The cover may clue you in that you're not getting a conventional recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons here, but just in case that doesn't do the job, this is, in the words of violinist Roby Lakatos (who writes his own utterly distinctive notes), "Vivaldi alla Gypsy." This involves not only a cimbalom but, in some sections, wholesale rewriting of Vivaldi's score (the central movement of "Winter" brings the biggest departure). Lakatos says that he made the album because his label wanted him to record a classical repertory work, but the links between the gypsy tradition and the classics is centuries old, and Lakatos comes from a musical family that taught Franz Liszt back in the day. Lakatos is undoubtedly an exciting and dynamic player. One might object that the logic in when he sticks to the score and when he takes it merely as a stimulus to new music-making is not entirely clear. Moreover, Lakatos frames the Four Seasons with a pair of works by Kálmán Céski, whom he calls "my brother in soul." These are intended to situate the Four Seasons in history, but they proceed from dreamy choral sounds to rock and jazz accents, and it's not clear how they're supposed to do that. The program is so eclectic that it is in danger of not hanging together, and it concludes, to boot, with a vocally overdubbed Ave Maria by Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia that Lakatos calls "a return to Paradise, a tribute to the divine." Wild as it all sounds, there's an exuberance that keeps you listening. And the basic idea of a gypsy Four Seasons is indeed perfectly reasonable. Probably not a major entry in the Vivaldi canon, but certainly of great interest for those interested in the great tradition of gypsy music. - James Manheim, AllMusic Gudie

VIVALDI (Arr. Roos) La stravaganza, op. 4/1,3–6,9,11 • Frédéric de Roos (rcr, cond); La Pastorella (period instruments) • RICERCAR 288 (56:29)


Do you wish that Vivaldi had penned more concerti da camera ? (Not that you were lying awake at night thinking about it!) So do the members of La Pastorella, apparently. Doing nothing worse than what Baroque composers used to do all the time, they have taken seven concertos from La stravaganza , and arranged them for their ensemble, which consists of a violin (played by Mira Glodeanu), oboe (Benoît Laurent), cello (Hervé Douchy), bassoon (Alain de Rijckere), organ or harpsichord (Guy Penson), and guitar or theorbo (Philippe Malfeyt), all under the direction of recorder player de Roos. Does it work? Nicely. Does it replace Vivaldi’s originals? Of course not; but it complements them well.


The originals are violin concertos. Sometimes the solo part remains assigned to the violin, but at other times it is reassigned to the recorder, the oboe, or the bassoon. The solo material is passed from instrument to instrument throughout the course of a movement. If you feel that some of Vivaldi’s concertos for string instruments suffer from a too unvaried texture, these arrangements will remedy that. La Pastorella keeps the concertos’ original keys, although they do transpose some of the slow movements up or down a fifth, to “better suit the tessitura of the new solo instrument.” Again, that’s hardly a hanging offense in this repertoire, and the ends justify the means.


The performances are wide awake, yet relaxed. No one is trying to show off. The music-making is like an afternoon spent at home with friends. Try the slow movement of Concerto No. 11, and see if you don’t enjoy hearing the recorder sing with light melancholy to the accompaniment of the organ and theorbo. De Roos’s recorder has a likeable timbre, and he blends it beautifully with the other instruments. The booklet doesn’t include biographical material, so I don’t know how long La Pastorella has been around—it is not a new group. This CD moves me to explore its apparently extensive back catalog, though. This is lovely, innovative, low-pressure Vivaldi.


