Antonio VIVALDI (1678-1741)
Complete Concertos and Sinfonias for Strings and Basso Continuo
Details after review
L’Archicembalo (on historical instruments)
rec. May 2015, Palazzo Ghilini, Alessandria, Italy; July, October &
December 2018, Cappella del Seminario Vescovile, Tortona (AL), Italy. DDD.
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 95835
[4 CDs: 261:53]
The original Brilliant Classics Vivaldi box set of 40 CDs contained three
discs of these works, 29 concertos and sinfonias in total, in decent
performances by Budapest Strings. In the revised 66-CD edition, some of the
merely decent recordings had been replaced with newer, more exciting
accounts, notably from L’Arte dell’Arco (94840 –
review). The decent but slightly heavy Budapest recordings of the string
concertos, however, were retained and I recommended supplementing them with
three alternative albums from Simon Standage and Collegium Musicum 90
(Chandos CHAN0647, 0668 and 0687).
At £65.89 from Amazon UK when I checked, that 66-CD Brilliant Box remains excellent
value and now you can supplement it with four CDs of the string concertos
and sinfonias for around £13 or $20 (£8.63 as a lossless download, with pdf
booklet).
The Brilliant Box, in both versions, also contained a CD of Concerti per archi, string concertos, recorded by Fabio Biondi
(violin) with Concerto Italiano and Rinaldo Alessandrini; like part of the
new set it was licensed from Tactus. Though made as long ago as 1988 by
performers whose period style has developed since, those recordings, which
include RV124 and 154, together with four concertos not on the new
collection (RV302, 367, 522 and 568) remain worth hearing. RV124 having
been published as the third of Vivaldi’s Op.12 set, it’s also worth
comparing Federico Guglielmo’s recording from the Op.11 and Op.12 Brilliant
2-CD set (95048 –
review). Guglielmo and L’Arte dell’Arco offer a predictably lively performance;
there’s very little difference in tempo, but their playing is a little more
emphatic than that of L’Archicembalo. I’m a great fan of all Guglielmo’s
Vivaldi – his complete Op.8 was a
Recording of the Month
and the Op.11/Op.12 set is in the same league – but I rather think that
L’Archicembalo’s slightly plainer approach on the new set works better in this
concerto.
Some of these recordings have already appeared on an album on the Tactus label, but
that single CD or download costs more than the complete Brilliant set. Even
if you already have it, price considerations make it worth pensioning it off and going for the new
complete set.
The personnel of L’Archicembalo changed slightly between 2015 and 2018, but
you would hardly know which recordings are which. The eight- or nine-strong
group, who play on period instruments, offer performances of these works
which would be hard to beat, unless you like Vivaldi to slap you in the
face, which is fine elsewhere but just wouldn’t suit these less
extrovert works.
RV114 appears on a number of recordings, notably from La Serenissima and
Adrian Chandler (Avie AV2178 The French Connection –
review). It’s one of the concertos which Vivaldi or someone else may have
intended to publish in France, along with RV154 and 119, also included on
that Avie recording. I recommended the Avie in
December 2009
and apart from noting that the French connection is rather less tenuous
than I suggested, continue to do so, but there’s very little to choose
between those performances and those on the new recording.
The recording of RV124 from Concerto Italiano in the large
Brilliant Box takes just a few seconds longer than from L’Archicembalo but
the developments in Vivaldi performance since 1988 are noticeable: the older
recording is more elegant, the new one livelier. The same is true in the
case of RV154; again, the few seconds difference make the new recording
sound livelier. If that meant that the new recording sounds hectic, I
would have no hesitation in keeping its stylish predecessor, but that isn’t
the case at all; I enjoyed both.
Alessandrini and Concerto Italiano have made later recordings of several of
these Concerto per archi, this time for the Naïve/Opus 111 label.
Volume 1, slightly confusingly labelled Concerti per varii stromenti 2 (OP30377 –
review)
contains RV115, 120, 121, 123, 129, 141, 143, 153, 154, 156, 158 and 159.
By now the performances had traded some of the elegance in favour of
greater energy. Where the earlier account of RV154 was a few seconds slower
than L’Archicembalo, the remake matches the new recording almost to the
second, and some of the other concertos even outpace those on the new
Brilliant set. The difference, however, is more apparent on paper than in
actuality. In RV159, for example, which opens the Naïve recording, the
tempo in the outer movements is significantly faster than on the new
Brilliant set, while the central adagio is slower, without it
sounding as if Alessandrini is too fast in the former or squeezing too much
emotion out of the latter.
