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Antonio VIVALDI
(1678-1741)
Concerti Grossi, Op.8, Nos.1-4, Le quattro stagioni (1725)
(Concerto No.1 in E, RV269, la Primavera [10:07]; Concerto
No.2 in g minor, RV315, l’Estate [9:56]; Concerto No.3
in F, RV293, l’Autunno [11:37]; Concerto No.4 in f
minor, l’Inverno [8:28])
Concerti Grossi, Op.4, La Stravaganza (excerpts): (Concerto
No.10 for four violins, cello and strings, in c minor, RV196 [7:45];
Concerto No.3 for violin and strings, in G, RV301 [9:15]; Concerto
No.4 for four violins and strings, in a minor, RV550 [9:09])
John Holloway (violin)
Taverner Players/Andrew Parrott (Four Seasons)
La Stravaganza Köln (La Stravaganza)/Andrew Manze (violin
and direction)
rec. 1983 (Four Seasons) and 1991 (La Stravaganza),
Rosslyn Hill Chapel, London
DAL SEGNO DSPRCD058 [64.17] 
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Brian Wilson has already provided a comprehensive comparative
review
involving this recording, and I am pretty much in agreement
with his comments. The Four Seasons is one of those pieces
with which you could build a substantial library just of the
one piece, so the question is; where does this one fit in amongst
the rest?
To be honest I’m not quite sure in such a vast field,
but from where I sit it doesn’t seem to come very high
on the list of desirables. The recording is rather thin and
glassy sounding, which might once upon a time have suited our
impression of ‘authentic instrument’ recordings,
but many more recent baroque recordings have proved this need
not be the case. I have huge respect for John Holloway and Andrew
Parrott, but looking back through a historical perspective of
twenty years and this begins to sound less and less like their
finest hour. There are patchy intonation issues throughout The
Four Seasons, and where we now expect excitement and energy
there is frequently flaccidity and lack of crispness. Take the
opening movement of L’Estate of ‘Summer’:
the solo entry at 1:03 is rather soggy, as are some of the lines
around four minutes in. Rhythmic articulation is somewhat sapped
by note durations at the ends of phrases, which frequently fall
somewhere between tightly curtailed or pointedly emphasised.
The real pictorial character of the concerti also doesn’t
really come vividly to life for me either. There is character
in the playing, but not a huge amount of daring.
Don’t get me wrong, this is not an essentially bad recording
or by any means a poor performance and there are plenty of nice
moments, but ‘nice’ just isn’t enough these
days. If I was in salesman mode and pushing alternatives under
your nose in a shop I think Simon Standage and Trevor Pinnock
on Archiv beat this recording at just about every turn, and
as a period performance from the same period or near enough
- 1981 to be exact, I would say at mid-price this would be well
worth the investment. For a price-no-object version you could
do worse than that with soloist Stefano Montanari and the Accademia
Bizantina directed by Ottavio Dantone on the Arts label (see
review).
The coupling of a selection from the concertos from La Stravaganza
doesn’t really tip the balance either way with this disc.
Perhaps unencumbered by an expectation of descriptive power
the performances seem that much more relaxed and urbane, and
Andrew Manze’s solo playing, with the occasional touch
of vibrato here and there and a greater sense of integration
with the rest of the ensemble provides a more enjoyable experience.
Anyone wanting these concerti is more likely to want a complete
set however, so at bargain price-range the Academy of St Martin
in the Field/Neville Marriner Double Decca is likely to be high
amongst the preferred choices.
This is the kind of CD it’s nice to have kicking around
in the car, but as a first choice for serious listening it has
had its day.
Dominy Clements
see also review by Brian
Wilson
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