Antonio Vivaldi

Le Printemps op. 8 No. 1-4 RV 269

The ANACROUSE collection offers novice and experienced pianists alike a wide choice of classical works, from the Renaissance to the modern era.

We have set ourselves the goal of offering both "must-haves" from the classical repertoire and pieces by sometimes forgotten composers, all of undeniable pedagogical value. Each piece, sold individually, has been the subject of careful editorial work, both in terms of the musical text and its engraving, in order to guarantee musicians the conditions essential to the pleasures derived from frequent trade in these works.

The scores are offered as traditional works (paper sheets), and also available by download.



The Four Seasons (Op. 8, nos. 1-4) is a set of four concertos for solo violin and string chamber orchestra, composed by Antonio Vivaldi, and opens the collection The Battle Between Harmony and Invention. Although published in Amsterdam in 1725, the composition of these four concertos certainly predates it by several years.

This work is one of the most representative of the concerto genre, and is certainly Antonio Vivaldi's best-known composition.
Spring is the name given to the concerto no. 1 in E major (op. 8, RV 269). It consists of three movements: Allegro, Largo, Allegro.
The introduction, like the third movement of the work (L'Été), are the most famous passages of this opus.
On the score, the composer specifies the correspondences with the poems, even going so far as to spell out certain details (dog barks, bird names: cuckoo, turtle-dove, finch...). The entire work is accompanied by four sonnets describing the unfolding of the seasons. Here's the one on Spring:


Here comes Spring,
Which the birds greet with joyous song.
And the fountains, with the breath of the zephyrs,
Gush in a gentle murmur.


They come, covering the air with a black cloak,
The thunder and lightning messengers of the storm.
Finally, with calm restored, the fledglings
Resume their melodious song.

Largo
And on the tender flowery meadow,
To the soft murmur of foliage and grasses,
Sleeps the goatherd, his faithful dog at his feet.

Allegro
To the festive sound of the musette
Dances the nymphs and shepherds,
Under the bright firmament of spring.