Antonio VIVALDI (1678-1741)
Concerti con Molti Stromenti
Concerto in F, for violin, 2 oboes, bassoon, 2 horns and strings, RV 574 [11:38]
Concerto Funebre in B flat, for oboe, chalumeau, violin, 3 violas all'inglese
and strings, RV 579 [6:42]
Concerto in D, for violin, 2 oboes, 2 horns and strings, RV 562 [15:41]
Concerto in F, for viola d'amore, 2 horns, 2 oboes and bassoon, RV 97 [12:02]
Concerto in D, for 2 trumpets and strings, RV 781 [6:31]
Concerto in C, for 2 recorders, oboe, chalumeau, violin, 2 violas all'inglese,
2 violins 'in tromba marina', 2 harpsichords and strings, RV 555 [8:13]
Concerto in D minor, for 2 recorders, 2 oboes, bassoon, 2 violins and strings,
RV 566 [7:44]
The King's Consort/Robert King
rec. Abbey Road Studios, London, May 1998. DDD
HYPERION HELIOS CDH 55439 [69:13]
Hyperion give another disc a minimal makeover but fresh pair of legs under
their budget 'Helios' imprint. This one originally appeared in 1998 at premium
price with the catalogue number CDA 67073. There can never be too many Vivaldi
recordings - Dallapiccola or Stravinsky's frankly moronic quip that he wrote
the same concerto hundreds of times over is shown up yet again for what it
is by these seven works of ear-catching colour and diversity.
Vivaldi is always inventive, but these Concertos count alongside the perennial
Four Seasons among his most progressive. The album title comes from
the composer's own description of a couple of these works, the somewhat unimaginative
"concerti con molti istromenti" (the latter an archaic spelling of the modern
Italian 'strumenti'), or what Bach in his 'Brandenburg' concertos called 'concerts
avec plusieurs instruments' - the 'molti' and 'plusieurs' referring each time
to variety rather than sheer quantity.
To match the scores, there is no end of brilliant music-making on this disc.
So sparklingly vital are individual performances that it is almost a crime
to conceal soloists' identities under the King's Consort name. Their director
Robert King has had to face ugly personal demons since this recording was
made, but his and the Consort's Hyperion legacy, amounting to perhaps a hundred
CDs, is one of the most valuable bodies of recordings anywhere, and music-lovers
must be grateful to Hyperion for not adopting the crass revisionism practised
by certain institutions prior to King's rehabilitation, and for preserving
this corpus in the face of what was a major embarrassment for them.
Though not always at their best in orchestral recordings, with a certain muddy
quality finding its way into strings especially, on chamber and solo discs
Hyperion's technology presents no such problem, and audio quality here is
very good. A minor quibble is the fact that the harpsichord is rather remote
and consequently difficult to pick out in the tutti sections, even in RV.555
where there are two employed obbligato.
Michael Talbot's original notes, detailed and well written, are sensibly recycled.
For those who only know Vivaldi through the Four Seasons, this is the
perfect second album. For collectors it is just as perfect.
Byzantion
Collected reviews and contact at artmusicreviews.co.uk
A bargain for Vivaldi novices and colectors alike.