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Step 1
Place the CD in the stereo and press play. Close your eyes if you wish.
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Step 2
During the jovial, energetic first movement, imagine a sprightly carriage ride through the Italian countryside. You pass quaint villages, lush vineyards and orchards, rolling green hills and sun-splashed meadows. Everyone you meet is gregarious, demonstrative and hospitable. The food and wine are plentiful, the conversation is loud and boisterous. The scene painted by this music is one of extroverted joy.
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Step 3
The solemn, expressive second movement was inspired by a religious procession Mendelssohn witnessed while he was visiting Naples. Imagine a column of brown-robed monks processing with slow dignity through a stone courtyard toward the façade of a massive, imposing Gothic cathedral, chanting in Latin as they walk.
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Step 4
The elegant third movement brings to mind the kind of music that an orchestra plays in the corner of a banquet hall as distinguished dinner guests eat and drink. Imagine a feast consisting of appetizers, multiple main courses (each paired with its own wine), and desserts, served on a white linen tablecloth in the dining hall of a huge Italian palazzo, framed by a spectacular veranda view of a scarlet and orange sunset over Florence.
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Step 5
During the deliriously wild fourth movement, imagine a rural Italian village celebrating a plentiful harvest with abundant food, drink and fun. Thankful for their bounty and giddy after several glasses of wine, the villagers lose all inhibitions and begin to dance with an almost demonic ferocity. They gyrate crazily in their bare feet with arms, legs, shirttails and hair flying in every direction.
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Step 6
After the music has finished playing, open your eyes. If you wish, sketch the above images, or any others the music might have inspired, on a drawing pad.
