Vivaldi's most well known work, written around 1720, "The Four Seasons" is composed of 4 violin concertos, each one with 3 movements representing a different season of the year. To help us understand his work, Vivaldi included a series of poems describing each season's events. The association between music and narration, with each poetic line translated into music, was an ingenious approach to composition for that period and an astonishing and very difficult work which helps us imagine the scenes and create a seasonal mood. Although written almost 300 years ago, this innovative and creative music achievement still feels very contemporary with its beautiful images and dynamic sounds and is one of the most sensational pieces of music.
In the first movement of the "Summer Concerto", a slow start portrays a hot and suffocating weather, with sounds imitating the singing of the cuckoo, the turtledove and the goldfinch. However, this lazy scene is gradually being replaced by a refreshing breeze and some minor chords and dramatic overtones warn us that this breeze may turn into a storm, with the shepherd being afraid of this possible change as he is increasingly becoming aware of it. The third movement describes a merciless hail storm and the orchestra captures the sounds of wind, thunder and hail in these dramatic weather conditions.To see the original poem, and better visualise this composition, follow the link:
https://www.charlottesymphony.org/blog/vivaldis-four-seasons-poems/