List • Nature-Inspired Baroque and Classical Works

Antonio Vivaldi – The Four Seasons (1725)

Four violin concertos painting vivid images of spring birdsong, summer storms, autumn harvests, and icy winter winds.

🔗 https://imslp.org/wiki/Le_quattro_stagioni_(Vivaldi%2C_Antonio)

Georg Philipp Telemann – Wassermusik (Hamburger Ebb’ und Fluth, 1723)

A water music suite celebrating the tides and sea gods with lively maritime tone-painting.

🔗 https://imslp.org/wiki/Hamburger_Ebb%27_und_Fluth,_TWV_55:C3_(Telemann,_Georg_Philipp)

Heinrich Ignaz Biber – Sonata Representativa (c.1669)

Playful violin sonata imitating birdcalls and animal sounds such as frogs, cats, and nightingales.

🔗 https://imslp.org/wiki/Sonata_representativa_(Biber,_Heinrich_Ignaz_Franz)

Jean-Féry Rebel – Les Élémens (1737)

French Baroque suite depicting the four elements, opening with a striking dissonant 'Chaos' movement.

🔗 https://imslp.org/wiki/Les_El%C3%A9mens_(Rebel,_Jean-F%C3%A9ry)

Joseph Haydn – The Creation (1798)

Grand oratorio portraying the Biblical creation of light, seas, animals, and the rising sun with vivid musical imagery.

🔗 https://imslp.org/wiki/The_Creation_(Haydn,_Joseph)

George Frideric Handel – Organ Concerto in F, HWV 295 'The Cuckoo and the Nightingale' (1739)

Features delightful birdcall imitations of the cuckoo and nightingale in the organ part.

🔗 https://imslp.org/wiki/Organ_Concerto_in_F_major,_HWV_295_(Handel,_George_Frideric)

Jean-Philippe Rameau – La Poule (1728)

Humorous harpsichord piece mimicking a hen’s clucking and pecking through repeated-note motifs.

🔗 https://imslp.org/wiki/La_Poule_(Rameau,_Jean-Philippe)

François Couperin – Le Rossignol en amour (1722)

Elegant harpsichord character piece using ornaments and trills to evoke the nightingale’s song.

🔗 https://imslp.org/wiki/Pi%C3%A8ces_de_clavecin,_Troisi%C3%A8me_livre_(Couperin,_Fran%C3%A7ois)

Domenico Scarlatti – Fugue in G minor K.30 'Cat’s Fugue' (1739)

Legendary fugue inspired by a cat's accidental notes, featuring an unusual chromatic subject.

🔗 https://imslp.org/wiki/Keyboard_Sonata_in_G_minor,_K.30_(Scarlatti,_Domenico)

Leopold Mozart – Jagdsinfonie (c.1756)

Hunt symphony with horn calls, gunshots, and barking dogs evoking an aristocratic hunt.

🔗 https://imslp.org/wiki/Jagdsinfonie_(Mozart,_Leopold)

Joseph Haydn – Symphony No.6 in D 'Le Matin' (1761)

Opens with a serene musical sunrise leading into bright morning music.

🔗 https://imslp.org/wiki/Symphony_No.6,_Hob.I:6_(Haydn,_Joseph)

Henry Purcell – 'Frost Scene' from King Arthur (1691)

Opera scene depicting the shivering Spirit of Winter with icy dissonances and trembling strings.

🔗 https://imslp.org/wiki/King_Arthur,_Z.628_(Purcell,_Henry)

J.S. Bach – Hunting Cantata BWV 208 (1713)

Secular cantata celebrating the hunt with horns and pastoral aria 'Sheep May Safely Graze'.

🔗 https://imslp.org/wiki/Was_mir_behagt,_ist_nur_die_muntre_Jagd,_BWV_208_(Bach,_Johann_Sebastian)

Marin Marais – 'Tempête' from Alcyone (1706)

Dramatic orchestral storm scene using rapid strings and dissonance to portray a violent sea tempest.

🔗 https://imslp.org/wiki/Alcyone_(Marais,_Marin)

Antonio Vivaldi – Il Gardellino Flute Concerto Op.10 No.3 (1728)

Flute concerto capturing the cheerful song of the goldfinch with playful, trilling passages.

🔗 https://imslp.org/wiki/Flute_Concerto_in_D_major,_RV_428_(Vivaldi,_Antonio)