For this recording of the Concerti a quattro for recorder, oboe, cello and harpsichord, the Ensemble Bradamante offers an original perspective on works following the...

For this recording of the Concerti a quattro for recorder, oboe, cello and harpsichord, the Ensemble Bradamante offers an original perspective on works following the same logic, that of highlighting each instrument separately, distancing themselves from the trio sonata and drawing closer to the concerto a molti stromenti. The journey begins in Italy with Corelli, who developed the musical form of the concerto grosso, as in his famous Concerto fatto per la notte di Natale. It ends with Vivaldi, whose Concerto RV 103 features the lyrical recorder in the solo parts while the oboe oscillates between the roles of ripieno and of solo partner, concluding in a whirlwind of colour. This programme also includes works by French and Germanic composers; the Chaconne en trio of Jacques Morel, the Concerto a quattro of Handel (the paternity of which has recently been called into question as it seems it should be attributed to Telemann) in a musical style marked by an intense expressivity, not forgetting the remarkable and very rarely recorded Concert de chambre of Jean-Joseph Mouret, a man of the Provence region exiled in Paris, known above all for his stage music. The Ensemble Bradamante offers its listeners a bouquet of pieces of chamber music with various, intense characters, where the warm, friendly dialogue between the wind instruments is supported by the rich sound of the continuo.