Winter is coming! This week on Ether Game's Weekly Podcast, the Brain Trust explores some cold weather pieces of music guaranteed to chill you to the bone. Our theme is "Be Cool"... can you name this tune? Remember to keep your ears out for a portion of Tuesday night's Teaser selection. And don't forget to tune into the full show on Tuesday, December 19th at 8:00pm for a chance to win a prize!
Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741): CONCERTO IN F MINOR, OP. 8 NO. 4 "WINTER": I. Allegro non molto
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; Gil Shaham, violin. The Four Seasons: A Musical Calendar Of Favourite Classics (Deutsche Grammophon)
Included in the first publication of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons from 1725 was four poems, the so-called "sonetti dimostrativi." These poems were sonnets, and they probably written by Vivaldi himself. Each sonnet corresponded to one of the four seasons, and outlined the descriptive content of the music, with seasonally appropriate imagery. Vivaldi even cross-referenced parts of the poems in the musical score. This first allegro movement of winter was cross referenced with this chilly selection of poetry (in English, of course):
To tremble from cold in the icy snow,
In the harsh breath of a horrid wind;
To run, stamping one's feet every moment,
Our teeth chattering in the extreme cold