April 26, 2018 | UHCL Staff
Most people don’t know that Antonio Vivaldi wrote hundreds of concertos because they’re only familiar with a few of them. Of those, four, known as “The Four Seasons,” are recognizable even to those who don’t consider themselves classical music fans. “It’s a favorite of all time,” said Antoine Plante, artistic director and conductor of Mercury, which will be performing “The Four Seasons,” in celebration of Mother’s Day on May 13 at 2 p.m. at University of Houston-Clear Lake’s Bayou Theater, 2700 Bay Area Blvd., Houston.
“There are some things that not everyone knows about ‘The Four Seasons,’” Plante said. “It’s inspired by poetry that Vivaldi wrote about the seasons of the year, using descriptive, narrative images.”
The poetry will be projected along with the music so that the audience can truly experience through both sight and sound Vivaldi’s interpretation of the four seasons. “There are beautiful images for spring, then for summer, there are descriptions of animals and a summer storm that is fantastic after a hot summer day,” Plante said. “For fall, the words and music illustrate festivals, harvesting and hunting. And for winter, it’s about playing in the snow, going in afterwards and sitting by the fire, and having a snowstorm.”
The story of the four seasons is “told” by featured solo violinist Jonathan Godfrey. “It’s highly technical, virtuosic music,” Plante said. “The format of the concerto allows for a single voice to tell the story. It makes it feel very personal to the audience and lets them relate to this individual voice. He acts as the narrator of the poetry.”
Plante said that the performance would include Godfrey as well as 14 other string musicians playing violin, viola, cello, double bass and harpsichord.
“It’s a wonderful program for Mother’s Day,” he said. “It’s a fantastic program of favorites.”
For more information or to order tickets, visit www.uhcl.edu/bayou-theater/events-tickets.
