Opéra Royal - Vivaldi / Guido: The Four Seasons

Cultural

Concert of violin solo and direction

If Guido remains a mysterious musician, it is due to a lack of archives. Born around 1675, he was listed among the violin students at the Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini in Naples, then among the musicians at the Chapelle Royale until 1702. It was then that he left for Paris and entered the service of Duke Philippe d'Orléans, the future Regent of France and a great music lover, where he became Master of Music. He thus rubbed shoulders with Morin, Gervais and Forqueray, and helped to make Italian music better known in France. He also entered the circle of the financier Pierre Crozat, where he gave concerts between 1714 and 1726, working alongside the likes of Watteau and the banker Law.

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Between 1713 and 1716, Crozat had his dining room redecorated, commissioning Watteau to paint four pictures on the theme of the seasons. It was no doubt to pay tribute to this admirable new ensemble that Guido composed his Scherzi armonici sopra le quattro stagioni dell'anno around 1717, based on four anonymous poems: Les Caractères des Saisons. Each of these ‘musical entertainments’ consists of around ten movements and, although it is called a concerto, it also resembles a French suite: the music is a skilful blend of Italian and French styles.

Guido's Seasons were published in Versailles without a date, but it is reasonable to assume that they were written between 1725 and 1733: they are contemporary with Vivaldi's famous Seasons, and perhaps a little earlier. So who inspired whom?