Concert - July 2022:
Vivaldi Four Seasons
and
Carr Four New Seasons
Orchestration: Flute, Oboe, Clarinet in Bb & A, Bassoon, Horn in F,
Trumpet in C, Percussion (Triangle, Snare Drum, Tenor Drum, Cymbals,
Crotales, Glockenspiel), Harp
Strings (Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello, Bass)
Mixed Voice Choir (SATB)
Vivaldi reimagined! Settings of poems depicting the four seasons. Each season is made up of three interlinked sections/poems.
Ever
since I first encountered Vivaldi's Four Seasons (it was set for my
Music O Level exam) I have loved the imagery and variety these four
concertos for violin and string orchestra conjure up. There have been
many re-interpretations of this work by various composers over the
years, a sure testament to its enduring popularity, but very few have
involved voices, and I’ve long thought of using the original Vivaldi as a
basis for a new choral work, setting poems suggested to me by the
atmosphere created by the individual movements in each of the four
concertos.
For the most part, I have taken the harmonic structure
of each movement and formed new material of my own, adding in direct
quotes here and there from the more popular and instantly recognisable
sections of the Vivaldi; for example, the hunting motif Vivaldi uses in
the 3rd movement of Autumn, I've used to evoke the fluttering of leaves
as they fall to the ground, and the lyrical theme he uses in the 2nd
movement of Winter to describe a day by the fireside, I've given to the
oboe in accompanying Rossetti’s popular poem "In the Bleak Midwinter".
The poems all relate to the moods and atmosphere created by Vivaldi's
evocative music, and mostly belong to their respective seasons. Emily
Dickinson's famous love-poem "Wild Nights" does not directly mention
Summer, but it’s passionate outpouring has always felt to me like an
evocation of summer nights, and it suits the passionate warmth of this
season. Paul Carr
Recording:
Carr, Paul.
Four New Seasons. Conducted by Gavin
Carr with the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and Orchestra. Poole
Lighthouse 30-31 July, 2022. Also includes Saxaphone Concerto.with Rob
Burton.
1 CD Stone Records 5060192781212