Vivaldi's
four concertos with the title 'Le Quattro Stagioni' (The Four
Seasons) belong to the most popular and most frequently performed
and recorded works of the baroque era. Part of their charm is
their descriptive character, which is revealed in four sonnets,
assumed to be written by Vivaldi himself. "The first modern
reading of the relationship between the sonnets and the music
appeared, in my view, in the recording by Nikolaus Harnoncourt
and the Concentus Musicus Wien", Dan Laurin writes in the
booklet. "The result was a revelation and all subsequent
interpretations are deeply indebted to it." But: "One
result of Harnoncourt's daring musical gestures was that the
work's aesthetic has dissolved in all the attempts to be even
more spectacular than the preceding recording, as though the
performers had forgotten that the most elaborate baroque façade
is supported by perfect organization and symmetry."
This
recording doesn't want to be "more spectacular" than
others. But one wonders what is the reasoning behind it. Why
should these four concertos, written for violin, strings and
basso continuo, be performed with a recorder as a solo instrument?
One may assume it is just that Dan Laurin wanted to play them,
and he happens to be a recorder player. For any player of this
particular instrument it must be very frustrating that the repertoire
for his instrument isn't very large, and that a considerable
part of what recorder players use to play is in fact written
for other instruments. For instance, sonatas by Italian composers
of the early 17th century – like Fontana or Castello – which
recorder players love to perform, were actually written for
the violin.
It's
not that the oeuvre of Vivaldi is really short of music for
the recorder. There are some concertos – one of which is included
here (RV 441) – and there are some works where the choice for
the recorder or the transverse flute is left to the performer,
like RV 437, which has also been recorded on this disc. And
there are other pieces where the recorder is one of the solo
instruments. But nothing is comparable with the concertos Vivaldi
composed for his own instrument, the violin. It is perhaps the
virtuosic and often exuberant character of these compositions
which create the envy of a recorder player like Dan Laurin.
Composers
in the baroque era often left the choice of the instruments
to the performer. Sometimes that is even the case when a specific
instrument is mentioned. The fact that a sonata is written "for
violin and bc" doesn't necessarily exclude the performance
on another instrument. Much depends on whether the result sounds
well and does enough justice to the intentions of the composer.
It
seems to me that the Four Seasons are the kind of works whose
solo parts are so violinistic that one would think it being
impossible to replace the violin with any other instrument.
That was my view when I started to listen to this recording
anyway. And I still think that the full character of these concertos
can only be revealed by a performance with a violin in the solo
part. It is not just the solo violin which expresses Vivaldi's
ideas: often it is fully integrated in the ensemble. The use
of a different type of instrument here is unsatisfying, for
example the first movement of Spring and the last movements
of Autumn and Winter. In addition, the recorder has more restricted
dynamic capabilities and a more limited range of colours than
the violin. The fact that Laurin uses about four different recorders
is perhaps an indication of the challenges in trying to realise
this score.
Having
said that I am quite impressed by Laurin’s performances. He
is not only a very virtuosic player but also a creative mind
willing to exploit the possibilities of the recorder in order
to give a fairly good impression of Vivaldi's intentions. But
as the recorder isn't able to emulate what the violin can achieve
the fairest description of this project is a 're-creation' rather
than an 'interpretation'. I have enjoyed it, not only because
of the standard of the 're-creation', but also because of the
splendid performances by Dan Laurin and Arte dei Suonatori.
The
remaining pieces are played as they were composed. In the booklet
Laurin gives interesting descriptions of the compositions, taking
into account the importance of 'rhetoric' in baroque aesthetics.
It helps to understand why the music on this disc is played
in a particular way. Laurin is very illuminating in explaining
the contrasts in the Concerto in c minor (RV 441) between the
passages in which the recorder is supported by the strings and
those with basso continuo alone. These contrasts mainly concern
the treatment of rhythm. They are very well worked out here.
Those
looking for a good 'interpretation' of Vivaldi's Four Seasons
should look elsewhere. Those who already have one or more interpretations
and are open to another perspective should try this one.
Johan van Veen
[65:40]
