The complete works published in Vivaldi's lifetime, more than
fifty concertos and sonatas by the Venetian master on nine CDs,
all in one handy boxed set - a bargain?
Not really, is the short answer. Certainly, Vivaldi's music
is always imaginative, often dazzlingly so. He was also at times
a comedian, as some of the passages in this set testify. For
those who know him primarily from the famous Four Seasons,
the harmonic darkness of some of the minor-key Trio Sonatas
should prove an eye-opener. In short, this is a decent introduction
to his instrumental music.
Furthermore, there are many fine performances to be enjoyed
here, particularly from Franco Fantini, whose lion's share of
the credit reflects the fact that he is chief soloist on most
of these discs.
Yet it is fair to say that there is nothing here performance-wise
that has not been surpassed in more recent times, with regard
to both historically informed practice and virtuosity and expressiveness.
Vibrato, for example, is widely employed, albeit generally with
restraint. Also, the violins, whoever the soloist (or Soloist),
have a sweetness to their sound that some may find saccharine.
The biggest question mark, however, concerns the quality of
sound. Though it may be argued that the original analogue lends
the recordings a certain warmth that their early digital counterparts
tended to lack, the audio problems soon begin to mount. In the
Trio Sonatas the violins tend to crowd out the cello and are
closely miked, resulting in minor distortion at higher volumes
or registers. The op.5 Sonatas and the op.6 Concertos sound
as if they were recorded with cut-price equipment, having a
patchy, gritty quality, a drop-off of detail at low volumes,
too much reverberation, and violins again too prominent. The
op.4 Concertos have a slightly lush/tinny quality - certainly
not "excellent", as described by a leading reviews magazine
of the time! Some listeners may find this easy enough to overlook,
but the technical faux pas in op.4 no.11, where an apparent
diminuendo is controlled by a man with his hand on the
master volume button, is plain daft.
In all cases, some tracks are clipped very closely, with microseconds
chopped off the beginnings of movements in some cases, and elsewhere
notes can be heard to die an unnatural death by fader. There
are also a few editing joins dotted about the place, though
unobtrusive in nature. It is very unlikely that Newton are responsible
for any of these faults, but faults they remain and they detract
from the music itself. Rivoalto, who made the original recordings,
clearly had their ups and downs with technology, as the best
date from 1966-68 - the opp.1, 12 and 14 discs. The 1964 tracks
sound poorest, but those recorded post-1968 are of unpredictable
quality, and some of the label's regrettable editing practices
never really improved.
Unfortunately, at least a few of these musicians are no longer
around to enjoy this reissue of their impressive efforts. Ephrikian,
for example, has been dead for thirty years, Tortelier more
than twenty. On the other hand, this is not a boxed set for
connoisseurs - nor really for anyone else, for that matter.
On the upside, the slip-cased discs come in a stylish box and
Newton provide a decent booklet with brand-new notes in English,
German and French (not Italian!) by Vivaldi scholar Michael
Talbot. These are well written and informative, taking the reader
through the published works item by item.
