This is a compilation box of previously released material - at least
I think all of it is previously released. I tend not to be one of those
critics who - perhaps reasonably - bang on about production values, poor
font size, garish colour contrasts and all that jazz, but I have to admit to
a certain feeling of helplessness when faced by the documentation. The name
of the cellist in disc four is nowhere to be found in the booklet or box
notes, and neither is that of the band, so I’ve inserted both in my
track-listing below. The notes in a couple of the original releases that I
have seen have not been retained and neither has the artwork. Instead the
box is a bit utilitarian and a booklet interview with the two
violin-directors Chiara Banchini and Amandine Beyer doesn’t offer much
by way of compensation.
Once past that, things look up. Both Ensemble 415, who bear most of
the musical burdens, and Gli Incogniti are top-class period ensembles and
they are well-attuned to the aesthetics involved. There are crisp, strongly
accenting performances to be heard of Valentini’s Concerti grossi in
the first disc. The sonority is essentially sinewy, but attention to
cadential passages is splendidly dramatic; the ensemble is well-balanced and
concertante roles for the first violin are well taken. They certainly catch
the melancholia explicit in the Tenth concerto. At least all the soloists
from the band - it’s not just Bianchini - are noted. Phrasal breadth
is perhaps even more impressive in their traversal of Geminiani’s
Concerti grossi. Clarity of articulation is good and where the organ is
prominent it remains well blended into the string sonority. Small details,
such as the expressive diminuendo in the opening adagio of the G minor, are
an index of the subtlety to be heard. Naturally Handel lovers will smile to
hear where their hero borrowed music for his sonatas - an obvious example is
the Gavotte of the Tenth concerto in F major.
The unfortunate cellist Gaetano Nasillo - for it is he - appears
with Ensemble 15 and Chiara Banchini in disc four which is devoted to
Neapolitan cello concertos: unfortunate to be omitted from the
documentation, that is - not for any executant lack. He’s a fine
musician, good at the doleful characterization in the first Nicola Fiorenza
concerto, full of charm in the Porpora and cleverly dexterous in its
operatic fast second movement. He’s equally effective in the music of
the composer in this disc most well-known for his cello works, namely
Leonardo Leo.
Vivaldi’s set of L’estro Armonico is arrestingly played.
The reveille-like call-to-arms of the opening of RV553 is triumphantly done
by Ensemble 415 and the many solos are sufficiently distinguished to give
colour and variety to the sound world. The
Four Seasons and some
other concertos housed in disc six are the only performances in this box
played by Gli Incogniti under their soloist and director Amandine Beyer. She
has a distinctively resinous spiccato and there’s elegance in the
group’s phrasing. The dog bark in the
Largo of
Spring is
very loud. This is no pooch. The ensemble clearly enjoy tearing into the
contrasts the music affords, but don’t overdo things. They’re a
touch metrical in
Autumn, but the Baroque guitar effects in
Winter are good. There were two world premiere recordings in this
disc; the G minor Concerto and that in B flat major, ‘per Signora
Chiara’. The final disc is devoted to Albinoni and we’re back in
the hands of Ensemble 415. His Sonatas are amongst the most beautiful and
affectionately crafted of all of the music here and the ensemble plays it
with great care and sensitivity. They generate a quiet intensity, whilst
remaining careful to ensure instrumental balance, but they’re not
afraid to make the occasional thwack in the interests of drama - listen to
the finale of No.4. Almost every one of Albinoni’s slow movements is a
beauty, but those of Nos. 2 and 5 are especially so. This is an outstanding
disc.
But then this is a very worthwhile box, if somewhat catch-all in its
way.
Jonathan Woolf
Full track-listing
CD 1 [75:21]
Giuseppe VALENTINI (1681-1753)
Concerti grossi Op.8; No.1 No.2 No.3 No.7 No.10 No.11
Ensemble 415/Chiara Banchini (violin and director) with Olivia
Centurioni, David Plantier, Stéphanie Pfister, (solo violins)
CD 2 [57:08]
Francesco GEMIANINI (1687-1762)
Concerti grossi Nos 1-6 [
Ensemble 415/Chiara Banchini (violin and director) with
Stéphanie Pfister, Helena Zemanova, Odile Edouard, David Plantier,
Olivia Centurioni, (solo violins)
CD 3 [59:19]
Francesco GEMIANINI (1687-1762)
Concerti grossi Nos 7-12
Ensemble 415/Chiara Banchini (violin and director) with Olivia
Centurioni, David Plantier, Stéphanie Pfister (solo violins)
CD 4 [70:05]
Nicolò FIORENZA (? - 1764)
Cello Concerto [15:20]
Cello Concerto [9:45]
Nicolò PORPORA (1686-1768)
Cello Concerto [18:24]
Leonardo LEO (1694-1744)
Cello Concerto [12:10]
Nicola SABATINO (1705-1796)
Cello Concerto [13:30]
Gaetano Nasillo (cello)/Ensemble 415/Chiara Banchini (violin and
director)
CD 5 [54:01]
Antonio VIVALDI (1678-1741)
L’ estro armonico Op.3 (1711); No.1; No.4, Mo.7, No.10
Concerto for four violins RV553 [10:21]
Concerto for three violins RV551 [10:11]
Ensemble 415/Chiara Banchini (violin and director) with Leila
Schayegh, David Plantier, Stéphanie Pfister, Eva Borhi (solo
violins)
CD 6 [70:58]
Antonio VIVALDI
The Four Seasons
Concerto for two violins and cello RV578a in G minor [8:24]
Violin Concerto in B flat major
Per Signora Chiara RV372
[12:27]
Violin Concerto in B minor RV390 [12:31]
Gli Incogniti/Amandine Beyer (solo violin and director) with Alba
Roca, Flavio Losco, Bérengère maillard (solo violins)
CD 7 [54:13]
Tomaso ALBINONI (1671-1751)
Sinfonie a cinque per due violini, alto, tenore, violoncello e basso
Op.2; Sonatas Nos. 1-6
Ensemble 415/Chiara Banchini (violin and director)
