Vivaldi Four Seasons: complete, original version. Voices of Music, Freivogel, Moore, Youssefian. 4K
3,909,572
Published 2021-11-09
Cynthia Miller Freivogel, Carla Moore & Alana Youssefian, soloists.
Voices of Music
Hanneke van Proosdij & David Tayler , directors
These concertos were individually performed live in our concerts from 2015–2018, using a similar recording setup. Audience noise and applause have been removed in this version in preparation for an album release of the full version.
The subtitles in this video were written 300 years ago in the form of a sonnet, presumably by Vivaldi, and engraved directly onto the music. You may view the original Italian or an English translation by using the CC button.
Of all of Vivaldi’s concertos, the Four Seasons are the most widely performed of his works today. Vivaldi managed to change the course of music history by writing these four concertos; composers had set the seasons, the hours, the months and many other programs of music in the 17th century, but no one had written a set like the Four Seasons. Vivaldi did not just create a new kind of musical program, he refined the way in which all of the elements of the program work with the music, and he spun his programmatic flourishes over a very detailed harmonic and contrapuntal plan. Composers had previously written music that shivered with the cold, created storms and winds, imitated birds, and so on, but not to the extent and not with the careful planning of these concertos.
Vivaldi provided a detailed commentary for his work in the form of individual sonnets keyed exactly to different movements in the music, along with tempo indications, ornaments and articulation marks (please see the text and translations opposite the program). It’s an interesting question as to how to interpret Vivaldi’s design, and part of the charm of the works is that the program is very clear, yet the possibilities are endless: the main challenge is to choose between a mimetic and allegorical interpretation. In a mimetic interpretation, the performers would use extended techniques on their instruments to imitate as directly as possible the sounds of the program, including chattering teeth, raindrops, wind and stamping feet. In an allegorical performance, the players would play in such a way as to allow the listeners to use their imaginations to freely recreate the program: each musical line could convey a different layer of meaning. Similarly, by using different textures and phrasing in each of the musical lines as well the different sections, the performers can build up a tapestry of textures. It’s clear from contemporaneous accounts that a purely mimetic performance was frowned upon as too obvious, yet it is also clear that in Italy and Germany, string players were inventing new techniques to include a wider variety of sounds in their playing. Thus, it is quite possible to read the words “raindrops” and create a new, imaginative musical version of a rainy, wind-swept landscape without presenting the music pre-interpreted for the viewer.
Spring: Allegro - 0:00
Largo - 3:32
Allegro - 6:13
Summer: Allegro non molto - 10:09
Adagio - 15:31
Presto - 17:46
Autumn: Allegro - 20:42
Adagio molto - 26:14
Allegro - 28:25
Winter: Allegro non molto - 31:56
Largo - 35:29
Allegro - 37:25
Credits 40:44
#Vivaldi #FourSeasons
All Comments (21)
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When a person likes my comment,, I get a notification,, the notification work as a reminder,, then I here this againn ....thank you for remind me all guys!!
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This is the ultimate Four Seasons playlist, finally, after so many years. Search no more. This is the place.
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2 million views—thanks, everyone!
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Decades of hard work and practice so we can all be blessed with 42 minutes of absolute perfection. Thank you, thank you, thank you ❤
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If you have a set of good headphone, you know how insanely good this recording is in terms of audio quality. This channel generally has some of the best sound quality classical music videos in all of Youtube. I listen to this on HD800s and I am shocked that this Youtube video sounds better than most of local lossless classical music I had.
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Nothing can beat The Four Seasons played on period instruments by highly skilled musicians. The AV engineers who recorded this must also be commended for such high quality output.
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Not sure if you'll ever see this message, but THIS IS The Four Seasons. Other recordings play this so soullessly, coining this masterpiece terms like pretentious. BUT THIS RECORDING is played with emotion, and you can clearly see that the musicians having fun while playing this. This is meant to be played with humor and emotion, and this hits the bullseye. Amazing, thank you.
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You know what truly stands out to me in this, it's not their playing (while it is perfect and incredible), not the insanely good audio quality (seriously, wow), but the smiles and expressions on their faces, their body movements too. You can TELL when a musician truly enjoys what they're doing, because they're elated not just before, not just after, but WHILE they play, and their faces and bodies reflect that. Great piece, even better performance!! Much love from SoCal!!
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I've heard Four Seasons countless times, but I never understood what a bad-ass Vivaldi was until I listened to this performance! This composition must have been the Heavy Metal of its day. An absolutely stunning rendition, with a recording to match. I heard every instrument. The acoustic separation was superb while maintaining the musicians' beautiful blending and the wonderfully bright tone of the hall. Everyone played with passion and precise abandon, as if it was the final performance of their lives, and watching the musical relationship between the soloist and the first cellist was a joy. Bravo players, audio engineers, and video producers! This is my first visit to this channel, and I'm a new fan. Time to go donate.
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I’ve listened to this piece maybe a thousand times but THIS version is by far the absolute best I’ve ever heard
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This is for sure the best recording of this masterpiece. I've watched it hundreds of times and it still gives me goosebumps.
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THE BEST 40 MINUTES I HAVE EVER SPENT ON YOUTUBE!! The BEST performance of Four Seasons EVER! The soloists are outstanding in leveraging the exceptional performance by the orchestra as a whole . The sound quality is superb. I'M STUNNED WITH THE JOY of this entire concert!
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in my quietness , in my silence, listening to Vivaldi's Four Season gives my soul peace
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Our daughter is in first grade and her music lesson today introduced Vivaldi and The Four Seasons. She listened to pieces with her headphones, in order to work through the lesson. After reading a bit about Vivaldi in her lesson, I decided to search for this composition. My search led me directly here, and I've been lost in this piece since. Everything about this work is nothing short of amazing. What makes finding this perfect is that all 3 kids are listening to it in the background while we work and talk. I'm reminded how blessed I am. Thank you.
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The stereophony of this recording is just incredible
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The perfect balance between chaos and harmony sounds like this. This is the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard. Vivaldi truly tapped into some kind of godly force of chaos and harmony while he composed this. He mixed the two so perfectly that he shows you the fragile balance of the universe. Those two extreme forces balanced so perfectly created this timeless masterpiece. There’s definitely something special about this amazing composition … bravo! 👏
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The quality in these is something else. It's like they're playing right next to me. Wonderful work!
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I never imagined in my life I'd be crying listening to Spring. Life is full of surprises, and some hide in plain sight. Thanks to you all for helping me to see.
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Winter is something else, so much technique and emotion
