Stories of Music

Though Bach wrote close to a thousand church cantatas, virtually none of them were published in his lifetime, except for this collection of six chorales, known as the Schübler Chorales. He presented his lifetime of Spiritual Pursuit in musical notes, in this collection, published three years prior to the his death. Listen to the notes carefully, and perhaps we could gain more insights about Bach's spiritual journey. Music credit: James Kibbie Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND Art/Paintings: "Bell Tower of the Church of St Peterne at Orleans", Camille Corot, 1840, French, Realism; "George Monastary, Cape Fiolent", Ivan Aivazovsky, 1846, Russian, Romanticism; "Savvinsky Monastery Entrance Gate near Zvenigorod", Isaac Lavitan, 1884, Russian, Realism. "Italian Monk Reading", Camille Corot, 1828, French, Realism; "Carmelite Church in Warsaw", Bernardo Bellotto, 1780, Italian, Rococo; "Above the eternal tranquility", Isaac Lavitan, 1846, Russian, Realism.

*This theatric edition includes recital of the sonnet. INTRODUCTION Vivaldi wrote hundreds of concerti for different instruments - violins, bassoons, flutes, oboes, organs, and others. Out of these, he wrote a sonnet for only one set of them - The Four Seasons, of Opus 8: The Contest between Harmony and Invention. What prompted him to write the sonnet? What was so special about the Four Seasons? As we would quote from Vivaldi, ‘there are no words, it’s only music there.’ And if there were words in The Four Seasons, there must be good reason. We speculated on two possibilities: first, the Four Seasons touched on subjects or topics substantially different from his other work. Or, secondly, the sonnet was meant as a teaching tool for music appreciation. We think that the second reason is more probable, but we could be wrong. Nonetheless, based on the sonnet, we have prepared this music video for you. We searched thousands of paintings to find these artworks. They spanned from the 16th to the 20th century, from the US to Europe and Russia, from myths and legends to pastoral to landscape, from oil on canvass to print and water-colour, from Baroque to Romanticism to Luminism. The painting are diverse, the techniques are varied, but they have a common thread: a part of them fitted the spirit of the sonnet and music. And so this video is formed - a collection of artwork presenting the story of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, step by step. Click on the start button when you are comfortably seated. Get ready to spend forty minutes for a story. Listen to the birds chirping and the storm roaring. Have a cup of coffee or tea with you. Then enjoy :) Spring: 0:03 Summer: 10:45 Autumn: 20:15 Winter: 31:15 CREDIT Video: Stories of Music Music: Composer: Antonio Vivaldi (composed 1723, published 1725) Violin: John Harrison Conductor: Robert Turizziani Orchestra: Wichita State University Chamber Players Recording copyright: John Harrison (JohnHarrisonViolin.com); Live, unedited performance at the Wiedermann Recital Hall, Wichita State University, 6 February 2000. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0.

INTRODUCTION Vivaldi wrote hundreds of concertos for different instruments - violins, bassoons, flutes, oboes, organs, and others. Out of these, he wrote a sonnet for only one set of them - The Four Seasons, of Opus 8: The Contest between Harmony and Invention. What prompted him to write the sonnet? What was so special about the Four Seasons? As we would quote from Vivaldi, ‘there are no words, it’s only music there.’ And if there are words in The Four Seasons, there must be good reason. We speculated on two possibilities: first, the Four Seasons touched on subjects or topics substantially different from his other work. Or, secondly, the sonnet was meant as a teaching tool for music appreciation. We think that the second reason is more probable, but we could be wrong. Nonetheless, based on the sonnet, we have prepared this music video for you. We searched thousands of paintings to find these artworks. They spanned from the 16th to the 20th century, from the US to Europe and Russia, from myths and legends to pastoral to landscape, from oil on canvass to print and water-colour, from Baroque to Romanticism to Luminism. The painting are diverse, the techniques are varied, but they have a common thread: a part of them fitted the spirit of the sonnet and music. And so this video is formed - a collection of artwork presenting the story of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, step by step. Click on the start button when you are comfortably seated. Get ready to spend forty minutes for a story. Listen to the birds chirping and the storm roaring. Have a cup of coffee or tea with you. Set the video resolution to 720 pixels. Then enjoy :) Spring: 0:03 - 10:33 Summer: 10:45 - 20:05 Autumn: 20:15 - 31:10 Winter: 31:15 - 40:15 CREDIT Video: Stories of Music Music: Composer: Antonio Vivaldi (composed 1723, published 1725) Violin: John Harrison Conductor: Robert Turizziani Orchestra: Wichita State University Chamber Players Recording copyright: John Harrison (JohnHarrisonViolin.com); Live, unedited performance at the Wiedermann Recital Hall, Wichita State University, 6 February 2000. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0.

