Vivaldi: String Concertos, Vol. 2

Read About This Recording

Perhaps I approach another new recording of the music of Antonio Vivaldi with a bit of a jaded attitude simply because I find it hard to believe that, more than three decades after the Baroque Revolution, there is any "new" Vivaldi or even a new way to play old Vivaldi. But that is exactly the case with this recording.

This collection featuring the Collegium Musicum 90 under the superb direction of violinist Simon Standage, provides marvelously refreshing performances of 12 Concertos by the Red Priest.

As a point of comparison, it is important to note that these are Concertos for ensemble; in other words, unlike the Four Seasons, they do not feature the solo work of one instrument. Rather, Vivaldi ingeniously involves all elements of the small orchestra, interweaving parts, allowing some to stand out more than others, all in a musical tapestry of hundreds of shades.

It is interesting to wonder if Vivaldi found some musical freedom in not featuring a single instrument, because in these works I hear a much more creative composer, a man unafraid to experiment with new and interesting sounds. Of course, those sounds were new in the early years of the 18th century, but what makes this recording particularly worth having is the fresh, bright approach of Simon Standage and his musicians. Playing primarily on instruments from Vivaldi’s era, the ensemble makes a wondrous sound. This is rich playing; there are no scrawny, squeaky original instrument sounds here. Standage and the ensemble shape every concerto in order to bring out the inner voices, the usually obscured sounds that make this music so interesting.

These Vivaldi Concertos are fine examples of an important style from the height of the Baroque Age and Simon Standage and the Collegium Musicum 90 should be commended for presenting these fresh, interesting performances to the Society.

—Jacob Anthony

Contents

Concertos for Strings: in C Major, RV109; in G Minor, RV152; in D Minor, RV128; in C Major, RV117; in G Minor, RV153; in B Minor, RV168; in D Major, RV124; in C Minor, RV120; in C Major, RV112; in F Minor, RV143; in B-flat Major, RV162; in B-Flat Major, RV163 Conca.

Simon Standage, Violin; Collegium Musicum 90.