Today’s musical selection is the conclusion (Fall, Winter) of the massive oratorio that covers a year’s worth of seasons.

A song cycle about the seasons is nothing new, of course. Antonio Vivaldi’s (1678 – 1741) Four Seasons is likely the most well known of the genre. Certainly, the beloved violin concerto is the most famous work from the Italian.

The totality of yesterday’s CD and today’s (the complete Four Seasons from Haydn) is two hours and twenty minutes of music. Frankly, that’s beyond big. That’s massive.

If Haydn had done nothing else in his long, illustrious career, The Four Seasons, alone, would have been worthy of high praise. It really is a fine, fine oratorio, with terrific performances all around especially from soprano Helen Donath and tenor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adalbert_Kraus.

But the instrumentation is superb as well.

And that’s why this works so well for me. If it had been one or the other, I’d have lost interest. But the music is compelling and the vocals are remarkable. Together, they are magical.

Here. Listen for yourself.

That’s not the version to which I am listening today. But it’s what I started out listening to today. It’s Der Herbst (Autumn).

If you want to hear the entire Four Seasons, here it is. It’s the exact same performances I’ve heard in the last couple of days.

Be sure you have a couple of hours to spare, though.