Ever since I first encountered Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at school when it was a set work for O-Levels, I have loved the imagery and variety these four
concertos for violin and string orchestra conjure up. There have been many reinterpretations of this work over the years, a sure testament to its enduring popularity, but almost none have involved the human voice, and I have long thought of using the original Vivaldi as a basis for a new choral work, setting poems suggested to me by the contrasting atmospheres and scene-setting of the 12 individual movements that make up the four concertos.
Paul Carr