Classical Music for the Seasons Music for the Seasons    

Lesson 33: The Four Seasons - Summer

by Antonio Vivaldi

Performer: European Archive

Directions

Study the musical selection for one week.

Over the week:

• Each day, listen to the musical selection.
• Practice reciting the title of the composition and the composer's name.
• Read the synopsis.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Study the review questions.

Synopsis

Spring swinging into summer, flowers thriving, and people basking in the sunshine, For the next four weeks, you'll listen to selections that embody the freedom of summer. Listen to this music as you enjoy playing outside on the green grass. Antonio Vivaldi wrote 'The Four Seasons' in 1723. The four concertos celebrate the seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Vivaldi published sonnets to accompany each season's concerto. He may have written these poems himself. This composition captures the lush splendor of summer.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Discuss summer weather changes. For example:

• The weather turns hot.
• The trees are full and green.
• The animals raise their young and eat and store food for the next winter.

Activity 2: Describe the Music

After listening to the music, describe and discuss what you heard.

Read the list of adjectives below. Select those that describe the music or think up additional adjectives.

• Happy
• Sad
• Quiet
• Loud
• Fast
• Slow
• Scary
• Dreamy
• Magical
• Rhythmic
• Dignified

Activity 3: Study the Painting

Examine the painting below while listening to the music.

• Narrate the scene shown in the painting aloud using your own words.
• Describe how the painting relates to the music.

Find the following items in the painting:

• House
• Girl
• Tree
• Path
• Trees
• Grass
• Blue Sky

Activity 4: For each movement, listen to the movement, pause the playback, and read the associated lines of Vivaldi's poem

(0:00) Allegro Non Molto Movement (Allegro non molto means not very quick)

• Under a hard Season, fired up by the Sun
• Languishes man, languishes the flock and burns the pine
• We hear the cuckoo's voice;
• then sweet songs of the turtledove and finch are heard.
• Soft breezes stir the air, but threatening
• the North Wind sweeps them suddenly aside.
• The shepherd trembles,
• fearing violent storms and his fate.

(4:50) Adagio e Piano - Presto e Forte Movement (Means slow at ease and soft - quick tempo and loud)

• The fear of lightning and fierce thunder
• Robs his tired limbs of rest
• As gnats and flies buzz furiously around.

(7:00) Presto Movement (Presto means a quick tempo)

• Alas, his fears were justified
• The Heavens thunders and roar and with hail
• Cuts the head off the wheat and damages the grain.

Review

Question 1

What is the title of the music?

1 / 3

Answer 1

The title is 'The Four Seasons - Summer.'

1 / 3

Question 2

Who composed the music?

2 / 3

Answer 2

The composer is Antonio Vivaldi.

2 / 3

Question 3

What happens to the weather, the trees, and the animals during the summer season?

3 / 3

Answer 3

The weather turns hot, the trees wave full and green, the animals eat and store food for the next winter.

3 / 3

❮ ❯

1. What is the title of the music? The title is 'The Four Seasons - Summer.'
2. Who composed the music? The composer is Antonio Vivaldi.
3. What happens to the weather, the trees, and the animals during the summer season? The weather turns hot, the trees wave full and green, the animals eat and store food for the next winter.

References

'The Four Seasons (Vivaldi).' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

'The Four Seasons Sonnets.' Wikisource. Wikisource.org. n.p.