Musical Period: Baroque
Birth Place: Venice
Famous Works:
|
a) Instrumental Works b) Posthumous publications |
c) Opera Works
- Bajazet ('Tamerlano') - Catone in Utica - Dorilla in Tempe - La fida ninfa - II Giustino - Griseld - L'incoronazione di Dario - L'Olimpiade - Orlando finto pazzo - Orlando furioso - Ottone in villa - Tito Manlio - La verita in cimento |
Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice in 1678, the son
of a barber who was also a violinist in the orchestra of St. Mark's Cathedral.
His health was poor throughout
his life and he suffered from a chronic illness which has been interpreted either
as a heart condition, angina pectoralis, or a form of asthma.
Vivaldi's musical talent emerged very early, and as a child he often deputised
for his father in the cathedral orchestra. It was here that he absorbed the
style of
Venetian music which was to influence his own composition later on.
His father entered him into the long training for the priesthood at the age
of 14. He was ordained in 1703 when he was 25 years old. One of his duties was
to sing Mass. This meant that he had to sing and chant for nearly an hour at
a time. Vivaldi found this difficult as he had a weak chest. Thus, after a year,
he gave up sing
Mass altogether.
His other job as a violin teacher at the Ospedale della Pieta in Venice was
of far greater interest. The Ospedale della Pieta was an institution set up
to educate the orphaned and illegitimate girls. Vivaldi taught the girls to
play and looked after the instruments. He also composed new works for them to
perform at weekly
orchestra recitals to raise funds for the Ospedale. It was probably Vivaldi's
ordination which helped him to secure the job, which involved close contact
with the
girls. As a priest, he was expected to behave with propriety.
Vivaldi spent 12 happy years teaching music at the Ospedale. The girls enjoyed
his flirtatious manner, and he responded with great charm. He was a born extrovert
and throughly enjoyed the attention that he received. His nickname, the Red
Priest, matched his hair as well as his flamboyant temperament. The weekly public
concerts at which he conducted his own concertos were a highlight of Venetian
musical life. No foreign visitor considered his stay in Venice complete without
going
to a Vivaldi concert.
During this time, he became aware of his growing reputation as a composer and a celebrity, and decided to capitalise on it. First, he found a publisher in Amsterdam whose music printing methods were more advanced than those in Italy. This meant that more of his works could be sold, thus earning him more money.
Secondly, he began writing operas. In 1713, he produced his first opera, Ottone
in Villa. Before long, he was composing and putting on operas for theatre directors
all over north-east Italy. His long absences infuriated his employers at the
Ospedale but in 1723, they came to an arrangement: Vivaldi was free to travel
and work elsewhere provided he delivered two concerts a month and supervised
their performance if he was in Venice.
Vivaldi worked quickly - a new concerto in a day, an opera in a week. He made
- and spent - a lot of money and was always eager to make more. He decided
that it would be more profitable to sell copies of his music directly to the
public than to use a publisher; he quoted a price of one guinea a concerto (equivalent
to
£70 today).
In time, the church authorities began to object to what they considered to
be an all-too-worldly life. There were moral objections too. As a priest, Vivaldi
was expected to keep a purely male household, but his illness provided him with
the excuse of needing a nurse. He invited into his entourage a well-known soprano
singer, Anna Giraud, and her sister Paolina. It was acceptable for a priest
to be a composer and musician, but this arrangement attracted gossip. There
were
rumours that he was having love affairs with both sisters, but nothing was proved.
In 1737, as part of a campaign against moral laxity among the clergy, the archbishop of Ferrara banned Vivaldi from entering the city where he was due to direct an opera season. His relationship with Anna Giraud and his failure to say Mass were given as reasons for his exclusion. The 59-year-old Vivaldi strongly denied any propriety, pleading his illness in both cases, but to no avail.
His public reputation declined rapidly afterwards. By 1740, Venetian taste had changed, and his music had become unfashionable. He went to Vienna, hoping to interest the Austrian emperor in some new ideas but he was largely ignored by the court.
Old and ill, he succumbed to ‘internal inflammation' and died in Vienna on 28 July, 1741 in comparative poverty. He was given a simple funeral, with only a pauper's peal of bells, six pall bearers and six choirboys to sing the Requiem Mass.
Despite the quantity of Vivaldi's works - over 450 concertos and 45 operas
among others - and his enthusiasm for selling to the public, only a fraction
of his output
was published in his lifetime. The rest was discovered after his death and his
works have become increasing popular.
His style and sense of fun, combined with his novel approach to the music of
the Baroque era, resulted in some sparkling compositions. The vivacity of Vivaldi's
music transports us back to the rich and colourful life of 18th century Venice.