Or as if the new recording is remiss in either movement.
Indeed, it’s only by direct comparison that L’Archicembalo sound
slightly deliberate in the opening allegro of this concerto. If you
subscribe to Naxos Music Library, you can try the comparison yourself, but
then step back and listen to each programme complete and I believe that you
would be hard pressed to dislike either in toto.
There’s something of a cautionary tale here: the download of the Naïve
recording which I made back in 2013 refused to play – ‘corrupt file’
it said – but,
fortunately, eclassical.com allow access to all one’s earlier purchases, so
it was easy to download again, and in lossless flac, not mp3 as I said in
reviewing it in
2013/11
alongside other Vivaldi recordings from Naïve/Opus 111 and Alpha.
That 2004 Naïve recording contains 12 of these concertos – enough to be
getting on with, you may think – but it comes at full price. For around the
same price, the Brilliant Classics CDs offer 40 concertos and 11 sinfonias
on four discs. If you can find them, that is: the set is reported to be out
of stock from some UK dealers, but it can be downloaded in lossless CD-quality
sound, with pdf booklet, for as little as £8.63.
Unusually, the Concerto madrigalesco, RV129, is in the 4-movement da chiesa style, slow-fast-slow-fast. The recording by Budapest
Strings on one of the three CDs which they contribute to the Brilliant Box
is not at all bad of its kind – modern instruments, but played with quite a
spring in their step. All their contributions are good enough to make the
box a very worthwhile buy, and I found myself enjoying them more than I
remembered, but direct comparison with the Naïve and the new Brilliant
Classics recordings reveals the superiority of the approach on those more
recent accounts. It’s not so much a matter of tempo – Banfalvi actually
takes the second adagio faster than either of the recent recordings
and he could even be accused of not allowing it due weight – but listen to
L’Archicembalo and Concerto Italiano though at about half the speed, the
music sounds lighter on its feet.
In the other named concerto, Alla rustica, RV151, too, there’s
little to object to from the Budapest Strings, with a real sense of the
open air about the music. Here the chosen tempos are very similar to those
on the new recording but once again there’s a greater sense of lightness
from L’Archicembalo. That doesn’t mean that they sound too light, however:
the presence of a cello and violone makes sure that the music is firmly
grounded.
Turn to La Serenissima and Adrian Chandler in RV151 on a CD of Caldara,
Corelli, Albinoni, Tartini, Vivaldi and Tortelli (The Italian Job,
Avie AV2371 –
review)
and you will hear greater tonal variety than from either the Budapest
Strings or L’Archicembalo, not just in the other more showy concertos but in Alla rustica, too, but there’s a small element of cheating here,
with Chandler adding two oboes and a theorbo. I ought to object but, to
quote King Lear, I cannot wish the fault undone, the issue of it
being so proper. In fact, without even noticing the slight deception, I thought
the recording self-recommending –
Summer 2017/1.
That apart, there’s little to choose between the two performances, with
La Serenissima marginally – and noticeably – faster than L’Archicembalo in
the first two movements and vice versa in the finale.
I haven’t yet mentioned the Collegium Musicum 90 recordings. Volume 1,
CHAN0647, contains twelve concertos apparently intended for publication in
Paris, RV157, 133, 119, 136, 114, 154, 160, 127, 164, 121, 150 and 159,
recorded in 1998. Here, too, some liberties are taken with the scores, with
oboes and bassoon added to three of the concertos on the basis that they
might have been added in performances in France. The opening work, RV157,
is a case in point. As with the Avie recording, the result certainly spices
up the tone and I enjoyed this and all the other performances, but without
putting L’Archicembalo in the shade.
The prospect of 51 Vivaldi works for strings in one fell swoop may seem
somewhat daunting, and I wouldn’t recommend sitting down for over four
hours to hear these string-based works in one session. But there’s variety
here, within the concertos and between the concertos and sinfonias. More to
the point, there’s plenty of enjoyable music here, too, brought to us in
stylish and very likable performances and good recording quality. Better
still, unlike some budget offerings, Brilliant include a decent, if short,
set of notes. Don’t splurge, but listen to a few of these works at a time
and perhaps intersperse them with one of the La Serenissima and L’Arte
dell’Arco albums that I’ve mentioned for maximum enjoyment.
