Vivaldi - The Four Seasons, Concertos
£13.25
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Label: Avie
Cat No: AV2344
Format: CD
Number of Discs: 1
Release Date: 25th September 2015
Contents
Works
Bassoon Concerto in B flat major, RV501 'La notte'Bassoon Concerto in G minor, RV496
Concerto for violin in tromba marina, strings and continuo in D major, RV221
Concerto for violin in tromba marina, strings and continuo in G major, RV311
The Four Seasons (Le quattro stagioni)
Artists
Adrian Chandler (violin)Peter Whelan (bassoon)
La Serenissima
Conductor
Adrian ChandlerWorks
Bassoon Concerto in B flat major, RV501 'La notte'Bassoon Concerto in G minor, RV496
Concerto for violin in tromba marina, strings and continuo in D major, RV221
Concerto for violin in tromba marina, strings and continuo in G major, RV311
The Four Seasons (Le quattro stagioni)
Artists
Adrian Chandler (violin)Peter Whelan (bassoon)
La Serenissima
Conductor
Adrian ChandlerAbout
Adrian Chandler and his period-instrument ensemble La Serenissima celebrate their 21st anniversary with a vibrant and original recording of the most popular piece of classical music of all time, Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. Also included are virtuoso concertos for bassoon and the violin in tromba marina, an instrument used in Vivaldi’s day that Ade has had specially constructed for a selection of world-premiere recordings.
Adrian Chandler, who founded the period-instrument ensemble La Serenissima twenty-one years ago, has produced a dozen enlightening, acclaimed and award-winning albums for Avie. He has made world-premiere recordings of rediscovered works by Vivaldi and his 17th-century Italian contemporaries. He consistently applies a unique touch that combines erudition with approachability.
After many years of anticipation, Chandler turns his attention to the touchstone of Vivaldi's concerto output, The Four Seasons. As one has come to expect, he brings something unique to an interpretation brimming with vitality and originality. He has created his own, new edition based on the only surviving manuscript of these works.
Putting this most popular of classical works into context, Chandler rounds out the recording with Vivaldi concertos for bassoon, including the famous 'La Notte', and world-premiere recordings of two concertos for the violin in tromba marina, a hitherto obsolete instrument that was used during Vivaldi's lifetime, and that he has helped to recreate and bring back to life for 21st century music lovers.
Sound/Video
Paused
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1The Four Seasons - Spring in E Major, RV. 269: I. Allegro
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2The Four Seasons - Spring in E Major, RV. 269: II. Largo
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3The Four Seasons - Spring in E Major, RV. 269: III. Allegro
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4The Four Seasons - Summer in G Minor, RV. 315: I. Allegro non molto – Allegro
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5The Four Seasons - Summer in G Minor, RV. 315: II. Adagio – Presto
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6The Four Seasons - Summer in G Minor, RV. 315: III. Presto
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7The Four Seasons - Autumn in F Major, RV. 293: I. Allegro – Larghetto – Allegro assai/molto
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8The Four Seasons - Autumn in F Major, RV. 293: II. Adagio molto
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9The Four Seasons - Autumn in F Major, RV. 293: III. Allegro
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10The Four Seasons - Winter in F Minor, RV. 297: I. Allegro non molto
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11The Four Seasons - Winter in F Minor, RV. 297: II. Largo
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12The Four Seasons - Winter in F Minor, RV. 297: III. Allegro – Lento – Allegro
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13Concerto for Bassoon, Strings & Continuo in B-Flat Major, RV. 501, 'La Notte': I. Largo - Andante molto
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14Concerto for Bassoon, Strings & Continuo in B-Flat Major, RV. 501, 'La Notte': II. Presto: Fantasmi - Presto - Adagio
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15Concerto for Bassoon, Strings & Continuo in B-Flat Major, RV. 501, 'La Notte': III. Adagio: Il Sonno
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16Concerto for Bassoon, Strings & Continuo in B-Flat Major, RV. 501, 'La Notte': IV. Allegro: Sorge l'Aurora
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17Concerto for Violin 'in tromba marina', Strings & Continuo in D Major, RV. 221: I. Allegro
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18Concerto for Violin 'in tromba marina', Strings & Continuo in D Major, RV. 221: II. Andante
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19Concerto for Violin 'in tromba marina', Strings & Continuo in D Major, RV. 221: III. Allegro
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20Concerto 'per Maestro dč Morzin' for Bassoon, Strings & Continuo in G Minor, RV. 496: I. Allegro
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21Concerto 'per Maestro dč Morzin' for Bassoon, Strings & Continuo in G Minor, RV. 496: II. Largo
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22Concerto 'per Maestro dč Morzin' for Bassoon, Strings & Continuo in G Minor, RV. 496: III. Allegro
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23Concerto for Violin 'in tromba marina', Strings & Continuo in G Major, RV. 311: I. Allegro
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24Concerto for Violin 'in tromba marina', Strings & Continuo in G Major, RV. 311: II. Andante
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25Concerto for Violin 'in tromba marina', Strings & Continuo in G Major, RV. 311: III. Allegro
Europadisc Review
La Serenissima's long experience in playing Vivaldi's music pays huge dividends, and Chandler's own booklet notes demonstrate just how carefully and deeply they've rethought this music. They take into account not just the music's narrative, pictorial aspects (enhanced by reprinting the accompanying sonnets, probably by Vivaldi himself), but also its roots in eighteenth-century operatic practice and theories of rhetoric. The result is an exceptionally vivid performance which takes advantage of all the benefits offered by period performance, in which no phrase escapes imaginative attention, yet which never comes across as fussy: this is one of the most natural-sounding sets of the Seasons out there.
Felicitous details like the barking dog (Spring, track 2) and the sleeping revellers (Autumn, track 8) are reconsidered to brilliant effect, the performances are at the 'high' pitch of Vivaldi's Venice (A = 440 Hz), the continuo is enlivened by the use of theorbo and guitar alongside harpsichord, and the musical text is that of the so-called 'Manchester' version – a set of parts copied by Vivaldi's father for Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni. So even if you already have several recordings of this music, this new one – recorded in sumptuous sound – commands attention in a crowded field.
And then there are the 'extras'. Two of Vivaldi's many fine bassoon concertos (probably originally written for the virtuoso Antonín Reichenauer) are treated to thoroughly captivating performances by modern-day virtuoso Peter Whelan. His wonderfully pungent, woody tone enlivens every phrase, while the programmatic aspects of the celebrated La Notte concerto have rarely sounded so effective.
Finally there are the two premieres. All the known examples of music for the violin in tromba marina originated at the Ospedale della Pietŕ of Venice, where Vivaldi was based, and all but one are by Vivaldi himself. This disc contains two of the solo concertos he wrote for it. The tromba marina itself was a strange instrument dating back to medieval times: a rather basic stringed instrument of just one or two strings, with a distinctive 'rattling' bridge. The traditional brass trumpet was thought inappropriate to be played by nuns, and so this strange instrument served as a substitute in convent chapels. In German its was known has the Nonnentrompete or Marientrompete – whence the Latin name tromba marina.
Chandler himself describes the violin in tromba marina as a 'pimped-up' violin, with three strings (G, D and A) and a modified bridge producing a highly distinctive sound. Specially constructed by luthier David Rattray for this recording, its strings are wire wound with brass, and it makes a striking sound, haunting and raspy. Chandler, who plays the dazzling violin solos throughout the disc, is the soloist in these splendidly earthy works. Backed up with specialist advice from Vivaldi scholar Michael Talbot, this disc is simply a must-have for any lovers of Vivaldi's music.
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