The early period instrument recordings seemed strait-jacketed
by the technical demands of the instruments. As performers such as baroque
violin soloist Giuliano Carmignola and the Venice Baroque Orchestra
have become more technically proficient this has permitted a freer interpretative
approach, the fruits of which are successfully heard on this release.
This is the second release in this series from Sony
Classical and it includes premier performances of Vivaldi’s unpublished
late violin concertos (see SK 51352). It is surprising, with the recording
frenzy that has followed Vivaldi’s music, that there are still more
unpublished concertos waiting to be recorded for the first time; perhaps
not even having been performed for nearly three hundred years.
We are informed in the booklet notes that post 1730,
Vivaldi found that with so many of his published scores in circulation
it was becoming increasingly difficult to interest the public in his
newer ones. Vivaldi came up with the idea of offering his unpublished
scores, privately to his patrons for their own personal use. Fortunately
Vivaldi scholars are now rediscovering these unpublished scores in private
collections or archived in Libraries and six of those concertos appear
on this release, with, I believe, more recordings in the pipeline.
Clearly at ease with the technical demands violin Professor
Carmignola clearly loves this music and plays evincing a controlled
power and sophistication expertly blended with a certain panache. I
particularly like the colour and variety of Andrea Marcon’s original
continuo realisation with the second harpsichord alternating with a
baroque organ together with an archlute.
The selected concertos are of a consistently high quality
and reward repeated listening. These scores are inventive and frequently
beautiful - so typical of later Vivaldi concertante compositions. I
feel compelled to single out the expressively meditative slow movements
of RV 222, RV 273, RV 295 and RV 375 for particular praise.
These are magnificent accounts to cherish. A must for
lovers of late baroque music. An added bonus is the most natural and
warm sound quality provided by the Sony engineers.
Michael Cookson
Venice Baroque Orchestra/Andrea
Marcon and harpsichord