Composers during this time period also were affected heavily by the world around them. They were influenced by sonnets and literature as well as their environment during that era. Many pieces incorporated programmatic writing, like Vivaldi’s four seasons. His “Spring” movement had many poetic images, like how trolls represented chirping birds and tremelando passages portrayed an incoming storm.
Although we consider some of the music during this period to be artistic masterpieces today, composers and musicians during this time thought of themselves more as craftsmen than artists. They often made their living through patrons or individuals who supported them in exchange for their music.
