Baroque & Vivaldi

During the months of January and February our students will continue learning about four major "eras" of musical influence as part of their lesson.

We began our focus on the Baroque Era.  One of the most famous composers of this time period was Antonio Vivaldi.  He wrote the famous "Four Seasons" Concerto.  The students have learned about Vivaldi and his music at age appropriate levels for each child.

For instance, the younger students are listening to "Spring" and "Autumn" and sharing their feelings about the mood of the music (is it happy, sad, slow, fast?) and elements of the music that make them think of each season (Spring has little violin trills that sound like birds, etc.).

Older students have been assigned arrangements of some of Vivaldi's works to play themselves.  They're studying techniques and working hard to add emotions and expression to their pieces.

All students have been encouraged to bring in something to contribute to our bulletin board, and I'm so impressed with what they've shared.  We have pictures that were printed, pictures that were drawn by hand, an image of a gorgeous Baroque cathedral, and some research that has taught ME several new things about Mr. Vivaldi!  FUN!

I shared a link with families by email several weeks ago and would like to include it here for your reference.  Please see the below video for a great introduction to Vivaldi's work and a little more information about the composer.  This is from the "Classics for Kids" website:

http://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/showview.asp?ID=1