Le Quattro Stagioni [Single]

Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca (Artist, Orchestra, Performer), Giuliano Carmignola (Artist, Performer), Antonio Vivaldi (Composer), Not applicable (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca, Giuliano Carmignola
• Orchestra: Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca
• Conductor: Not applicable
• Composer: Antonio Vivaldi
• Audio CD (July 1, 2008)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Single
• Label: Divox
• ASIN: B0000245ZB
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #487,349 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

The fall Schwann catalog lists 77 different versions of Vivaldi's Four Seasons Consertos. There are probably an equal number no longer available for this super warhorse. Against such tremendous odds, Divox has issued a new version in their new Antiqua series by Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca, featuring solo violinist Giuliano Carmignola which sweeps the field. I've no idea how that's possible, but it's happened with this ultra-stylish, superbly virtuoso and magnificently recorded release. Besides the first four Concertos from Vivaldi's Opus 8, one for each season, the disc contains two outstanding additional works of lesser fame: Concerto in F Major, RV 551 for three violins, viola, archlute and continuo; Concerto in D minor, RV 128, for strings and continuo. Through such performance, Italy's Sonatori de la Gioiosa lays a strong claim to the title of the world's top Baroque ensemble. Their energy, poetry, scholarship and flawless virtuosity set a new standard for the entire field. Good grief, the Seasons emerge like a completely new, refreshing experience - and at a time when these Concertos stand near the top of my 'I'm damned if I'll sit through that again list'. They don't so much perform Vivaldi as resurrect him. Maybe there is some truth to the importance of blood lines. All these youthful musicians hail from the Veneto, home country to the composer's family. They capture the grand, cultivated wit of the area to a T, along with much of the regal tastefulness. Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca («Sounders of the Merry Mark») hail from Treviso, an artistic center just north of Venice. They play on original instruments of the period, but with astounding security and natural ease. Ensemble and intonation are flawless, tempos beautifully vital - brisk in fast movements, meltingly moving in the slow ones. Their suppleness of refinements matches angel choirs in an almost superhuman way. And - and they play with no hint of whimpering sentimentality or false showmanship! The emotional depth the Sonatori musicians bring to the Winter Concertos, with its bleak landscape, and the profundity of the D Minor Concerto for Strings is unparalleled in my Vivaldi experience. Similarly, the sunny spirit of the Spring Concerto and the folksy dance quality of the Autumn Concerto make it difficult to sit still while listening. Divox's terrific 20bit technology only adds to the glory of the release. One of the 10 greatest recordings of the Century, you've got to get this. Forget all other versions, no matter how much they've pleased in the past. --Intune Magazine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Four Seasons I Ever Heard!!!, March 21, 2011

By 

Dick Buckley (Pittsburgh, PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Le Quattro Stagioni (Audio CD)

If you have not yet heard this amazing disc, you will not believe it when you do! Everybody has heard countless presentations of this Vivaldi masterpiece - enough to make it almost trite - but until you hear it played by this magnificent Italian chamber group, you haven't heard anything! This is by far the most masterful performance of The Four Seasons available to the public.

There is a zest, an inner life, imbued into this performance that will make you think that you never heard the work before. The performers are attentive to detail and play together with precision and feeling. They specialize in Baroque and have a special talent for the music of Vivaldi.

I really lack the words to adequately describe just how moving this version of The Four Seasons is. The sound is suitably sensational. If you only add one more disc to your classical collection, make it this one. You won't be sorry. A+++++ and then some!!