At every letter marking the sections, there is a quote from the sonnet and some additional identifying descriptions. There are also additional words written into the score, which are not parts of the sonnets, which further clarify the musical narrative to the readers, musicians and listeners. The words of the Four Seasons sonnets have been included right in the musical score ever since the first edition, published in Amsterdam in 1725. The music was composed in close correspondence to the sonnets. My translations of all four of the sonnets are on their own page on this site. There are four sonnets that go with each of the concertos of the Four Seasons, which lay out the program in the music. The Four Seasons are part of a collection of twelve concertos entitled, “Il Cimento dell’Armonia e dell’Inventione.” Cimento means “Challenge,” “Contest” or “Test of Skill” which is an appropriately ambitious title. The Four Seasons: The Sonnets and The MusicĪntonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) in an anonymous portrait of 1723, in the Museo della Musica, Bologna. The Autumn concerto from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons: Concerto for violin, strings and continuo, from Il Cimento dell’Armonia e dell’Inventione, Opus 8 No.
(The episode was about contemplating the more peaceful autumnal themes, and they actually didn’t use the last stanza, about the hunt, so that part is not read.) I don’t know who performed the reading but she does a wonderful job with the words. Here is the translation, as it was heard in Something Understood. The producers of an episode about Autumn found my translation and judged it to be the one they wanted to use in their production, so I was happy to grant the rights. BBC Radio 4 is a very popular and highly respected national radio channel, that programs a wide range of news and history, drama and comedy, and popular science. Something Understood is a Sunday evening feature show about spirituality and religion, covering a wide range of philosophical topics through many different traditions and points of view.
The BBC Radio 4 program Something Understood of November 25, 2018, featured my translation of Vivaldi’s Autumn sonnet.
My Translation of the Autumn Sonnet Read on BBC Radio 4
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