Concerto RV 297, Op. 8, No. 4 L'Inverno (III : Allegro) -- Urtext

Four Seasons - Winter - Concerto in F minor - Third Movement

This fast-moving Allegro is the third and last movement of the Concerto RV 297, Op. 8, No. 4 (L'inverno) by Antonio Vivaldi.

This concerto is part of Vivaldi's famous Four Seasons [Le quattro stagioni], a series of four concertos part of Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione [The Contest of Harmony and Invention].

These 12 concerti were published in Amsterdam by Le Cène in 1725.

Each concerto in the Four Seasons is associated to a sonnet probably written by Vivaldi.

Please note the following points about this Urtext edition :

• In measures 73 through 79, the D natural in the violin part in editorial, as it does not appear in the sources

The verses corresponding to the Allegro of the Winter concerto are as follows :

Caminar Sopra il giaccio, e à passo lento
Per timor di cader gersene intenti;
Gir forte Sdruzziolar, cader à terra
Di nuove ir Sopra 'l giaccio e correr forte
Sin ch' il giaccio si rompe, e si disserra;
Sentir uscir dalle ferrate porte
Sirocco Borea, e tutti i Venti in guerra
Quest' é 'l verno, mà tal, che gioia apporte.

[We tread the icy path slowly and cautiously, for fear of tripping and falling.
Then turn abruptly, slip, crash on the ground and, rising, hasten on across the ice lest it cracks up.
We feel the chill north winds course through the home despite the locked and bolted doors...
this is winter, which nonetheless brings its own delights.]

Duration : 03:16

Source : Antonio Vivaldi, Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione, Op. 8 (Amsterdam : Le Cène, 1725).