Luke Hsu

Ornamentation is always a challenge in Vivaldi. Unfortunately, unlike Corelli or Geminiani, we don’t have a lot of examples from Vivaldi in how he ornamented his works. In fact, we only have one: Concerto in C Major, RV 581, where the ornaments were written for his student, Anna Maria, to play. Upon analysis, Vivaldi’s own ornaments are extremely lavish, chromatic and fluid, with some seeming absolutely radical. Additionally, I analysed slow movements from other concertos that are ornamented (however. without an original line) to learn from the different kinds of patterns he would use. I have used many of Vivaldi’s ideas in ornamenting my own version of the slow movements in the Four Seasons.

Three other sources are crucial. I would like to thank Tartini’s Treatise on Ornamentation, Mozart’s School of Violin Playing and Corelli’s own ornamented Op. 5 for giving me ideas in how to ornament. I would also like to thank @kco_music for the collaboration. #vivaldi #liveperformance #violinist #violin #vivaldifourseasons