Byzantion
Collected reviews and contact at reviews.gramma.co.uk
Masterwork Index: The
Four Seasons
Full track-listing
CD 1: Trio Sonatas op.1 nos.1-6 (1705 or 1703) [39:24]
Sonata no.1 in G minor, RV.73 [6:20]
Sonata no.2 in E minor, RV.67 [5:53]
Sonata no.3 in C, RV.61 [7:43]
Sonata no.4 in E, RV.66 [6:47]
Sonata no.5 in F, RV.69 [5:49]
Sonata no.6 in D, RV.62 [6:52]
CD 2: Trio Sonatas op.1 nos.7-12 (1705 or 1703) [47:03]
Sonata no.7 in E flat, RV.65 [7:01]
Sonata no.8 in D minor, RV.64 [8:06]
Sonata no.9 in A, RV.75 [5:34]
Sonata no.10 in B flat, RV.78 [6:04]
Sonata no.11 in B minor, RV.79 [6:50]
Sonata no.12 in D minor, RV.63 [13:27]
CD 3: Concertos for violin and strings, La Stravaganza,
op.4 nos.1-6 [62:08]
Concerto no.1 in B flat, RV.383a [9:51]
Concerto no.2 in E minor, RV.279 [11:29]
Concerto no.3 in G, RV.301 [9:02]
Concerto no.4 in A minor, RV.357 [10:01]
Concerto no.5 in A, RV.347 [10:05]
Concerto no.6 in G minor, RV.316a [11:40]
CD 4: Concertos for violin and strings, La Stravaganza,
op.4 nos.7-12 [54:21]
Concerto no.7 in C, RV.185 [8:24]
Concerto no.8 in D minor, RV.249 [9:03]
Concerto no.9 in F, RV.284 [8:14]
Concerto no.10 in C minor, RV.196 [9:10]
Concerto no.11 in D, RV.204 [7:53]
Concerto no.12 in G, RV.298 [11:37]
CD 5: Six Violin Sonatas op.5 [34:13]
Sonata in F, RV.18 [5:40]
Sonata in A, RV.30 [4:32]
Sonata in B flat, RV.33 [6:20]
Sonata in B minor, RV.35 [5:56]
Sonata in B flat, RV.76 [6:45]
Sonata in G minor, RV.72 [5:00]
CD 6: Six Concertos op.6 [51:53]
Concerto no.1 in G minor, RV.324 [10:45]
Concerto no.2 in E flat, RV.259 [9:28]
Concerto no.3 in G minor, RV.318 [8:35]
Concerto no.4 in D, RV.216 [5:59]
Concerto no.5 in E minor, RV.280 [8:23]
Concerto no.6 in D minor, RV.239 [9:47]
CD 7: Concertos op.8 nos.1-4 The Four Seasons [47:17]
Concerto no.1 in E Spring, RV.269 [10:36]
Concerto no.1 in G minor Summer, RV.315 [11:25]
Concerto no.1 in F Autumn, RV.293 [11:47]
Concerto no.1 in F minor Winter, RV.297 [8:38]
CD 8: Six Violin Concertos op.12 (1729) [60:48]
Concerto no.1 in G minor, RV.317 [12:29]
Concerto no.3 in D, RV.317 [6:36]
Concerto no.5 in B flat, RV.317 [11:05]
Concerto no.2 in D minor, RV.317 [9:21]
Concerto no.4 in C, RV.317 [10:13]
Concerto no.6 in B flat, RV.317 [12:11]
CD 9: Six Sonatas for cello and continuo 'op.14' [52:42]
Sonata no.1 in B flat, RV.47 [9:35]
Sonata no.1 in F, RV.41 [8:07]
Sonata no.1 in A minor, RV.43 [7:13]
Sonata no.1 in B flat, RV.45 [10:10]
Sonata no.1 in E minor, RV.40 [9:27]
Sonata no.1 in B flat, RV.46 [8:10]
Performance details
Franco Fantini (violin) (op.4 nos.1-3/7-9, opp.5, 6, 8, 12);
Mario Ferraris (violin) (opp.1, 5, 6); Ermanno Molinaro (violin)
(op.1); Tino Bacchetta (violin) (op.4 nos.4-6/10-12); Angelo
Ephrikian (violin) (op.5); Antonio Pocaterra (cello) (opp.1,
5, 6); Genunzio Ghetti (cello) (op.5); Paul Tortelier (cello)
(op.14); Maria Isabella de Carli (harpsichord, organ) (opp.5,
6); Mariella Sorelli (harpsichord, organ) (op.1); Vera Luccini
(harpsichord) (op.5); Robert Veyron-Lacroix (harpsichord) (op.14);
I Solisti di Milano/Angelo Ephrikian (opp.4, 6, 8, 12)
rec. Villa Litta, Milan, Italy, 9-15 July 1964 (CD 3,4); 8-14
July 1966 (CD 1,2); 10-20 June 1967 (CD 8); 13-21 May 1968 (CD
9); 5-13 January 1969 (CD 5); 21-29 March 1969 (CD 6); 20-30
March 1972 (CD 7). ADD
NEWTON CLASSICS 8802109 [9 CDs: 449:49] 