purcell (Chaconne). AG