The Spring, RV 269, Largo e pianissimo sempre (Vivaldi)

Antonio Vivaldi is today regarded as one of the best Baroque composers of Violin Concerti. His collection of twelve concerts Il Cimento dell′ Armonia e dell′ Inventione (from Italian, “The Contest Between Harmony and Invention”) is one of the most innovative pieces of the time. There one can find the well-known set of the The Four Seasons. Presently, I am starting my reinterpretation of this set with the second movement of the first concerto, The Spring, Op. 8, RV 269. The original score of Vivaldi contains a few performance indications such as “the barking dog”, the “murmuring of leaves and plants” and “the sleeping goatherd” all connected with the indication “Largo e pianissimo sempre”. In my version, I turn the violin accompanied melody into a nocturne-like texture respecting Vivaldi’s original harmony.