The Four Seasons sonnets

You may not know that there are words to The Four Seasons. When Antonio Vivaldi’s masterpiece was published in 1725 - 300 years ago! - it was accompanied by four sonnets for which there was no author attribution. Did Vivaldi write them himself? Many music scholars now believe that he did. The images described in each of the sonnets reinforce what we hear in the music, from bird song to a summer storm, from the joy of the harvest to walking carefully on ice on a bitterly cold day.

Spring (Concerto No. 1)

Allegro

Spring has come with joy
Welcomed by birds with joyous songs,
And the streams, amid gentle breezes,
Whisper softly as they sink.
The sky is covered in black and
Thunder and lightning announce the storm
When they are silent, the birds
Resume their delicious songs.

Largo and pianissimo sempre

And in the pleasant flowery meadow,
To the soft murmur of leaves and plants,
The goatherd sleeps, his faithful dog by his side.

Allegro

To the happy sound of a rustic bagpipe,
Nymphs and shepherds dance in their favorite place
When spring appears in all its glory.

Summer (Concerto No 2)

Allegro non molto

Under the unforgiving sun of the season
The man and the herd are languishing, the pine is burning.
The cuckoo begins to sing and immediately
The dove and the goldfinch join him.
A light breeze is blowing, but Boreas
Woke up to suddenly fight with his neighbor,
And the shepherd cries because above his head
The formidable storm and its destiny.

Adagio

His weary limbs are deprived of rest
Fear of lightning and scary thunder
And flies and hornets swarming.

Presto

Alas, his fears come true:
Thunder and lightning are raging in the skies.
And the hail cuts down the great wheat.

Autumn (Concerto No.. 3)

Allegro

The peasant celebrates by dancing and singing
The pleasure of the rich harvest,
And full of Bacchus liquor
They end their rejoicings with a sleep.

Adagio molto

Each peasant ceases his dance and song.
The mild air gives pleasure,
And the season invites many
To enjoy a sweet slumber.

Allegro

The hunters, at the break of dawn, go to the hunt.
With horns, guns, and dogs they are off,
The beast flees, and they follow its trail.
Already fearful and exhausted by the great noise,
Of guns and dogs, and wounded,
The exhausted beast tries to flee, but dies.

Winter (Concerto No. 4)

Allegro non molto

Frozen and shivering in the icy snow,
Under the battering of a terrible wind
Run stamping your feet every moment,
Teeth chattering in the cold.

Largo

Spend calm and happy moments by the fire
While outside the rain sprinkles everyone.

Allegro

Walking on the ice with hesitant steps,
By being careful, lest you fall.
Jump in haste, slip, and fall to the ground,
Get back on the ice and run,
In case the ice cracks and opens.
To hear, leaving their screened house, Sirocco,
Boreas, and all the winds in battle...
It’s winter, but it brings joy.