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Reviewer: Bertil
van Boer The 12 concertos that Antonio Vivaldi published as his opus 3, called L’Estro Armonico, are iconic enough so that they need only the barest of introductions. This set was published in 1711 in Amsterdam and was even then a magnificent success that spread Vivaldi’s reputation throughout Europe. Not only did they outline a new direction in the Baroque concerto, their setting, for one to four solo violins, and occasionally including an obbligato cello against the backdrop of a string orchestra, was considered by numerous composers (including Johann Sebastian Bach) as the epitome of the genre. Although Vivaldi later outdid himself even further by pushing the envelope with his Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione from 1723 to 1725, this was perhaps the most cherished of models, one that resonated with subsequent violinists such as Giuesppe Tartini and Pietro Locatelli in their own efforts. There are no shortages of recordings of the set, since these have been a staple of the Baroque recording repertory for many decades now. These include a rerelease of the 1998 set on Erato of the Fabian Bondi interpretation with Europa Galante, as well as the Brilliant Classics release with Federico Guglielmo and the L’arte dell’Arco, both just this year. And then there are the venerable yet still fresh sets by the late Christopher Hogwood and Trevor Pinnock on Decca and Archiv respectively, both of which can serve as model period instrument performances. Given this variety of choice, this set is more about the violinist (and director), Rachel Podger, than Vivaldi, and thus the focus shifts towards her interpretation rather than the works themselves. Podger is no stranger to the world of Baroque violin performance practice, having been associated with some of the premiere groups over the past two decades, but here she uses her own ensemble, founded as part of the Brecon Festival in 2007, as her compatriots. And compatriots they are, for the entire group weaves in and out of a solo role, functioning as other solo violins or as an orchestra of the whole even with one on a part (save for the violas, of which there are two). What sets them apart is the vivacity and energy they bring to this complete recording. From the very first D-Major Concerto, they can be as transparent as a gossamer thread, and yet mysterious in the twisting harmonies of the second movement, finishing out the work with a perpetual motion gigue that is positively bouncy. The B-Minor Four-Violin Concerto, better known for its Bachian arrangement for harpsichords, can in the hands of other performers (Pinnock, for instance) be pedestrian, but here the slightly faster tempos bring out the violinistic nuances that inspired Bach in the first place. In another four-violin work in E Minor, Vivaldi chooses pompous French dotted rhythms that contrast well with the sequencing of the solo portions, and these differences are made distinctive and textually contrasting. This occurs as well in the two-violin A-Major Concerto, where the stark ritornello unisons burst forth into the swirling solo spun-out lines, almost unexpectedly. The second concerto in G Minor, with its steady patter like raindrops and his furious deluge of solo playing, seems like it ought to have been in one of the Seasons, though the second movement Siciliano is gentle, almost Handelian. Given the variety of stylistic imagination provided by Vivaldi and Podger’s extremely fine sense of detail, what has been performed as somewhat interesting but of lesser importance to the Cimento becomes every bit its equivalent in terms of power, grace, and interest. Given the outstanding and absolutely synchronous playing of the ensemble, one has a set that in my opinion should be the model as to how Vivaldi ought to be performed on the violin. There may be other sets out there, but I feel that this is the standard against which all former and future recordings will be judged. | |
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