Four Seasons Op. 8 n°2 : Summer

About this work

In Summer, the heat is far from picturesque. At first the orchestra seems overwhelmed, the violin evokes several birds, then the winds quarrel over the landscape. The zephyr attempts a breeze; Boreas arrives with much less delicacy. From the first movement, we know the storm will have the final word.

The slow movement gives no one much rest. The soloist tries to sing while flies, insects and thunder interrupt the calm. The finale finally fulfils the sonnet's threat: lightning, hail and battered crops. Vivaldi does more than paint the weather; he organises anticipation, fear and release.

For this progression to work, do not play everything with the same urgency. The opening needs weight and space; the bird calls must retain their individual character; the final storm chiefly demands attacks together. Settle bow strokes and points of arrival before increasing the tempo. Perfectly fast hail that is not perfectly coordinated soon sounds like a handful of spilled rice.


What the document contains

One 45-page full score and one 9-page solo part.
Four string parts: violin I and II, viola and cello.
Six PDFs in the archive, with one separate MIDI file.

The documents carry the notices of the Mutopia project and the MutopiaBSD licence; these must remain attached to copies.