By Karima Romdane
The Royal Opera of Versailles offers you from Saturday July 13 to 14, a spotlight on the music of Giovanni Antonio Guido as well as that of his contemporary Antonio Vivaldi through a joint work: The Four Seasons.
If Guido remains a mysterious musician, it is due to a lack of archives. Born around 1675, he was noted among the violin students of the Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini, in Naples, then among the musicians of La Chapelle Royale, until 1702. It was then that he left for Paris and entered the service of Duke Philippe d’Orléans, future Regent of France and great music lover, of whom he would become Master of Music. He rubbed shoulders with Morin, Gervais, Forqueray, and contributed to making Italian music known in France. He also entered the circle of financier Pierre Crozat, with whom he gave concerts between 1714 and 1726, notably joining Watteau and the banker Law.
Between 1713 and 1716, Crozat had a new decoration made for his Dining Room, commissioning four paintings on the theme of the seasons from Watteau. It was undoubtedly to pay homage to this admirable new ensemble that Guido composed his Scherzi armonici sopra around 1717. the Four seasons of the year, based on four anonymous poems: The Characters of the Seasons. Each of these “musical entertainments” has around ten movements, and even if it has the name Concerto, also resembles a French suite: the music is also a clever mix of Italian and French.
The publication of Guido’s Seasons at Versailles does not bear a date, but dates from the period 1725-1733. The Seasons of Guido are in any case contemporary with the famous Seasons of Vivaldi, perhaps a little earlier. So who inspired who?
With: Stefan Plewniak Solo violin and direction, and the Palais Royal orchestra. Duration 1h10 without intermission