As I was completing the conversion of this review, another Vivaldi
recording swam into my ken, apparently with the mysterious title ‘Vivaldi
Jupiter’. Could this herald a newly-discovered Vivaldi opera? In fact, much
less excitingly, it’s a collection of Vivaldi arias and three concertos,
one each for bassoon (RV495), cello (RV416) and lute (RV93). The ‘Jupiter’
in question is the name of lutenist Thomas Dunford’s recently founded
ensemble of that name, who perform here with Lea Desandre (mezzo). (Alpha
550 [78:07]). Which makes it more prosaic, potentially nothing special, but
all will depend on your reaction to Desandre’s contribution and that’s
either startlingly dramatic or too squally, depending on your point of view. At
present I haven’t decided – watch the main reviews or my next (Autumn
2019/1) edition of Short Reviews and Second Thoughts. I suspect that I
shall (a) veer towards writing the singing off as too squally and (b) find myself
in a minority in thinking so.
As for the Brilliant Classics, unless the sheer prospect of this much Vivaldi in one go,
spread over four CDs, is too much to contemplate, this
new set is worth much more than its modest price.
Brian Wilson
Contents
Concerto for Strings in C, RV110 [4:13]
Concerto for Strings in C, RV113 [6:12]
Concerto for Strings in D, RV121 [5:22]
Concerto for Strings in d minor, RV128 [5:16]
Concerto for Strings in e minor, RV134 [5:34]
Concerto for Strings in F, RV136 [4:40]
Concerto for Strings in F, RV138 [5:16]
Concerto for Strings in f minor, RV143 [5:47]
Concerto for Strings in g minor, RV153 [5:58]
Concerto for Strings in A, RV158, ‘Concerto ripieno’ [7:03]
Concerto for Strings in a minor, RV161 [3:45]
Concerto for Strings in B-flat, RV167 [5:08]
Concerto for Strings in C, RV109 [3:42]
Concerto for Strings in C, RV114 [5:56]
Concerto for Strings in c minor, RV118 [5:41]
Sinfonia for Strings in D, RV122 [3:52]
Concerto for Strings in D, RV126 [5:05]
Concerto for Strings in e minor, RV133 [5:55]
Sinfonia for Strings in F, RV135 [5:14]
Concerto for Strings in F, RV137 [6:07]
Concerto for Strings in G, RV150 [4:08]
Concerto for Strings in G, RV151, ‘Alla Rustica’ [4:00]
Concerto for Strings in A, RV159 [5:30]
Concerto for Strings in B-Flat, RV162 [4:16]
Concerto for Strings in B-Flat, RV163, ‘Conca’ [4:07]
Concerto for Strings in B-Flat, RV164 [3:59]
Concerto for Strings in C, RV115, ‘Concerto ripieno’ [3:19]
Concerto for Strings in D, Op.12/3, RV124 [6:21]
Concerto for Strings in d minor, RV129, ‘Concerto madrigalesco’ [4:46]
Sinfonia in E, RV131 [4:06]
Sinfonia in F, RV140 [5:39]
Concerto for Strings in F, RV142 [4:59]
Concerto for Strings in G, RV145 [4:14]
Sinfonia for Strings in G, RV146 [5:35]
Concerto for Strings in g minor, RV155 [10:05]
Concerto for Strings in A, RV160 [4:39]
Concerto for Strings in B-Flat, RV165 [4:26]
Concerto for Strings in B-Flat, RV166 [5:15]
Sinfonia in C, RV112 [4:07]
Sinfonia in C, RV116 [5:33]
Concerto for Strings in c minor, RV119 [4:59]
Concerto for Strings in a minor, RV120 [6:13]
Concerto for Strings in D, RV123 [5:57]
Concerto for Strings in d minor, RV127 [3:43]
Concerto for Strings in F, RV141 [4:17]
Sinfonia for Strings in G, RV149 [5:31]
Concerto for Strings in g minor, RV152 [5:23]
Concerto for Strings in g minor, RV154 [5:16]
Concerto for Strings in g minor, RV156 [5:06]
Concerto for Strings in g minor, RV157 [5:33]
Concerto for Strings in b minor, RV168 [5:05]
