Antonio Vivaldi, musical avant-gardist, extravagant violin virtuoso and ingenious composer, was in great demand all over Europe. He travelled to cities including Rome, Prague, Vienna and Amsterdam - but the "red-haired priest" never saw Dresden. Despite this, his music was very much present at the Dresden court: the Saxon royal seat was considered the centre of the German cultivation of Vivaldi. Heinrich E. Grimm has transcribed Vivaldi's most famous programmatic cycle, The Four Seasons, for the organ completely in the spirit of Bach. When recorded on an original instrument, the result is a refreshingly rustic-baroque sound.

VIVALDI: CHAMBER MUSIC WITH WI

Vivaldi: Orlando furioso Original recording reissued Antonio Vivaldi (Composer), Claudio Scimone (Conductor), I Solisti Veneti (Orchestra), Marilyn Horne (Performer Orlando), Victoria de los Angeles (Performer Angelica ), Lucia Valentini Terrani (Performer Alcina), Carmen Gonzales (Performer Bradamante ), Lajos Kozma (Performer Medoro), Sesto Bruscantini (Performer Ruggiero ), Nicola Zaccaria (Performer Astolfo) Lucia Valentini-Terrani, of course, is often considered a bridge performer between the old days and the new, and her performance here, though containing some touches now considered quaint, is close enough to the modern style to pass muster. As for Bruscantini, he was a famous buffo baritone known for rapid patter but not for Baroque music. He copes surprisingly well, not as scrupulous as the distaff side of the cast but still ably working his way through difficult runs and, yes, even a trill here and there. Horne sings through the first act with her usual flawless technique and impassioned, all-purpose energy, but toward the end of act II she suddenly erupts in dramatic outbursts. Where did that come from? And she continues to surprise with more dramatic outbursts in act III. Granted, she's not Janet Baker, but it's still better than average Horne.

The internationally successful harp virtuoso plays well-known concertos by the Venetian composers Vivaldi, Marcello and Albinoni in new arrangements, combining them with original compositions for solo harp such as the sonata by Giovanni Pescetti, Godefroid's stunning set of variations on the popular tune "Carnaval de Venise", and "La Mandoline" by 19th-century composer Elias Parish Alvars.

Xavier de Maistre's aim is to make the listener forget completely that most of the Baroque concertos heard here were not originally written for the harp, but for different melody instruments. He finds it fascinating to bring out new timbres in the arrangements, some of which he pens himself. Vivaldi's famous concerto "Winter", in particular, seems to him to be predestined for playing on the harp, and his interpretation does indeed present this often-heard work in a totally new guise.

“Xavier de Maistre is a virtuoso of the highest order, profoundly musical and capable of realizing a remarkable range of nuance.” – Gramophone

Founded in 2000, L’Archicembalo is a period ensemble of top-notch Italian musicians who have played with all the major native exponents of Baroque music such as Giovanni Antonini and Giuliano Carmignola.

According to La Stampa, the ensemble ranks among the most inspiring and authoritative Vivaldi interpreters of our time. Part of this collection was released separately in 2015, and attracted glowing reviews: ‘The tempi are well chosen, without exaggerations, but also without being too slow… Italian ensembles have shown that [these Sinfonias] are more than nice fillers in a programme of solo concertos. In this recording the polyphonic, theatrical and expressive qualities of these pieces are brought to light.

What sets apart these concertos and sinfonias from the multitude of other such works composed by Vivaldi is the lack of a solo instrument. Yet with his usual, inexhaustible fertility of invention, Vivaldi turned this apparent lack into an opportunity to explore the possibilities of development and counterpoint more extensively than was possible in the oppositional and accompanimental language of the solo concertos. After a dashing opening movement there is generally a central Adagio, in the form of a tripartite song or a simple sequence of chords. This is followed by a lively, dance-like movement in two parts with two refrains. On occasion this finale is replaced by a technically superlative Fugue that displays Vivaldi’s mastery of counterpoint. Sometimes the Fugue is placed at the beginning of the Concerto, perhaps implying the original context of the work as the instrumental introduction to a solemn Mass. In complement to the concertos, the Sinfonias generally feature bolder and more brilliant string writing, evidently for use as the curtain-raiser to a theatrical event, though they now stand perfectly well on their own.

