Vivaldi: Violin Concertos vol. 10, 'Intorno a Pisendel' / Chauvin, La Concert de la Loge
Naïve
CD
$18.99Sep 23, 2022
This tenth volume of violin concertos marks the return of Julien Chauvin and his Concert de la Loge to the Vivaldi Edition, with works linked to Pisendel, a major musical figure in the court of Dresden in the 18th century. Julien Chauvin and his Concert de la Loge released a hugely successful volume of Vivaldi concertos with a theatrical theme in 2020. In this new album they perform works focusing on Johann Georg Pisendel (1687-1755), konzertmeister at the Dresden Court chapel, and pupil and friend of Vivaldi, who played a key role in the popularity of the Red Priest’s music in Dresden. It is thanks to the admiration and foresight of this eminent German violinist not only that the city possesses a considerable Vivaldi catalogue, but also that certain signed manuscripts were preserved that are to be found only in Dresden.
This album comprises three concertos composed for him (RV 237, RV 314 and RV 340) and three others copied by his hand (RV 225, RV 226 and RV 369). All the many contrasts which mark Vivaldi’s concerto repertoire – whatever the instrument –are magnified here under the supple bow of Julien Chauvin: his close bond with Le Concert de la Loge flourishes in a free, rich and diverse discourse, fiery and passionate in the external movements, and lyric or gently melancholic in the central parts. Worth mentioning among the many examples are the splendid elegiac song of the Adagio in concerto RV 237 or the delicate slow movements accompanied by the pizzicato of the strings in concertos RV 314 and RV 226.
A bestselling recording since it's first release in 2008, Amandine Beyer and Gli Incogniti's memorable performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons has been reissued by Alpha Classics for a second time. Using both the Le Cene edition and the Manchester manuscript, Beyer's broad understanding of the composer's markings meant that she was able to fully respect the score whilst remaining curious and experimental. This approach prompted BBC Radio 3 to state: "I would stick my neck out and say I have never heard one that satisfied me better". Beyer describes the four concertos as "an infinite source of delights" and credits musicologist Olivier Foures for the addition of three rarely recorded, or previously unpublished, concertos to the programme. These superb pieces, which throw an intriguing light on Vivaldi's different modes of composition, are a fine addition to this performance of the famous Four Seasons, which established Gli Incogniti among the top reference ensembles for historically informed performance.
Vivaldi: The 4 Seasons - Jiranek: Violin Concerto / Letzbor, Ars Antiqua Austria
Challenge Classics
SACD
$20.99Oct 28, 2016
Austrian Baroque music takes center stage in the repertoire of this unusual Baroque ensemble. The ensemble Ars Antiqua Austria is dedicated to musicological research of Austrian Baroque composers. The abundance of rediscovered works led to several successful premiere recordings, including albums featuring the works of R. Weichlen, H.I.F. Biber, G. Arnold, F. J. Aumann, and more. In the words of conductor Gunar Letzbor: “It is almost impossible nowadays to perform Vivaldi’s music without any preconceptions, even if one engages with it only rarely. Vivaldi’s sound is ubiquitous… There is so much to discover amongst his works, away from mainstream sounds. This recording and its preparation: practicing in peace and quiet, trying out sounds, receiving and discarding ideas, taking in the texts, rediscovering melodies, and if possible, never listening to any Vivaldi recordings.”
“My heart skipped a beat when [The Italian Job] from La Serenissima and Adrian Chandler landed on my desk, such was my enjoyment of their Gramophone Awards-shortlisted Vivaldi Four Seasons recording. So to discover that with this all-Italian assortment of sinfonias and concertos they’ve actually topped their 2016 triumph- and apparently effortlessly- gives me no small amount of pleasure.” So said the reviewer of the Gramophone Award-winning release, and the Vivaldi specialists are set to triumph once again with Vivaldi x2, an astonishing medley of double concertos for hunting horns, oboes, bassoon, violin and cello. Emanating from Vivaldi’s pen the double concerto- a genre of which he all but cornered the market- resulted in some of the composer’s most colorful and exuberant works. In the hands of two-time Gramophone Award-winning La Serenissima, these concertos come to virtuosic and effervescent life. “Were I asked to condense this review down to two simple words, they would be: buy it.” (Gramophone) “the freshness incinerates the cobwebs of familiarity in the heat of La Serenissima’s proselytizing zeal.” (BBC Music Magazine Concerto Choice)
REVIEWS:
The Vivaldi recordings by Adrian Chandler and his British period instrument ensemble La Serenissima, named after the nickname of the Venetian Republic and specializing in its music, are breaking new ground. Give this one a try if you haven’t heard the group before: it’s wonderful.
– All Music Guide (James Manheim)
These musicians represent one heck of a crack team when it comes to the music of Vivaldi. Bravissima, La Serenissima.
