(The Four Seasons). Par VIVALDI ANTONIO. Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) stands, with Handel and J. S. Bach, as one of the titanic figures of late Baroque composition. Not only was he lauded as a composer of vocal and instrumental works both sacred and secular, he was without doubt, the most prolific composer of his age. In addition to hundreds of vocal works, including forty-nine operas, he composed …