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Antonio Vivaldi, the red priest, the child of Venice
Antonio Vivaldi is the last representative of Baroque. Priest and virtuoso violinist, master of music at the Pietà, a convent for young, orphaned girls, the composer wrote countless concertos for these young ladies. Acclaimed throughout Europe, he composed quickly, proved his virtuosity with his ensemble of female musicians and produced his operas in all Venice’s theatres.
Inventive, skillful and quick, the work Antonio Vivaldi left is considerable. He revolutionised the concerto, which he adapted to a variety of instruments: violin, oboe, mandolin... Even today, we continue to discover this composer’s hundred operas. Although Johann Sebastian Bach transcribed some of his pieces, Vivaldi died in poverty, quite mysteriously in Vienna where he lived in exile once Venice became tired of his music.
He fell into oblivion for many years. It was only in the mid-20th century that the lightness and elegance of his contrasting vocal exercises and his seductively repeated rhythms were fully appreciated. Far from Bach’s counterpoint or Scarlatti’s inventiveness, Vivaldi preferred the simplicity of the melodic line and evident harmonic sequences. He thus brought Italian Baroque to an end and made way for classicism.
Over the past several years there has been a surge in interest in Vivaldi's music, he has been outselling all the other classical composers. In this documentary, Grouya visits with Vivaldi scholars and devotees from different countries, different backgrounds, with different tastes - all of whom are drawn to the music of Antonio Vivaldi.
Grouya takes us to Venice and shows us the very rooms Vivaldi inhabited as well as the church in which his music was performed. Venice is probably the most filmed city in the world but Grouya leads us to see the place anew, his shots are selected with a cinematic eye and an unmistakable affection for his subject. We meet a baroque ensemble and time stands still as they play Vivaldi's music with the actual instruments of the time. In this lovely, compelling film you will find the answer to its title.