FANFARE: Raymond Tuttle

From the middle of the sixteenth century the reputation for excellence of the composers of Northern Germany was well established. Given dynamism by commercial exchanges thanks to the bustling activity of the port of Hamburg notably, the cities of the Hanseatic League welcomed many foreign workers, their customs inspiring the artistes of the Germanic tradition. At the end of the seventeenth century, Hamburg was a free city sheltered from war, a refuge for artistes and for great fortunes. It was then the most cosmopolitan city in Germany and its population included a great number of merchants, bankers, diplomats and senators, so many men who were rich and who had the time necessary for enjoying music and for encouraging this flourishing art. As close friends, Johann Adam Reinken, Dietrich Buxtehude – both admired by Bach – and Johann Theile belonged to the circle of contrapuntists of Northern Germany, finding inspiration, however, in the monodic stile nuovo of Italy, championing the idea that music should be at the service of the drama. This musical circle, both professional and friendly, met frequently at Abendmusiken, or musical evenings, created in 1646 in Lübeck by Franz Tunder, organist of the Marienkirche who was to be succeeded by Buxtehude. Organists, great improvisors, the music of the four composers of this programme often comprises suites of short movements in each of which occur identical or related harmonic and melodic elements, characteristics of improvisation and peculiar to the stylus phantasticus, a musical movement dear to composers of this period. For their second album for muso, the Ensemble Stravaganza returns to its favorite repertory to offer a release that is virtuosic, lyrical, richly sonorous and colorful, and is performed with astonishing naturalness.

When published in 1716, Antonio Vivaldi’s Sonatas, op. 5 were declared as the second part of his op. 2. + The entity contains four solo sonatas and two trio sonatas, which was rather unusual at that time. + The Baltic Baroque, under the direction of Grigori Maltizov, present, most surprisingly, the first recordings of these works to be undertaken and the first on period instruments. + There is a multitude of reasons for their non-representation on record, all of which falling into areas of origin, authorship and relations in music.

•We find in the historical record imploring lines written by Vivaldi (1678–1741) to his patron, Count Morzin, when recommending a set of compositions for his support and patronage (op. 8) which include the violin concertos known as “The Four Seasons”. In the end, history has certainly been the biggest benefactor. For this recording the cycle is played by the Capella Savaria (“one of Europe’s best ensembles” - Opus Magazine), led by Zsolt Kalló, on period instruments.

VIVALDI Concertos, Op. 10/1-6 (RV 433-37). Suonata à 4 al Santo Sepolcro in E?. Concerto in g, RV 157 • Matthias Maute (rcr, fl); Jörg-Michael Schwarz (vn, ldr); Rebel • BRIDGE 9377 (56:40)


Here is an exciting and well-played disc of Vivaldi concertos (and a Sonata for strings and basso continuo) played not by a full orchestra but by the eight-piece Dutch group Rebel (pronounced “ruh-BELL,” after the French Baroque composer Jean-Féry Rebel). Although it is only an octet, Rebel performs these works in the “La Scintilla” brisk-orchestral style pioneered by that Italian orchestra. In Vivaldi this works very well, and since this is the music of that composer, this group’s style could also be called “modified Red Priest” as a model on the British ensemble of that name. I was utterly delighted by Matthias Maute’s recorder playing in the concerto, op. 10/3, nicknamed “The Goldfinch.” His technique is so good that he is able to create swirling lines that almost sound as if they are easy to play, which they most certainly are not. Moreover, Rebel’s strings—including the oft-tricky basso continuo—are not only consistently in tune but have a good tone. In this album, they play so much as an ensemble that one comes to hear them as a sort of chamber orchestra. I wondered how they might actually sound in music where they are called upon to perform in opposing motion, i.e., in works calling for an interplay of the instruments.


Only in the transverse flute concerto (op. 10/4) did I feel that Rebel’s strings had a bit too edgy a tone quality, incurred by their insistence on only using straight tone (an approach not supported by historical scholarship), and a very thin straight tone at that. The richness of the double bass and cello underneath the higher strings created a nice balance of sound, especially in the concerto for alto recorder (op. 10/5). Here the lower pitch brings the strings down by about a third from the other concertos, and the generally pastoral quality of this music is welcome relief from the composer’s generally upbeat style.


This disc, though having a long list of competitors in this material, is a worthy follow-up to this group’s previous disc, Shades of Red (Bridge 9173). Recorded in St. John’s Lutheran Church in Stamford, Connecticut, the sonics have just enough ambience around the instruments to give a nice sheen to them without overdoing it.


FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley

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...a tremendous new recording of Vivaldi's Opus 10 Flute Concertos played by brilliant young Belgian virtuoso Matthias Maute and one of the Big Apple's top original instrument crews, Rebel (accent on the second syllable). It's an extraordinary display of panache and virtuosity...and Rebel backs him with ferocious energy and risk-taking authenticity... The playing is out of the box with its ornaments, plastic phrasings and simulated spontaneity so that each new section, each new tune, each new dashing series of runs and trills, brings with it unexpected surprises and just enough time to catch your breath between movements.

