NationStates Jolt Archive

I was listening to Vivaldi's most popular work, The Four Seasons, recently: I always take in the music in full, going through Spring, Summer, Autumn, then Winter, without breaking in between; I devote my full attention to the music, not using it to create a "background" atmosphere.

The question is, how do ye listen to the work? One Season at a time? Order interchangeable? Perhaps (gasp!) mere single movements? Do you view listening to it as an activity of itself, or merely use it to set the mood?

With fava beans and a nice chianti.

I listen to Summer, Autumn, and Winter, when I listen to it (which isn't that often). Spring is played everywhere and annoys me; I'll only listen to it if I'm at a concert and can't choose.

How do you take your Vivaldi?
Milk, two sugars.

Spring is played everywhere and annoys me;

Yes, but like Beethoven's 5th, only the beginning is trite.

Depends on my mood, as with all music. Sometimes I just want to listen to one particular part of a piece, sometimes I want something nice on in the background while I work, sometimes I want to actively listen - it really just depends.

Yes, but like Beethoven's 5th, only the beginning is trite.

It's not that it's trite; it's very good music. I just hear it all the time, and after a while it's difficult to not associate it with shopping malls. In concerts it's not as bad because the setting makes it easy to remember it's great music, but at home I always have to skip the first track of the CD.

Rectally. >.> <.<

Vivaldi? Doesn't he play football for Brazil or something?:p

With fava beans and a nice chianti.

Milk, two sugars.

Rectally. >.> <.<

Vivaldi? Doesn't he play football for Brazil or something?:p
We're some cultured motherfuckers.

L'inverno. Allegro, non molto.

Rectally. >.> <.<

Curved or blunt end first? The latter is the only correct and most satisfying way, but I needn't be telling you of all people that.

Single movements only if I am having a craving for it.

Mostly whole works, both in the background and attentively, depending on what I'm doing. When I'm reading it may be both at once in varying amounts.

However, live is always the best.

I like my Vivaldi like I like my women: Live. :D

in the background in whatever order the radio has decided to play it in.

I take the CD, burn it to a crisp and chainsaw it into fourteen tiny pieces, and then I proceed to throw these over the edge at the dump with the rest of the rubbish :p

I like my Vivaldi like I like my women: Live. :D

I like my women like I like my Vivaldi. Elevated, sweaty, and being played by other people.

I'm pretty sure I've listened to the entire Four Seasons at least once. I can listen to Vivaldi, but that's not my favorite. I think most people listen to Four Seasons just by name or because they heard about it, and usually all you ever hear played about it are the happy parts, not the whole thing. These days I prefer Bach.

A little Red Priest, hold the oboe.

with an unfortunate degree of broadcast distortion, if at all.

i really, i like interesting combinations and sequences of sounds, certainly, but i have basically the same problem with classicism that i have with top 40 ism. all this business about human egos and emotions gets in the way of enjoying sounds for sounds sake. on their own merits and in their own context.

The question is, how do ye listen to the work? One Season at a time? Order interchangeable? Perhaps (gasp!) mere single movements? Do you view listening to it as an activity of itself, or merely use it to set the mood?

Usually I listen to the whole work in the proper order, but right now, since here I'm enjoying a serious snowfall (already more than 15 cm in the city, and that's something here) I'll put on the Winter right now.

I like snow.

I prefer Shostakovich myself, but I do enjoy most Classical music,
such as Beethoven,Bach,Vivaldi,Mozart,etc.

When listening to any kind of music really, I usually devote my entire attention to it.
and agree that they should initially be heard in the original order.
After that, they may be heard in any order.

Whole thing, either with baroque instruments or without, as I have two versions.

I can't really actively listen to music, it gets me thinking no matter what. The only time I really get into thinking about it is it's some blues, and I can relate my life to it really...

I was listening to Vivaldi's most popular work, The Four Seasons, recently: I always take in the music in full, going through Spring, Summer, Autumn, then Winter, without breaking in between; I devote my full attention to the music, not using it to create a "background" atmosphere.

The question is, how do ye listen to the work? One Season at a time? Order interchangeable? Perhaps (gasp!) mere single movements? Do you view listening to it as an activity of itself, or merely use it to set the mood?

Ironically, I am listening to Vivaldi's Winter right now. Usually I don't listen to the Four Seasons and much prefer Gloria.

With 2 shots of double malt scotch and an Orange Crush chaser :p.

I listen to music (Good pick by the way, four seasons is a great piece) as background and an activity within itself. Call it multi-tasking if you will, I don't know how else to describe it.

And strangely enough, I'm listening to the Summer excerpt at the moment.

A little Red Priest, hold the oboe.

But, but, Antonio wrote such lovely oboe parts! Just not in the Seasons. Domine Deus in the Gloria is phantasmagorical.

with an unfortunate degree of broadcast distortion, if at all.

i really, i like interesting combinations and sequences of sounds, certainly, but i have basically the same problem with classicism that i have with top 40 ism. all this business about human egos and emotions gets in the way of enjoying sounds for sounds sake. on their own merits and in their own context.

Sound for the sake of sound? As opposed to sound for the sake of science? I don't get this human egos stuff you mention. You mean like people either trying to fit in with popular music or listening to worse stuff trying to be indie freaks? Since when does anyone listen to classical to try to be "cool"? It's the most uncool thing you can do, both on the populist and rebel sides.
And emotions? That's what music is supposed to be about, it's nobody's fault when all somebody can hear, or choose to hear is homogeneous grit.

It pops up from time to time on my iPod, since I almost always have it on shuffle. Strangely, Summer seems to crop up more often than any of the other seasons and I have no idea why (it's probably on there twice or something, like so many other tracks in my exceptionally badly organised digital music collection).

It's probably quite horrifying to the classical music purists of the world, but I kind of like it when tracks like that pop up in the midst of the rest of the noise I listen to so I guess that's my answer to the OP... I take my Vivaldi as it comes, whenever the random number generator dictates that it's time :D

It pops up from time to time on my iPod, since I almost always have it on shuffle. Strangely, Summer seems to crop up more often than any of the other seasons and I have no idea why (it's probably on there twice or something, like so many other tracks in my exceptionally badly organised digital music collection).

It's probably quite horrifying to the classical music purists of the world, but I kind of like it when tracks like that pop up in the midst of the rest of the noise I listen to so I guess that's my answer to the OP... I take my Vivaldi as it comes, whenever the random number generator dictates that it's time :D

There may be a conformation bias going on with the summer thing. However, people tend to see patterns where there aren't, for example a music randomiser.