Texte paru dans: / Appeared in: Naive |
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Reviewer: Michael
De Sapio There are two principal reasons to buy this disc. The first is the presence of some of Vivaldi’s more creditable concertos. The second is the fluent, masterful, effortless, urbane Baroque violin playing of Julien Chauvin. Performing on a 1721 Pietro Guarneri violin, not only does Chauvin perform all of Vivaldi’s tightrope acts with perfect aplomb and flawless intonation, he does it seemingly without breaking into a sweat. In fact, on the evidence here I would say that Chauvin is one of the most dexterous Baroque violinists performing today. Too often in Baroque performances the phrases seem to be controlling the player instead of the other way around—that is to say, the playing is abrasive and effortful. With Chauvin you hear a master puppeteer pulling strings with perfect grace and control. Chauvin doesn’t blow a gasket trying to show us how furioso he can play. There is no grandstanding; he plays with the ensemble, not against it. The disc’s subtitle is Il teatro, and the annotator explains that there are direct thematic linkages between these concertos and some of Vivaldi’s operas. They certainly represent the composer at pretty near his highest quality, with little hint of routine. Most come from Vivaldi’s later years, and if memory serves, a few of them appeared on the Late Concertos albums by the Venice Baroque Orchestra and Giuliano Carmignola. The playing of Chauvin and the Le Concert de la Loge is just as good. The RV 387 in B Minor is a standout, with agitated energy in the outer movements and a slow movement in which the violin stretches long lines over a descending ground bass. The string ensemble of Le Concert de la Loge, which Chauvin founded, reveals each of these concertos as a sharp delineation of character or attitude. A high-powered continuo of harpsichord and archlute finishes off the ensemble in fine style. This disc makes me want to hear more refined Vivaldi from the French.
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