She opens the book she brought with her. The sun is still high;
there’s plenty of time yet.
It pleases Paolina to see how Antonio has enjoyed their outing. He
is clearly much the better for it and soon gets back to work. They
start going out regularly together, and sometimes Annina squeezes
into the carriage with them. Spring has made way for summer and
Vivaldi is fascinated to discover the ways in which nature responds
to the changing year. In Venice one was far less aware of the
passage of the seasons, and this is really the first time he has been
conscious of how the weather influences people. In a big city one
hardly noticed where one’s food came from. Why should one? The
market stalls were generally loaded with produce the whole year
through. Yet now he sees how a wet summer results in harvests
failing, just as a prolonged dry spell can mercilessly wither crops
on the stalk.
As summer reaches its height their outings become shorter and
take place later in the afternoon. No one wants to be out in the heat
of the day, let alone galloping over dusty highways. Antonio is by
now completely recovered and writing at full pitch, sonate and
cantate for the court, and in the time that remains to him each day
answering the requests of an ever increasing number of admirers.
He lets Paolina keep an exact record of the date of starting each
new piece of work, not only to prevent duplication but also to
ensure that the same piece is never sent to near neighbours. This
way of organising things allows him to keep up with the demand
for his work.
But the moment arrives when he has to come up with
something really new. It is for one of his best patrons, the
Bohemian Duke Wenzel von Morzin. The fact is that the duke is a
close advisor to the Habsburg Emperor Charles VI, and who knows,
this might even lead to writing for the emperor himself one day.
Morzin has a weakness for Vivaldi’s concerti. The trips with Paolina
to the river landscape of Mantua have provided the composer with
245
197-248 Chapter 5.indd 245 22-11-2007 14:11:19