Vivaldi's Four Seasons by Candlelight - 20th Nov, Newcastle

Handel – Overture to Messiah
Vivaldi – La Follia
Bach – Violin Concerto in A minor
Vivaldi – The Four Seasons

Tonight’s programme brings together some of the most vivid and enduring works of the Baroque era, from Handel’s ceremonial grandeur to Vivaldi’s dazzling musical storytelling.

Opening the programme is the overture from Handel’s Messiah, whose stately grandeur and dramatic contrasts haveTonight’s programme brings together some of the most vivid and enduring works of the Baroque era, from Handel’s ceremonial grandeur to Vivaldi’s dazzling musical storytelling.

Opening the programme is the overture from Handel’s Messiah, whose stately grandeur and dramatic contrasts have made it one of the defining sounds of the Baroque repertoire. Bach’s Violin Concerto in A minor follows: a work of energy, poise and expressive depth, combining tightly woven orchestral writing with moments of striking lyricism for the solo violin.

We then have Vivaldi’s La Follia which takes one of Europe’s oldest musical themes and transforms it into a dazzling sequence of variations. Built on a repeating bass line, the work unfolds with brilliance and invention, as Vivaldi pushes the solo violin to ever greater heights of virtuosity.

The evening culminates in The Four Seasons, one of the greatest masterpieces of all time. From the freshness of spring to the icy bite of winter, to birdsong and buzzing flies, harvest celebrations, drunken revellers, barking dogs, and summer storms, Vivaldi’s vivid depictions of nature remain as captivating today as they were 300 years ago.
made it one of the defining sounds of the Baroque repertoire. Bach’s Violin Concerto in A minor follows: a work of energy, poise and expressive depth, combining tightly woven orchestral writing with moments of striking lyricism for the solo violin.

We then have Vivaldi’s La Follia which takes one of Europe’s oldest musical themes and transforms it into a dazzling sequence of variations. Built on a repeating bass line, the work unfolds with brilliance and invention, as Vivaldi pushes the solo violin to ever greater heights of virtuosity.

The evening culminates in The Four Seasons, one of the greatest masterpieces of all time. From the freshness of spring to the icy bite of winter, to birdsong and buzzing flies, harvest celebrations, drunken revellers, barking dogs, and summer storms, Vivaldi’s vivid depictions of nature remain as captivating today as they were 300 years ago.