Les Arts Florissants
Théotime Langlois de Swarte, violin soloist

A colorful figure in fascinating Baroque Venice who captivated audiences with his extravagance and virtuoso violin playing, Antonio Vivaldi was one of the most influential musicians of 18th-century Europe.

Born in Venice in 1678, Vivaldi quickly became violin master, choirmaster, and then concertmaster at the Ospedale della Pietà. There, he explored a wide range of musical activity, demonstrating an incomparable talent, notably in the invention of the solo concerto, which enchanted 18th-century musical Europe and inspired virtually all subsequent composers. His career also flourished in opera, particularly at the Teatro San Angelo in Venice, but also in Mantua, Rome, and Vienna.

Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons), whose 300th anniversary we are celebrating this year, played an essential role in the composer’s fame. With its descriptive and imaginative writing, these four concertos anticipate the programmatic music that would prevail among later Romantic-era composers, and even included descriptive sonnets to help illustrate the music for 
performers and listeners. For violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte, this music embodies the essence of spirituality, a metaphysical work evoking life and death, with moments of great gentleness as well as extreme violence. Through his interpretation, de Swarte seeks to capture the drama characteristic of Venetian arts: expressive density, operatic and theatrical emotion, and jubilant energy.

The works complementing the Seasons on our program serve to highlight musicians who influenced Vivaldi’s approach, and one he in turn inspired.

The transcription of Claudio Monteverdi’s Adoramus te, SV 289 is closely linked to Vivaldi’s childhood, when he accompanied his father, a musician in the San Marco orchestra that Monteverdi had previously directed. The work also embodies the liturgical vocal style specific to Venice, as well as the city’s theatrical and musical environment. In a way, it represents Vivaldi’s musical DNA, upon which he built his virtuosity, notably through the abundance of repeated notes.

The Concerto Madrigalesco in D minor, RV 129 is composed in the “antico” style. Its presence here establishes an interesting connection between Monteverdi and Marco Uccellini, revealing the extent to which the influences of the masters shaped Vivaldi’s new style.

If Monteverdi marks the beginning of Vivaldi’s musical journey, Uccellini’s Bergamasca reveals the origin of his instrumental repertoire. A pioneer in the art of violin and sonata composition, Uccellini exerted a decisive influence on the young Vivaldi. This dance, based on a popular theme with variations, also celebrates the art of improvisation, an element dear to the Venetians and to the composer throughout his life.

Vivaldi’s Concerto in D minor, RV 813 was one of his earliest written for the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice. Each hallmark of Vivaldi’s style is already present: joy, virtuosity, theatricality, exaltation. The popularity of this concerto is also due to Johann Sebastian Bach’s masterly transcription for keyboard.

Francesco Geminiani’s Follia from Concerto Grosso No. 12 in D minor, a transcription of Corelli’s treatment of this famous Baroque-era theme, illustrates the lineage of three Italian masters. Corelli—whose groundbreaking Op. 5 (concluding with Follia and published in 1700)—was an inspirational figure to the young Vivaldi. And Geminiani’s Follia, published in 1729, was almost certainly influenced by the appearance of Vivaldi’s Op. 8 just four years earlier. It also highlights the particularly lively and joyful spirit inherent to the art of the concerto, which Geminiani had undoubtedly heard in many of Vivaldi’s works.

Vivaldi’s Overture to La fida ninfa (The Faithful Nymph) in F major, RV 714 evokes the Teatro San Angelo and shows how, opera influenced Vivaldi’s instrumental music by offering extraordinary vocality. Opera also enabled him to create dramatic interactions between instruments, where brilliance, impetuosity, sensuality, and seduction blend harmoniously in the soundscape.

The Grave movement from Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto in B-flat major, RV 370 is an unfinished piece, built on an ostinato chromatic bass. Théotime Langlois de Swarte has completed it here; a tribute from a young violinist to his illustrious forebear.

When published in 1725, no one could have imagined that Vivaldi’s Opus 8, Nos. 1–4 (The Four Seasons) would become perhaps the most frequently heard music of all time. Vivaldi’s singular genius continues to inspire artists the world over, as demonstrated by this concert by Les Arts Florissants led by violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte. As this great Vivaldi performer and loyal member of Les Arts Florissants puts it: “For one of the best-known composers in Western music, it is astonishing to realize that there are still so many facets to explore.”
—Fannie Vernaz © 2024