Historical Significance of Antonio Vivaldi

 

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi's significance was predominantly in music, although this may have resulted in a social influence, any influence other than on music would be purely contained in his society, and time period. He was a contemporary in composing Opera; his progressive operatic style caused him some trouble with more conservative musicians. Although, he never reached the prominence of other great operatic composers, Antonio Vivaldi's work with concertos was influential. Vivaldi's innovation of the concerto influenced the music of the Baroque Period; by both incorporating the light, airy, playful, exuberant, and flamboyant style he was known for, and looking for harmonic contrasts and innovative melodies and themes, he brightened the formal and rhythmic structure of the concerto. His contemporary style spread alongside the growing popularity of concertos, and subsequently caused his style to flow into other compositional forms. The most original, progressive and influential Italian composer of his generation, Vivaldi laid the foundation for the fully developed Baroque concerto. In addition the baroque period was defined by a resurgence of religious material, and Vivaldi capitalized on this by entering the priesthood, which subsequently allowed him to spread his music outside of Venice. He had successful stagings as far as Vienna, which allowed for his Music to spread northern into the Holy Roman Empire. As a result, his predecessor Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer. Bach largely overshadowed Vivaldi, but Vivaldi’s concertos and arias highly influenced Bach, who reproduced Vivaldi's concerti: 6 for solo keyboard, 3 for organ, and 1 for 4 harpsichords, strings, and basso continuo, which was based upon the concerto for four violins, two violas, cello, and basso continuo. As a result, because Bach managed to spread his music even further than Vivaldi, and stay in the spotlight after death, Vivaldi's own influence managed to manifest itself in Bach's musical popularity. Vivaldi himself after death dwindled in popularity, and by the end of the Baroque period, he, his published concerti, and even his most famous work (The Four Seasons, in its original edition), became relatively unknown and were largely ignored. In the 1950s came a resurgence of Vivaldi's works. It consisted of a quick gathering of minimal historical facts and painstakingly acquiring manuscripts and tying them to the lost composer. In effect very little was known about Antonio Vivaldi before the 1950s and once the search was in full effect the music community had a sizable amount of information on the Baroque composer. With this newfound information much Vivaldi is now regarded as one of the most influential Baroque composers, and is now one of the most famous, second only to Bach. His recent resurgence has allowed for more influence. Predominantly, his 'The Four Seasons' has become quit common in the commonly referred to 'classical' genre, it is more influential to those studying a piece that helped to define the form of the concerto. Resulting works of 'The Four Seasons' include arrangements, transcriptions, covers, remixes, samples, and parodies in music — themes in theater and opera, soundtracks in films, and choreography in ballet, contemporary dance, figure skating, etc. — either in their entirety, single movements, or medleys. Thus Vivaldi's influence is allowed to live on through the people that adapt and innovate his own innovations, and was allowed to live on by those that managed to preserve his legacy (in the case of Bach, within their own legacy of influence). Vivaldi's music will likely continue to influence musicians and composers alike, and this longevity of influence makes Antonio Lucio Vivaldi historically significant.

 

Bibliography

 

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Cross, Eric. "Vivaldi, Antonio." New Grove Dictionary of Opera n.pag. Oxford Music Online. Web. 4 Apr 2014 

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"Historical context, Geography, Biographical Notes."BAROQUE COMPOSERS AND MUSICIANS. nternet arton publications. Web 

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Talbot, Michael. "Vivaldi, Antonio." Grove Music Online Oxford Music Online. Web 

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"Vivaldi, Antonio (1678-1741)." Who's Who in Europe 1450-1750. 2000. History Study Center. Web.