Editing Program music (section)

==18th century==
In the Baroque era, Vivaldi's ''[[The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)|The Four Seasons]]'' has poetic inscriptions in the score referring to each of the seasons, evoking spring, summer, autumn, and winter. While many [[Bach cantata|cantatas by J. S. Bach]] contain programmatic elements, an example of outright program music is his ''[[Capriccio on the departure of a beloved brother]]'', BWV 992.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}

Program music was perhaps less often composed in the [[Classical music era|Classical]] era. At that time, perhaps more than any other, music achieved drama from its own internal resources, notably in works written in [[sonata form]]. It is thought,{{Weasel-inline|date=May 2020}} however, that a number of [[Joseph Haydn]]'s earlier symphonies may be program music; for example, the composer once said that one of his earlier symphonies represents "a dialogue between God and the Sinner".{{Citequote|date=May 2020}} It is not known which of his symphonies Haydn was referring to. His [[Symphony No. 8 (Haydn)|Symphony No. 8]] also includes a movement named "La tempesta" that represents a storm. A minor Classical-era composer, [[Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf]], wrote a series of symphonies based on [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' (not to be confused with twentieth-century composer [[Benjamin Britten]]'s ''[[Six Metamorphoses after Ovid]]''), which falls into this category. German composer [[Justin Heinrich Knecht]]'s ''Le portrait musical de la nature, ou Grande sinfonie (Musical Portrait of Nature or Grand Symphony)'' from 1784–1785 is another 18th century example, anticipating Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony by twenty years.