I. Spring (La primavera)

Allegro

Springtime is upon us.
The birds celebrate her return with festive song,
and murmuring streams are
softly caressed by the breezes.
Thunderstorms, those heralds of Spring, roar,
casting their dark mantle over heaven,
Then they die away to silence,
and the birds take up their charming songs once more.

Largo

On the flower-strewn meadow, with leafy branches
rustling overhead, the goat-herd sleeps,
his faithful dog beside him.

Allegro

Led by the festive sound of rustic bagpipes,
nymphs and shepherds lightly dance
beneath the brilliant canopy of spring.

II. Summer (L’estate)

Allegro non molto

Under a hard Season, fired up by the Sun
Languishes man, languishes the flock and burns the pine
We hear the cuckoo’s voice;
then sweet songs of the turtledove and finch are heard.
Soft breezes stir the air, but threatening
the North Wind sweeps them suddenly aside.
The shepherd trembles,
fearing violent storms and his fate.

Adagio e piano – Presto e forte

The fear of lightning and fierce thunder
Robs his tired limbs of rest
As gnats and flies buzz furiously around.

Presto

Alas, his fears were justified
The Heavens thunders and roar and with hail
Cuts off the head off the wheat and the proud grain.

III. Autumn (L’autunno)

Allegro

Celebrates the peasant, with songs and dances,
The pleasure of a bountiful harvest.
And fired up by Bacchus’ liquor,
many end their revelry in sleep.

Adagio molto

Everyone is made to forget their cares and to sing and dance
By the air which is tempered with pleasure
And (by) the season that invites so many, many
Out of their sweetest slumber to fine enjoyment

Allegro

The hunters emerge at the new dawn,
And with horns and dogs and guns depart upon their hunting
The beast flees and they follow its trail;
Terrified and tired of the great noise
Of guns and dogs, the beast, wounded, threatens
Languidly to flee, but harried, dies.

IV. Winter (L’inverno)

Allegro non molto

To tremble from cold in the icy snow,
In the harsh breath of a horrid wind;
To run, stamping one’s feet every moment,
Our teeth chattering in the extreme cold

Largo

Before the fire to pass peaceful,
Contented days while the rain outside pours down.

Allegro

We tread the icy path slowly and cautiously,
for fear of tripping and falling.
Then turn abruptly, slip, crash on the ground and,
rising, hasten on across the ice lest it cracks up.
We feel the chill north winds course through the home
despite the locked and bolted doors…
this is winter, which nonetheless
brings its own delights.

Popular for 294 years, but also forgotten for awhile…

The first recording may be from 1939, but the details are not clear, and it seems to have come from a French radio broadcast. The Four Seasons was very popular when Vivaldi wrote it. Yet Vivaldi’s music fell into relative obscurity for around 200 years, and in fact he died without a cent to his name. His music was losing relevance before he died, although from what I’ve read JS Bach was very interested in Vivaldi’s music, enough to transcribe some of his compositions.

Credit to Bach…

Bach may have helped spark the 20th century revival of his music, which becomes especially interesting because Bach’s music started to fall into relative obscurity until Mendelssohn and others helped the world rediscover his music.

After WWII…

The first recording actually made as a recording was in 1942. The first American recording was in 1947, and this recording seemed to have sparked the beginning of a swell in popularity which remains to this very day.

According to IMDb, there have been at least 100 different films and television shows that have used Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in some way, so picking a performance was not easy.