Composers Datebook

Lully and Vivaldi greet the season


Listen Later

Whether you live in sunny California or snowy Minnesota, the arrival of the solstice means “It’s official: winter is here!” And if you were born someplace sunny, but moved to someplace snowy, the arrival of winter is pretty hard to ignore.
Winter must have made an impression on the transplanted Italian composer Jean-Baptiste Lully, who was born in Florence but settled in Paris and ended up as the court composer for King Louis XIV.
One of Lully’s operas, “Isis,” had its premiere in the winter of 1676, and contains a chorus of ‘Trembleurs,” or “Trembling People from the Frozen Climes,” whose teeth chatter in slurred tremolos. This chorus became particular famous for the wintry pantomime ballet that accompanied it, as well as for its evocative music.
Of course, the most famous of all Baroque “Winter” music was also served up by another Italian, Antonio Vivaldi, who was born in Venice but traveled widely in Northern Europe as well and died in Vienna.
Vivaldi’s “Winter” Violin concerto from “The Four Seasons” includes its own musical shivers, not to mention a musical depiction of slipping and sliding on icy streets.
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Composers DatebookBy American Public Media

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

10 ratings


More shows like Composers Datebook

View all
Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,601 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,734 Listeners

The NPR Politics Podcast by NPR

The NPR Politics Podcast

25,877 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,771 Listeners

The Book Review by The New York Times

The Book Review

3,993 Listeners

PBS Washington Week with The Atlantic - Full Show by Washington Week

PBS Washington Week with The Atlantic - Full Show

1,360 Listeners

Piano Puzzler by American Public Media

Piano Puzzler

528 Listeners

New Classical Tracks with Julie Amacher by American Public Media

New Classical Tracks with Julie Amacher

182 Listeners

YourClassical Daily Download by American Public Media

YourClassical Daily Download

246 Listeners

Gramophone Classical Music Podcast by Gramophone

Gramophone Classical Music Podcast

76 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

112,877 Listeners

Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast by Joshua Weilerstein

Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast

2,196 Listeners

Up First from NPR by NPR

Up First from NPR

56,917 Listeners

Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond by Pushkin Industries

Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

4,089 Listeners

Marketplace Tech by Marketplace

Marketplace Tech

77 Listeners

Piano Puzzler by American Public Media

Piano Puzzler

35 Listeners

Short Wave by NPR

Short Wave

6,567 Listeners