VIVALDI Oboe Sonatas: in B?, RV 34; in g, RV 28; in c, RV 53. Trio Sonata for 2 Oboes in g, RV 81.1 Sonata in C for Vn, Ob, Org, and Chalumeau, RV 779 • Burkhard Glaetzner (ob); Ingo Goritzki (ob);1 Karl Suske (vn); Christine Schornsheim (org, hpd); Thomas Reinhardt (bn); Siegfried Pank (vdg); Achim Beyer (vne) • CAPRICCIO 5016 (52:59)
This recording was originally released in 1988 as the chamber component of Burkard Glaetzner’s four-disc survey of Vivaldi’s oboe music. Be advised that oboe sonatas were not high on Vivaldi’s priority list; two of these five sonatas, RV 34 and RV 28, were originally intended for the violin. Nevertheless, reissuing this disc was probably a sound decision. Vivaldi’s oboe concertos are well represented on CD, but the sonatas not so much. Glaetzner’s recording of the C-Major Sonata, RV 779, was a CD first. Incidentally, the optional chalumeau in RV 779 is identified as a “bassoon ad lib.” Glaetzner is in fine form here, and the assisting artists are uniformly excellent. If this lightly explored corner of Vivaldi’s output piques your curiosity, you will not be disappointed by this disc.
Vivaldi: L'eleganza Capricciosa / Plewniak, Cappella Dell'Ospedale Della Pieta
Evoe
CD
$18.99Jan 10, 2020
Stefan Plewniak writes of his new release with the Cappella dell’Ospedale della Pieta: “It is like rock and roll for a violinist to discover his music. So many different patterns within a definite form. So much passion in Vivaldi to push our instrument to its limits, as far as he could. For me, this music expresses the joy, sun, excitement, vitality, passion, and all the feelings and experiences you encounter in Venice, including the light, different smells, colors of the sky and buildings, the sounds of the crowd, the special energy of the people. Vivaldi’s music is strongly connected to the Carnival. Even if mainly operas were written for that period, the music business was strongly focused on this, the most festive time of the year. I feel that instrumental music was no less affected by this Carnival energy than opera.”
The flute occupies an important place amongst all the instruments celebrated by Vivaldi, il prete rosso, in his concerti. All evidence points to the instrument concerned being the recorder, given that it was still extremely popular in Italy at that time. The single publication of concerti that Vivaldi did not compose for the violin (opus X) was marked by him as being for the flute, as were the Concerti da Camera, in which the instrument rivals the violin, oboe and bassoon in virtuosity. Performing the recorder parts on this new release is Frederic de Roos. Frédéric de Roos is the recorder professor at the Royal Conservatorium of Brussels of which he has also been the director since 2003. After obtaining a university degree in musicology, he focused his studies on the recorder repertoire of the 18th century. He regularly presents conferences and seminars on the language of the baroque and gives courses and master classes both in Belgium and abroad.
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.
The program takes you on a wonderful journey through Baroque Italy, illuminating compositions of different colors written for recorder and basso continuo. Some of the great music centers of the time – Milan, Venice and Naples – are visited and the listener can immerse themselves in a bygone era. Various styles emerged in these centers, which are known today as the "Venetian school" and the "Neapolitan school", and which ultimately lead to the "gallant style". Major influences from Arcangelo Corelli's compositional style can also be heard in some of the sonatas in the program. As soon as the instrument recorder appears, one always asks oneself whether this was a marginal instrument or whether it could have been of great importance within the music scene. What is certain is that there are numerous sonatas composed specifically for this instrument, as well as extensive contemporary transcriptions of the oboe and violin repertoire for recorder. Influenced by the great popularity of the recorder, composers such as the German-speaking oboe virtuoso Sieber also decided to travel to Italy in order to become respected masters of this instrument.
The present program therefore consists exclusively of works that exist in an original historical manuscript. The manuscripts are now scattered in numerous libraries from Europe to the USA - and yet they all have one thing in common: they contain wonderful sonatas for recorder and basso continuo, all of which were composed in Italy within 30 years. And the deeper you finally delve into this program, the more amazed you can be about the variety and also about some mysteries that suddenly open up...
Vivaldi: 12 Concerti di Parigi / Plewniak, Orchestre de l'Opera Royal de Versailles
Château de Versailles Spectacles
CD
$15.99$20.99Save 25%Apr 08, 2022
Vivaldi's work is extraordinarily profuse, and from his “extraordinary fury of composition” resulted a collection of 12 concertos, preserved in Paris since then, genuine jewels of Vivaldian music! However, for whom were they composed? The French Ambassador in Venice, Jacques-Vincent Languet, who made numerous commissions to Vivaldi in the 1720s? Perhaps as a magnificent gift to a visiting French music lover... Or perhaps François-Etienne, Duke of Lorraine and Bar? A fine music lover and musician, who in 1745 became Emperor Francis I of Austria, gave early protection to Vivaldi, who introduced himself in 1731 as “maestro di cappella di S.A.R. il Serenissimo Sig. Duca di Lorena”. The Paris Concertos would then have passed through the Luneville Court, which was very musical? The mystery is there, but these works influenced Parisian musical life. Stefan Plewniak's raging violin gives them back their full glory in this virtuoso interpretation by the Orchestre de l'Opera Royal de Versailles!
