#art, #music, poetry, : «WINTER»

WINTER SPEAKS
(Based on Vivaldi’s “Winter”)

The ground is frozen and still,
and the wind strikes hard,
the earth holds its breath,
as the air becomes a cutting sound.
Footsteps marking time in stinging air,
Cold fingers ache to feel the flames soft warmth,
while nature lies stripped,
bare,
laid fair.

While inside the flames resist the night,
snow taps glass with muted might.
Brandy’s comfort swirls in brilliant glass,
and hums in peace,
a sheltered space,
while storms patrol the world’s hard face.
Ice will soon betray the hurried step,
the sky releasing now what it has kept.
Winter speaks in steel and snow,
a trial endured, then let go.

Francisco Bravo Cabrera – 06 JAN 2026 – Valencia, España

+++

Brief Synopsis of “Winter” from The Four Seasons

“Winter” (L’Inverno), the final concerto of Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons (1725), depicts the harshness and stillness of winter through vivid musical imagery. The first movement portrays bitter cold, chattering teeth, and stamping feet against freezing winds. The slow second movement offers a moment of respite, suggesting warmth and shelter by the fire while rain falls gently outside. The final movement returns to tension and motion, evoking slipping on ice, cracking frost, and the relentless force of winter storms. Throughout, Vivaldi uses sharp contrasts, rhythmic urgency, and textural effects to create a highly programmatic depiction of the season.

Brief Biography of Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (1678–1741) was an Italian Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, and Catholic priest, born in Venice. Nicknamed Il Prete Rosso (“The Red Priest”) due to his red hair, Vivaldi composed hundreds of concertos, as well as operas, sacred music, and chamber works. He spent much of his career associated with the Ospedale della Pietà, a Venetian institution for orphaned and abandoned girls, where he trained and composed extensively for its renowned ensemble. Although celebrated during his lifetime, Vivaldi fell into obscurity after his death and was rediscovered in the early 20th century. Today, he is recognized as one of the most influential composers of the Baroque era.

CHEERS