-- Laurence Vittes, Huffington Post

A varied and entertaining programme which gives a good impression of Vivaldi's writing for the lute.

The title of this disc leads one to expect pieces with a solo part for the lute. One wonders why three compositions have been included without a lute part. The reason is that in the motet and the two sinfonias the basso continuo is performed on theorbo, a lute with longer bass strings. This is joined by the lute in the motet. That results in a characteristic sound which is more intimate than with a harpsichord playing the bass part. Intimacy is a feature of this recording anyway. Some fast movements are played in a more moderate tempo than we are used to hear in Vivaldi's music, in particular in performances by Italian ensembles.

The fact that Vivaldi wrote a number of pieces for instrumental ensemble with a solo part for the lute is remarkable. Since the renaissance the lute had mainly been used as a solo instrument, to accompany singers and as part of an ensemble of various instruments. When the concertante style emerged in the early 17th century the lute - and in particular the theorbo - was used in the basso continuo. Compositions for lute solo with other instruments were rare in Italy. Most pieces of this kind were written by composers north of the Alps, in particular in Germany. It is assumed that the Concerto in D (RV 93) and the two trios were composed around 1730 when Vivaldi is thought to have stayed in Prague for a while. That could explain the solo role for the lute. The trios are obviously meant as chamber music, but the concerto is also likely to have been intended for a performance with one instrument per part, as on this disc. The lack of a part for the viola is in indication of this.

The Concerto in d minor (RV 540) is a special case; it is Vivaldi's only concerto for this combination. He was one of the first composers to write any concertante music for the viola d'amore. In his oeuvre we find six solo concertos and a concerto da camera with a viola d'amore part. Furthermore he used it as an obbligato instrument in arias in some vocal works. In the concerto the viola d'amore and the lute are treated on equal terms in the fast movements. In the largo the focus is on the viola d'amore whereas the lute is reduced to playing arpeggios.

The Sinfonias which open and close this disc belong to a considerable number of pieces which are referred to as concerti ripieni. They are scored for strings and b.c. and don't include any solo episodes. They are mostly very short - every movement taking barely two minutes or less. That depends on the choice of tempi and here these are mostly on the moderate side. It works quite well in the Sinfonia in d minor (RV 127) but less so in the Sinfonia in g minor (RV 157) where I find them just too slow.

In the trios and the concertos the tempi of the fast movements are also moderate. It lends them much grace, which suits these pieces well. Ronn McFarlane gives very fine performances of the solo parts. The violin and viola d'amore parts are also nicely played. I am less pleased by William Bauer's vibrato now and then in the largo of the Concerto in d minor.

Lastly the motet: it is very much in the style of Vivaldi's chamber cantatas. Like these the motets were first and foremost vehicles for the soloist to show his or her skills. Jennifer Ellis Kampani's skills are considerable as she convicingly deals with the many coloraturas, in particular in the opening aria. She has a pleasant voice which is perfectly suited to this repertoire.

It rounds off a programme which is varied and entertaining, and gives a good impression of Vivaldi's writing for the lute. The performances generally focus on the more intimate and graceful side of Vivaldi's oeuvre. There are no exaggerations as one meets them now and then in Italian performances of this repertoire.

-- Johan van Veen, MusicWeb International

Les Ambassadeurs launch a series of recordings devoted to the repertory of the Dresdner Hofkapelle at the time of Bach, with the aim of rediscovering the splendid sound of an ensemble then regarded as the orchestral ideal. Although the concertos compiled by Les Ambassadeurs bear no explicit dedication to the Dresden orchestra, they feature the instrumentation typical of the court Kapelle.

13 distinct titles introduce this exciting new series uniting the finest Alpha and ZZT Baroque recordings. Discover - or rediscover - universally known works as well as world premiere recordings of rarities. Newly conducted artist interviews allow for fresh perspectives on their recordings. All releases, digipak in format with trilingual booklets, feature photographs by great (Magnum Cooperative) contemporary artists adorning the covers and a strong ‘queen of colors’ scheme, bringing to mind gods, kings, warriors, the devil, life, violence and death... Themes omnipresent in Baroque art!