Antonio Vivaldi: instrumental concertos, Magnificat

Antonio Vivaldi is a phenomenal violinist, an ingenious author of instrumental concerts, creator of the genre of recital. His compositions, distinguished by their special author’s style, have become a real musical symbol of the Baroque era. Despite Vivaldi’s immense popularity as a composer and his enormous contribution to the development of music, after his death his name was consigned to oblivion. Interest in Vivaldi’s legacy was revived only at the beginning of the 20th century, and widespread fame and love of listeners returned to his music only after the Second World War.

The name Vivaldi is associated primarily with his instrumental concerts. But the composer also paid great attention to vocal music. Vivaldi’s vocal and spiritual works found a second life in the 1920s – 1930s, when numerous author’s manuscripts were discovered, many of which were considered lost. Vivaldi’s church music is very close to the secular in its colorfulness and emotionality. Magnificat, like many other spiritual works, was written by the composer during his years as a teacher in the Venetian orphanage Ospedale della Pieta. An early version of the Magnificat was written around 1715, especially for the children of the orphanage. In the 1720s, Vivaldi completed the work.