Lesson 6: Vivaldi

At the age of twenty-seven, Vivaldi published his first sonatas. He worked in an orphanage in Venice, teaching the children there music and composing works for them to play. He was widely regarded for his violin mastery. Most of Vivaldi's best works were composed during the thirty years that he worked at the orphanage. He also formed a renowned orchestra and choir with the children, composing a wide range of musical forms for performances. These forms included solo motets as well as large scale compositions. Vivaldi also spent several years in the court of Mantua.

In 1725, Vivaldi returned to Venice. During his time there, he wrote several operas as well as his famous The Four Seasons. This concerto depicts the four seasons of the year through music. For example, the concerto features sounds reminiscent of birds, running creeks, ice skating, storms, and winter fires. Toward the end of his life, Vivaldi experienced financial problems, not an uncommon problem for composers at the time. He moved to Vienna, but soon became a pauper. He died in 1741 at the age of sixty-four. The cause of his death was noted as 'internal infection'.

Vivaldi's music is characterized by innovation and creativity. He often used innovative themes and melodies in his work, which were often characterized by playful and exuberant sounds. The light, playfulness of his music made it quite popular during his time and is one of the reasons Vivaldi's music has remained so.

Perhaps the greatest composer of all time, J.S. Bach was an influential composer not only in his own time period but in the years to follow. He composed music in many different forms (opera was the only form that he did not compose in), including both sacred and secular works. His works are a mastery of the compositional techniques of the time, and many feature expressive melodies.

Born in 1685, Johann Sebastian Bach grew up in Germany within a family of musicians. His family would eventually produce over fifty notable composers and musicians, including his own sons. Orphaned at the age of ten, Bach moved in with an older brother before receiving a scholarship to a prestigious music school at the age of fourteen.