Happy almost summer, BCA friends!
With only 2 weeks of school left, we decided to celebrate the arrival of our favorite season. Thanks for joining us as we have fun comparing "summertime" compositions.
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"Summer," the second concerto in "The Four Seasons" by Italian priest and composer, Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (1678-1741) is a composition written to express the composer's opinion of the warmest season of the year. In this final movement Vivaldi portrays a violent summer thunderstorm!
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**Note: a concerto is a term for a specific form of music in which one instrument gets to have center stage (the soloist) and all the other instruments act as a unit to accompany the soloist. Occasionally there will be more than one soloist, but in Vivaldi's "Summer" a single violin has the solo role.
Concertos have a structure with three movements in an a,b,a pattern: fast, slow, fast. We learned several Italian music terms for tempos - remember "allegro" and "largo?" I'm sure you remember that "allegro" means fast...this third movement in "Summer" is even faster, and the correct term would actually be "presto!"
Mari Samuelsen, violin
Copyright2013: Passacaglia AS
This second composition, also called "Summer" by modern composer, Mark O'Connor (born 1961) employs a striking violin accompanied by an orchestra in a similar arrangement to Vivaldi. Although the instruments played are very similar to Vivaldi's concerto, this piece was composed almost exactly 300 years after Vivaldi's "Summer" and has its own unique take on the season we are all looking forward to enjoying.
As you listen to O'Connor's music, what images come to mind? Also, tell me in your comments: what is the difference between a violin and a fiddle? (Hint: what is the difference between a sofa and a couch?)
Mark O'Connor​
The American Seasons (Seasons of an American Life) for violin and orchestra: Summer
â„— 2001 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Finally, if you want to hear more about concertos ("concerti" is the more official plural) and hear a brief sampling of several famous ones, check out this link:
And if you want to compose a little bit of music on your own, this link will give you several fun options: