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.
The first movement of the "Autumn Concerto" begins with a return to the brightness and joyfulness of the "Spring Concerto"as people celebrate the harvest by drinking wine and falling asleep. The music then becomes more peaceful with slower tempo to reflect the calmness and pleasure of sleep. The final movement becomes more upbeat, with some dramatic nuance this time, illustrating a hunt taking place. The music expresses the hunters' joy and triumph as well as the panic of the prey. You can almost hear the crackle of leaves underneath the horses and dogs. The wounded animal makes a weak attempt to escape but is defended and dies. To see the original poem, and better visualise this composition, follow the link:
https://www.charlottesymphony.org/blog/vivaldis-four-seasons-poems/