Vivaldi: Concerti, Op. 8 / Beznosiuk, The Avison Ensemble
Linn Records
CD
$29.99Jun 22, 2018
In its second release on Linn, The Avison Ensemble explores the rich diversity and delights of all twelve concertos in Vivaldi’s Opus 8. It includes the composer’s most famous work, 'The Four Seasons’, which contains some of the most instantly recognizable music ever composed and is today viewed as a pinnacle of musical art. Directed by Pavlo Beznosiuk, The Avison Ensemble presents an insightful and spirited performance of the masterpiece. Each of the twelve concertos is extremely demanding and Beznosiuk’s virtuosity permeates throughout each performance. The thematic elements within each innovative work result in a collection that is colorful, fresh and emotionally charged, and is a true testament of Vivaldi’s ability for invention and variation. Beznosiuk states: ‘The Four Seasons are well-known, well-loved and great fun to play, but let us not forget how richly characterful the other eight concerti are also. Throughout the set Vivaldi’s musical energy vibrates within us, connecting us to him in an irresistible, celebratory collection’.
Antonio Vivaldi wrote most of his choral music for the all-female orphanage Ospedalle della Pietà in Venice, where he directed the musical activities for almost 40 years. Vivaldi's sacred music exudes the same spirited drive and dramatic virtuosity that have made his concertos so popular. The young women of the Pietà chosen to perform in its choir were renowned for their exceptional musical abilities and angelic voices, and their concerts quickly became a popular tourist attraction in the 18th century. It is unclear whether these girls actually performed the bass parts, though there are a few tantalizing--if unintuitive!--contemporary references to just such a practice There is no consensus on whether the lower voices were sung as written in the score--most modern renditions feature a mixed chorus--or whether they were transposed up an octave. Matthias Maute, conducting Ensemble Caprice, makes an inspired case for the latter approach--his all-female choir sounds, aptly, angelic.
Carlo Gesualdo Da Venosa: Sacrarium Cantionum Quinque Vocibus
Ricercar
CD
$20.99Jun 24, 2014
Although the madrigals of Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa constitute the best-known part of his oeuvre, his religious music is no less important, revealing a completely different facet of the composer. Aside from the Responsoria (1611), of which Philippe Herreweghe recently made a magnificent recording (LPH 010), most of Gesulado's religious music was published in 1603 under the title Sacrarum cantionum. Unlike the Responsoria, intended for Holy Week services, the motets of 1603 are settings of texts for all circumstances of the liturgical year. For this recording, made in the Santa Trinità abbey church in Venosa, ODHECATON has enriched the sound palette of its men's voices with a few instruments, including an ensemble of violas da gamba. Liuwe Tamminga counterpoints this programme with selected pieces by Giovanni Maria Trabaci and Giovanni de Macque on an historical organ of the Venosa region.
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons / Jeanne Lamon, Tafelmusik
Sony Masterworks
CD
$17.99Aug 18, 2011
Lamon's playing puts expressiveness before virtuosity, and she ornaments freely adding a refreshing touch of spontaneity. In a hugely overcrowded field, Tafelmusik has come up with a winner.
Recordings of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons tend to fall into one of two catagories. There are the star soloist versions, which spotlight the virtuosic, and highly marketable, talents of the big name violinists. And then there are the period instrument versions, in which greater emphasis is put on unusual textures and more authentic performance practice.
This new disc from the Canadian group Tafelmusik is an excellent example of the latter, and a distinctive feature of their recording is their adoption of a pitch roughly a semitone higher than usual with period groups in line with recent research into common practice in 18th-century Venice. They also make use of an archlute to add variety to the continuo, and the result is a bright, distinctive sound which brings freshness, clarity and variety of texture to the music.
The playing itself is incisive but free of the hard-driven tempi which sometimes mar authentic performances, and is imaginatively allied to the seasonal pictures painted in the sonnets on which the concertos are based (which are included in the CD booklet).
Lamon’s relatively small tone means that her instrument blends in with the ensemble rather than dominating it, highlighting the concerto grosso aspects of the works. Her playing puts expressiveness before virtuosity and is quite beautiful in the slow movements, which she ornaments freely adding a refreshing touch of spontaneity to music which is after all very familiar. In a hugely overcrowded field, Tafelmusik has come up with a winner in these highly satisfying and well-recorded performances, and the Sinfonia and Concerto for Four Violins are pleasing bonuses.