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REVIEWS:

This is surely an indispensable set for Vivaldians in that it brings together the fullest compilation yet of these works. For others who are unfamiliar with this repertoire, it is a treasure trove of irresistible, life-enhancing music, as good and convenient a place as any to discover these underrated compositions.

– MusicWeb International

L’Archicembalo know how to phrase the various sequences, and there is a nice rawness about the unisons as well as a lush texture when needed. In short, these four discs are not just an archival presentation of the complete string concertos and sinfonias; they are a good solid four hours plus of listening that will take one away to 18th-century Venice and beyond.

– Fanfare

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Gloria

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Harmonia mundi is proud to welcome the exceptional countertenor Carlo Vistoli as a new exclusive artist. Here he joins the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin to explore some of Vivaldi's finest sacred music. Alongside the famous Nisi Dominus and Stabat Mater, the quasi-operatic motet, In furore, shows the extravert, theatrical side of Vivaldi's genius, for the purposes of edification, to be sure, but also for our greater delight.

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Antonio Vivaldi and Claudio Scimone, two names forever bound to each other in a quest for originality and beauty. The one as a baroque genius to be rediscovered after two centuries of neglect, the other as a resolutely modern conductor and Vivaldi's foremost rediscoverer as from the '60s.

Vivaldi: Oracolo In Messenia - Julia Lezhneva L Oracolo in Messenia, an opera written by Vivaldi for Vienna in 1740, was reconstructed by Fabio Biondi in 2011 in a triumpan open to the famous Resonanzen festival in Vienna, appropriately enough. Originally, the opera was intended to be performed in Vienna during Carnival in 1741, but due to the death of the Austrian Emperor and ultimately, himself, his plans fell through. Vivaldi expert, Fabio Biondi, reconstructed the work using a recently discovered libretto in the Library of Congress, Viavaldi s personal scores as well as those from his contemporaries.

VIVALDI: CONCERTOS, STABAT MAT

This selection contains both ADD and DDD recordings.

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The 4 Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi... are probably the most famous and often performed composition ever written. While you can hear it in the origin version in the great concert halls just as well as background music in a lift, most of us have some personal hearing memory about them. For me they have been a great companion over dozens of years, and I must say every time I come back to performing them I'm once and again truly mesmorised by the genius masterpieces. It is Programmmusik based on beautiful short poems which I find inspiring both as listener and as a performer. - Linus Roth

Since it's inception in 2001, the Vivaldi Edition has explored the fantastic diversity of the work of the Prete Rosso. Presented by Giulio Prandi's Coro e Orchestra Ghislieri, this seventy-second volume is once again dedicated to sacred music. Two exceptional works, the Dixit Dominus, RV 807 and the Magnificat, RV 611, here frame rare motets such as Sanctorum meritis, RV 620 and Vos invito, barbarae faces, RV 811. Preserved at the Saxon State Library, the Dixit Dominus belonged to a lot ordered from a Venetian publisher in the mid-1750s by the Saxon court which, threatened by the Prussian army, had been forced to flee Dresden for Warsaw. Illustrating the highly pictorial text of Dixit Dominus, Vivaldi favours a lively and sparkling aesthetic, full of figurations. For example, pairs of repeated sixteenth notes depict the gentle lapping of a stream (De torrente in via bibet) while the impressive final fugue embodies the majesty of Christian communion. Also forged in an ingenious and hushed counterpoint, the second motet of this programme, Confitebor tibi, Domine, presents three solo voices, something rare for Vivaldi. Hymn from the liturgy of the martyrs, Sanctorum meritis, RV 620 then introduces Vos invito, barbarae faces, whose text enjoins the believer to fight against the forces of evil. This program finally offers the final version of the Magnificat in G minor (RV 611) in which the Red Priest specifically dedicated to a few singers of the Ospedale della Pieta certain sections, radically transformed since the first version of the 1710s. This results in little less ensemble parts, and more arias for the soloists, almost a foretaste of Classicism. Faithful to his quest for clarity and joy that had been highlighted by moving recordings devoted to Jommelli and Rossini, Giulio Prandi, for this first collaboration with the na�ve label, glorifies the luminous, aristocratic sobriety of Vivaldi. Unexpected and invigorating. 25 July 2024

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Vivaldi: 12 Concerti

Il tempio armonico: Antonio Vivaldi – 4 Seasons of Love