Vivaldi included descriptive sonnets for each of the concerto “seasons”. He also periodically included descriptive instructions directly into the musical score. This sort of guided extra-musical device is one of the earliest examples of what is called programmatic music — music that illustrates a story, poem, etc.

Listening to music is a linear experience similar to reading a book or watching a movie. Here on the Colorado Symphony’s Virtual Music Hour you can find archived performances and lessons on some programmatic music (for example Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique and Wagner’s The Ring Without Words) and non-programmatic abstract music (for example Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and Schubert’s “Great” C major Symphony.

  Do you think the music listening experience is improved with programmatic elements or best without it in a more abstract form?

  How, and why or why not?   Pro Tip: There’s no “correct” answer for this!

Vivaldi mimicked sounds of nature and made musical representations of weather elements and our sensations associated with environmental changes.

  What do you notice in nature through each of the seasons?

  How do some of those things feel to you?

Make a list of your answers, and then dream up musical sounds that could communicate those things to another person. For example, Vivaldi uses trilling violins to imitate bird calls and lots of very fast notes to give the sensation of shivering from cold. Describe the sounds you’re dreaming up!

  What instruments would play these sounds?

  What kinds of sounds would they play for each of the different answers on your list?

  Can you imagine telling a story with these sounds?

Write a narrative description of your musical representation of nature and how you feel about it. If you’re familiar with music notation, write some of your sound ideas that way.   Pro Tip: Be as specific as possible with your narrative descriptions and notations.

  
Scan and share your narrative or your music notation on social media and our musicians can record your ideas so you can hear them!

Now that you’ve had a chance to consider, discuss, and get active around Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, it’s time to listen to the Colorado Symphony performance. There are all sorts of ways to engage as a listener, especially when listening at home instead of the concert hall. Try listening for all the representative sounds of nature that Vivaldi incorporates into his music. You can also feel extra free to sing/hum/whistle along, move and dance, journal or draw what you hear, or just turn the volume up and listen for sheer pleasure!