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Quattro sonetti ispirati alle “Quattro Stagioni” di Vivaldi

I. Primavera (La Primavera)

Ritorna il canto e scioglie il duro gelo,
tra verdi fili ride il novo ardore,
e l’aura lieve accarezza ogni fiore,
mentre l’acqua risplende sotto il cielo.
Là dorme il pastor, quieto nel suo velo,
tra sogni dolci e un placido tepore;
vegliando, il cane rompe il suo languore,
e il frondeggiar sussurra un lento zelo.
Poi s’alza il suon di rustiche zampogne,
e il piè risponde al ritmo della terra;
tra risa e giri ogni pensier si perde.
Così la vita in lieta danza regna,
e il mondo, desto dalla lunga guerra,
ritrova il cor tra luci tenere e verdi.

II. Estate (L’estate)

Grave sul mondo il sole ardente posa,
il cuculo ripete il suo richiamo,
e mesta tortorella leva un ramo
di suon che par sospir d’anima ansiosa.
L’aria si tende, immobile e dubbiosa,
mentre il pastor già trema in cuor suo gramo;
ronzan gli insetti in turbine lontano,
finché il ciel rompe in furia fragorosa.
Scoppia la tempesta, il vento infuria,
grandine cade e il campo aspro flagella,
e lampi fendono la notte oscura.
Ogni forza si spezza e si ribella—
così l’estate mostra la sua furia,
celata prima in calma tanto pura.

III. Autunno (L’autunno)

Colma è la mensa e il vino scorre lieto,
tra canti sciolti e danze senza freno;
il riso cresce e il passo si fa pieno,
finché l’eccesso rende il corpo quieto.
Cade il vigor nel sonno più discreto,
e il giorno cede al sogno lento e pieno;
la notte accoglie ogni mortal terreno,
placando il cuore ormai del tutto quieto.
Ma l’alba chiama al suon di corni e cani,
la selva trema al rapido fuggire,
e l’uom rincorre con ardor la preda.
Finché la forza cede ai duri affanni,
e il vivo corso giunge al suo finire—
così l’autunno il suo destino svela.

IV. Inverno (L’inverno)

Nel gelo acuto trema ogni vivente,
il dente batte e il piè percuote il suolo;
taglia il vento crudele come un duolo,
e il fiato fugge labile e tremante.
Ma dentro arde un conforto più costante,
mentre la pioggia cade piano al suolo;
un dolce canto rompe il lungo duolo,
e scalda il cor nel foco rilucente.
Fuor, l’insidioso ghiaccio inganna il piede,
che scivola e cade in moto incerto;
due venti lottan senza mai posa.
Così l’inverno la sua legge chiede:
tra gelo e foco è il viver nostro offerto,
tra dura prova e quiete luminosa.

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Four sonnets inspired by  Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”

I. Spring (La Primavera)

When silver trills unfasten winter’s seam,
And birds embroider light in airy thread,
The brook resumes its bright, unbroken dream,
And tender winds lift blossoms from their bed.
A shepherd sleeps where perfumed grasses lean,
While distant barks keep watch on drowsing hours;
The leaves in whispers stir what lies between
The hush of breath and murmurings of flowers.
Then pipes awake the foot and stir the ground,
A rustic pulse beneath the circling dance;
The earth itself seems tuned to that soft sound,
As joy takes root in gesture and in glance.
So spring arrives not sudden, but in song—
A world remembered, having slept so long.

II. Summer (L’estate)

The sun stands still and presses on the air,
A cuckoo tolls the hour with hollow cry;
The dove laments as if in dim despair,
While restless wings like fleeting thoughts go by.
The shepherd feels the silence start to strain,
As insects weave unease through heavy heat;
A distant tremor troubles field and brain,
Till thunder breaks the sky in fierce retreat.
Then chaos spills—hail lashes leaf and grain,
The winds contend with unrelenting force;
Bright bolts divide the darkened vault of rain,
And nature rends itself without remorse.
What languor held, now fury tears apart—
Summer reveals the tempest in its heart.

III. Autumn (L’autunno)

The harvest spills its gold in laughing hands,
And wine unfastens care from tongue and limb;
The dance grows wild, no longer bound by plans,
As daylight fades and senses wander dim.
In quiet heaps the revelers are laid,
Where dreams overtake the songs they could not end;
The night completes what merriment had made,
And wraps the world in slumber as a friend.
At dawn the horns call forth a sharper will,
The chase resumes where stillness held its sway;
Through forest paths the air with cries must fill,
Till strength and breath of prey are worn away.
Thus autumn turns from plenty into loss—
A feast, a rest, a reckoning to cross.

IV. Winter (L’inverno)

The cold makes brittle music in the bone,
Each breath a fragile thread against the air;
The stamping foot insists it stands alone
Against a wind that answers not with care.
Yet by the fire a gentler world is spun,
Where rain taps lightly on the windowpane;
A single warmth outlives the absent sun,
And quiet melodies outlast the rain.
But step outside—the glassy ground deceives,
The body slips where once it trusted ground;
The battling winds strip solace from the eaves,
And hurl their frozen arguments around.
So winter teaches in its austere art:
The edge of life, and shelter of the heart.

Spring snow, oil on canvas, 40×40

— Adam Donaldson Powell

(modifica della traduzione con l’aiuto di chatgpt)

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Based on the following analysis:

I. Spring (La Primavera – E Major)

I. Allegro: Celebrates the arrival of spring with energetic ritornellos, mimicking birdsong (high trills), murmuring streams, and gentle breezes. II. Largo e pianissimo sempre: A serene, dreamy scene in C♯ minor depicting a sleeping goatherd in a flowery meadow, with the dog barking (viola) and rustling leaves (violins). III. Allegro (Pastoral Dance): A festive peasant dance in 12/8 time, featuring a drone in the bass to simulate bagpipes (ciaramella) and rustic merrymaking. 

Summer (L’estate – G Minor) 

I. Allegro non molto: Captures the languor of heat. Features a “cuckoo” call, a mournful turtledove, and a rapid finch motif, interrupted by a threatening breeze. II. Adagio e piano – Presto e forte: Intense anxiety. The shepherd fears a storm, with frantic violin solo lines mimicking buzzing gnats/flies, broken by thunderous, fast orchestral outbursts. III. Presto (Summer Storm): A violent, chaotic finale depicting a furious storm, hail, and destruction, featuring rapid descending scales and intense dynamic contrasts. 

Autumn (L’autunno – F Major) 

I. Allegro (Harvest Celebration): A cheerful, dance-like movement celebrating the harvest with peasants dancing and drinking. Features virtuosic violin passages representing intoxication. II. Adagio molto: Known as the “sleeping drunkards.” A quiet, tranquil movement in D minor where the atmosphere of celebration fades into calm, musical slumber. III. Allegro (The Hunt): A fast-paced scene starting at dawn. Violins and orchestra depict hunters, dogs, and guns chasing a beast, ending with its exhausted, quiet demise. 

IV. Winter (L’inverno – F Minor) 

I. Allegro non molto: Opens with sharp, staccato notes mimicking trembling from the cold, followed by the “harsh breath of wind” and stamping feet. II. Largo: A cozy, peaceful movement. The violin plays a soaring, warm cantabile melody inside by the fire, while the orchestra plays a steady, light pizzicato (dripping rain). III. Allegro: Features a treacherous, slow melody walking on ice, followed by a fast section representing slipping, falling, and the violent war of the north and south winds. 

(Study.com, PianoTV)

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