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Vivaldi lived in a time that saw the gradual decline
of the recorder in favour of the transverse flute. It is thought that
Vivaldi's meeting with the German composer and flute virtuoso Johann Joachim
Quantz in 1726 was the main stimulus for him to write for the transverse
flute. That resulted in the publication of his opus 10, around 1728 in
Amsterdam, containing six concertos for transverse flute, first and second
violin, viola and basso continuo. Five of these concertos had already
been composed in Venice, in the first decade of the century. One difference
between the two versions is the instrumentation: most of the early versions
contain parts for oboe and bassoon. One could say that the adaptations
- perhaps by Vivaldi, perhaps by someone else - are more 'conventional',
and therefore more suited to general use all over Europe. If someone would
like to play these concertos on the recorder, one would expect him to
use the early versions: the concertos 5 and 6 are specifically scored
for 'flauto', meaning the recorder. But in this recording the opus 10
versions are played on the recorder, which is dubious. In particular in
the third concerto of this set, with the description 'Il gardellino' ('the
goldfinch'), the use of the recorder is debatable. Even the early version
(RV 90) is scored for 'flauto trav', the transverse flute.
Another feature of this recording is the use of a relatively
large orchestra of eleven strings. Karsten Erik Ose, in his programme
notes, states that Vivaldi's orchestra was famous for its use of dynamic
effects. "Such dynamic effects are much more effective with an expanded
string section than in smaller formations." That may be true, but should
that practice be applied to all concertos? As the opus 10 concertos were
intended for the European market, why should they be played the Venetian
way? Apart from that the general view is that - as Christopher Hogwood,
in the programme notes to his recording of opus 10 writes - "Vivaldi expected
the same balance of forces as in the original with three equal soprano
parts". That implies a performance with one instrument per part.
The first work on this CD is the most problematic. In
particular here the equality of the three soprano parts is important,
since not only the flute, but also the two violins are imitating birdsongs.
But the bird motifs played by the violins are overpowered by the penetrating
sound of the flautino. Karsten Erik Ose writes that "the use of a high
recorder is in itself programmatic, for what other instrument is predestined
to imitate bird song?" I'm sorry, but this is complete rubbish. Has he
never heard one of Handel's most famous arias, 'Sweet bird', from 'L'Allegro,
il Penseroso ed il Moderato'? It is hard to find a more effective imitation
of bird singing than Handel has written here for the transverse flute.
Another matter is the use of ornamentation. I think generosity
in this regard is stylistically correct, but here it is overdone. One
may assume that Vivaldi knew what he was doing when he composed the solo
part as an imitation of bird singing. In this case the player should stick
to what the composer has written down.
Sample 1 Track 1 0:00
Certainly the orchestra has a ‘Latin flavour’. Although
based in Lugano in Switzerland it shares many of the features of Italian
baroque orchestras, like extreme tempi and the general virtuosity of the
string playing. Often that works very well. But sometimes, as here, it
is counterproductive; all elegance goes out of the window because of the
aggressive sound of the strings.
Of the three concertos from opus 10, the fifth is played
reasonably well. The aggressive sound is literally ‘muted’ here, since
it has to be played with ‘sordino’. But the 6th Concerto again suffers
from the general rudeness of the orchestral playing.
Fortunately, the rest of the CD is a lot better. The
string concertos are very well played. The leader, Duilio Galfetti, uses
the opportunity to add some graceful ornamentation to the solo passages
in RV 155.
Sample 2 Track 12 0:46
The early concerto RV 108 is also done quite nicely,
with rhythmic vitality in the fast movements, and much grace and expression
in the ‘largo’ in the middle. But even here there is something to criticise:
why on earth is a mandolin used as basso continuo instrument?
Sample 3 Track 14 0:00
Vivaldi’s flute concertos belong to his most popular
works, and there are many good recordings available. This one certainly
offers a different kind of interpretation, but is only partially convincing.
‘Different’ doesn’t necessarily imply ‘better’.
Johan van Veen
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Concerto
in D major, Opus 10/3:
Allegro
Cantabile
Allegro
Concerto
in F major, Opus 10/5:
Allegro
con molto
Largo
e cantabile
Allegro
Concerto
in G major, Opus 10/6:
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
Concerto
in G minor, RV 155:
Adagio
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
Concerto
in A minor, RV 108:
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
Concerto
in G major, RV 438:
Allegro
Andante
Allegro
Concerto
in A minor, RV 127:
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
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Maurice Steger (recorders)