The Credo in E Minor, RV 591, is Vivaldi’s only existing setting for the Nicene Creed. The original Nicene Creed was first adopted in AD325, and is a statement of religious belief. It is usually sung or recited during mass or liturgy. Credo (RV591) has four movements (in Latin): 1. Credo in unum Deum 2. Et incarnates est 3. Crucifixus 4. Et Resurrexit We present here Movements 1 to 3, performed by the Advent Chamber Orchestra with the Avent Choir. English Translation source: https://www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Credo Gabriel Pavel, Director Advent Choir Cristina Piccardi, Soprano solo Roxanna Pavel Goldstein, Musical Director Elias Goldstein, Managing Director From the album “Selections from December 2006 Concert” Video: Stories of Music Licensed under Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Paintings: 1. Sistine Chapel Ceiling: Creation of Adam Michelangelo, Italy, 1510 High Renaissance Fresco, 280x570cm, Public Domain 2. Adoration of the Magi Bernardino Luini, Italy, 1520-1525 High Renaissance Textile, Public Domain 3. The last supper Carl Bloch, Denmark Academicism, Public Domain

Antonio Vivaldi, the Red Priest from Venice, a pious man, a prolific composer, a violin virtuoso, a grand master of classical music. He wrote over five hundred concerti. The Four Seasons, part of Opus 8: The Contest between Harmony and Invention, was his most famous. In this music video, we offer our interpretation of his music "Winter", RV 297, with accompanying sonnet written by him. Video: Stories of Music Music by Composer: Antonio Vivaldi (composed 1723, published 1725) Violin: John Harrison Conductor: Robert Turizziani Orchestra: Wichita State University Chamber Players Recording copyright: John Harrison (JohnHarrisonViolin.com); Live, unedited performance at the Wiedermann Recital Hall, Wichita State University, 6 February 2000. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0.

Antonio Vivaldi, the Red Priest from Venice, a pious man, a prolific composer, a violin virtuoso, a grand master of classical music. He wrote over five hundred concerti. The Four Seasons, part of Opus 8: The Contest between Harmony and Invention, was his most famous. In this music video, we offer our interpretation of his music "Autumn", RV 293, with accompanying sonnet written by him. Video: Stories of Music Music by Composer: Antonio Vivaldi (composed 1723, published 1725) Violin: John Harrison Conductor: Robert Turizziani Orchestra: Wichita State University Chamber Players Recording copyright: John Harrison (JohnHarrisonViolin.com); Live, unedited performance at the Wiedermann Recital Hall, Wichita State University, 6 February 2000. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0. You are welcomed to share this music, and we would appreciate it if you could drop a note here.

Antonio Vivaldi, the Red Priest from Venice, a pious man, a prolific composer, a violin virtuoso, a grand master of classical music. He wrote over five hundred concerti, and The Four Seasons, part of Opus 8: The Contest between Harmony and Invention, was his most famous. In this music video, we offer our interpretation of his music "Summer", RV 315, with accompanying sonnet written by him. Video: Stories of Music Music by Composer: Antonio Vivaldi (composed 1723, published 1725) Violin: John Harrison Conductor: Robert Turiziani Orchestra: Wichita State University Chamber Players Recording copyright: John Harrison (JohnHarrisonViolin.com); Live, unedited performance at the Wiedermann Recital Hall, Wichita State University, 6 February 2000. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0. You are welcomed to share this music, and we would appreciate it if you could drop a note here. Thank you!

Antonio Vivaldi, the Red Priest, a pious man, a prolific composer, a violin virtuoso, a grand master of classical music. He wrote over five hundred concerti, and The Four Seasons, part of Opus 8: The Contest between Harmony and Invention, was his most famous. In this music video, we offer our interpretation of his music "Spring", RV 269. Video: Stories of Music Music by Composer: Antonio Vivaldi (composed 1723, published 1725) Violin: John Harrison Conductor: Robert Turiziani Orchestra: Wichita State University Chamber Players Recording copyright: John Harrison (JohnHarrisonViolin.com); Live, unedited performance at the Wiedermann Recital Hall, Wichita State University, 6 February 2000. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0.

Antonio Vivaldi, a master in classical music, a violin virtuoso, a prolific opera writer, an ordained priest. His concerto manuscripts sold for gold, and he was admired by European royalties in his time. Listen to his Concerto in C Major for Oboe, RV447, Movement II. This piece is performed by the Advent Chamber Orchestra, featuring Edino Biaggi, Oboe. (https://www.edinobiaggi.com) From the album "Selections from 2005-2006 Season" Roxanna Pavel Goldstein, Musical Director Elias Goldstein, Managing Director Licensed under CC BY-SA-3.0 US Painting: "Stapleton Park near Pontefract Sun" By John Atkinson Grimshaw, 1877, UK Romanticism Oil, Panel, 43.5 x 28 cm Public Domain

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Пётр Ильйч Чайковский), a musician from Russia, widely considered one of the world's greatest composers, was educated in the subject of law and pursued a career in the Ministry of Justice before becoming a musician. His works included renowned classics, such as Swan Lake Op. 20, The Sleeping Beauty Op. 66, Concerto No. 1 for Piano Op. 23, The Nutcracker Op. 71, and the Roméo and Juliet Fantasy Overture. However, did you know that at that time, his works were harshly criticised? How did he deal with these criticisms? Music Composer: Peter Tchaikovsky Title: Op. 55, Movement 1: Élégie Conductor/Orchestra: Thomas K. Scherman, Little Orchestra Society, 1955. Public Domain