Author's note: The poem is based on a literal translation by Anouska Zummo of the sonnet [L'Estate] attributed to Vivaldi, found in the score of his concertos commonly referred to as ‘The Four Seasons’, part of Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione (The contest between harmony and invention), published in 1725.
Epigraph: allegro non molto – adagio – presto
after Vivaldi, as performed by Nigel Kennedy,
Sydney Opera House, 27 January 2017