Antonio Vivaldi




Antonio Vivaldi

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Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (March 4, 1678 – July 28, 1741), nicknamed il Prete Rosso ("The Red Priest"), was a Venetian baroque composer and priest, as well as a famous virtuoso violinist, born and raised in the Republic of Venice. The Four Seasons, a popular series of four violin concerti, is his best-known work and is representative of the baroque period in European art
Childhood

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born in Venice, the capital of the Republic of Venice in 1678. He was baptized immediately after his birth at his home by the midwife, leading it to be believed that his life was somehow in danger. Though not known for certain, the immediate baptism was most likely due to his poor health or to an earthquake that shook the city that day. In the trauma of the event, Vivaldi’s mother may have dedicated him to the priesthood.[1] Vivaldi's official church baptism (at least, the rites that remained other than the actual baptism itself) did not take place until two months later


Vivaldi’s parents were Giovanni Battista Vivaldi and Camilla Calicchio, as recorded in the register of San Giovanni in Bragora.[3] Vivaldi had five siblings: Margarita Gabriela, Cecilia Maria, Bonaventura Tomaso, Zanetta Anna, and Francesco Gaetano.[4] Giovanni Battista, a barber before becoming a professional violinist, taught him to play violin and then toured Venice playing the violin with his young son. He probably taught him at an early age, as evidenced by Vivaldi’s extensive musical knowledge at age 24 when he started working at the Ospedale della Pietà.[5] Giovanni Battista was one of the founders of the Sovvegno dei musicisti di Santa Cecilia, a sort of trade union for musicians and composers.[6] The president of the association was Giovanni Legrenzi, the maestro di cappella at St. Mark's Basilica and noted early baroque composer. It is possible that the young Antonio's first lessons in composition were imparted by him. The Luxembourg scholar Walter Kolneder sees in the early liturgical work Laetatus sum (RV Anh 31, written in 1691 at the age of 13) the influence of Legrenzi's style. His father may have been a composer himself: in 1689, an opera titled La Fedeltà sfortunata was composed by a Giovanni Battista Rossi, and this was the name under which Vivaldi's father had joined the Sovvegno di Santa Cecilia[7] ("Rossi" for "Red", because of the colour of his hair, a family trait).
Vivaldi had a bad health problem, probably a form of asthma, which did not prevent him from learning to play the violin, compose or take part in many musical activities.[8] It did however stop him from playing wind instruments because of shortness of breath. At the age of 15 in the year of 1693, he began studying to become a priest.[9] In 1703, at the age of 25, Vivaldi was ordained a priest and was soon nicknamed il Prete Rosso, "The Red Priest", because of his red hair.[10]
Not long after his ordination, in 1704, he was given a reprieve from celebrating the Holy Mass because of his ill health. Vivaldi only said mass as a priest a few times because of his strettezza di petto, or what we interpret to be asthma.[11] From that point onward, he appears to have withdrawn from active practice, but did remain a priest.