''Il Cimento dell′ Armonia e dell′ Inventione'' (''The Contest Between Harmony and Invention'') is a set of twelve

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

s written by

Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

and published in 1725 as Op. 8. All are for

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

solo,

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

and

basso continuo Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...

. The first four, which date back to 1718–23, are called '' The Four Seasons'' (''Le quattro stagioni''). The set was published in the Amsterdam workshop of

Michel-Charles Le Cène Michel-Charles Le Cène (ca. 1684 Honfleur, France ‐ 29 April 1743 in Amsterdam) was a French printer. His house printed the first editions of works by Vivaldi, Geminiani, Handel, Quantz, Tartini, Telemann and Locatelli, among others. The wor ...

and dedicated to Wenceslas, Count of Morzin,Eleanor Selfridge-Field's edition of ″The Four Seasons″ score for

Dover Publications Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, books ...

, 1995 an advisor to

Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor , house = Habsburg , spouse = , issue = , issue-link = #Children , issue-pipe = , father = Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg , birth_date ...

(not to be confused with Karl Joseph, Count Morzin, benefactor of

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

List of concertos

*Concerto No. 1 in

E major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, ...

, "''La primavera''" (Spring), RV 269 *Concerto No. 2 in

G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. According to Paolo Pietropaolo, it is the cont ...

, "''L'estate''" (Summer), RV 315 *Concerto No. 3 in

F major F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consis ...

, "''L'autunno''" (Autumn), RV 293 *Concerto No. 4 in

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...

, "''L'inverno''" (Winter), RV 297 *Concerto No. 5 in

E-flat major E-flat major (or the key of E-flat) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor, (or enharmonically ...

, "''La tempesta di mare''" (The Storm at Sea or The Sea Storm), RV 253 *Concerto No. 6 in

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

, "''Il piacere''" (Pleasure), RV 180 *Concerto No. 7 in

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed for t ...

, "''Per Pisendel''" (For

Pisendel Johann Georg Pisendel ( – 25 November 1755) was a German Baroque violinist and composer who, for many years, led the Court Orchestra in Dresden as concertmaster, then the finest instrumental ensemble in Europe. He was the leading violinist of ...

), RV 242 *Concerto No. 8 in

, RV 332 *Concerto No. 9 in

, RV 236 (scored for violin) / RV 454 (scored for oboe) *Concerto No. 10 in

B-flat major B-flat major is a major scale based on B, with pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative minor is G minor and its parallel minor is B-flat minor. The B-flat major scale is: : Many transposing instr ...

, "''La caccia''" (The Hunt), RV 362 *Concerto No. 11 in

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

, RV 210 *Concerto No. 12 in

, RV 178 (scored for violin) / RV 449 (scored for oboe)

References

External links

*
Scores and Parts: Vivaldi Op. 8

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

Concertos by Antonio Vivaldi Music dedicated to nobility or royalty 1725 compositions {{concerto-stub