Customer Reviews

Recorder Concerti: La Notte

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"I have never heard Vivaldi played this way, and I think it is creative and colorful. Marq and Spinosi prove that Vivaldi's music is more than simple harmonic progressions and virtuosic passages. If you have an open mind and want to hear some exciting playing, check out this recording." -- American Record Guide

While others have recorded these concertos with great success, this may be one of the best Vivaldi concerto recordings in many years. Recommended.

[An important note: I guess that someone who is reading a big part of my reviews may feel that i'm an enthusiastic person. Well there is a lot of truth in this, but the whole truth is that i usually prefer to write on those cd's that makes me enthusiastic.]

I love Vivaldi's recorder concertos, no, i'm freak about them!
A GREAT MUSIC!
I had, and have, many interpretations of these concertos,
from the rather archaic symphonic orchestras and those (ugh!) metal transverse flutes up to the much more coherent ensembles of today.
BUT i never heard a bold, super interesting interpretations like in this cd.
Listen, for example, to the interpretation of La notte (RV 439) - unbelievable!
It's a kind of an OVPP performance, and it's not just refreshing,
it creates tons of nuances and tiny interplays.
In a way, the superb recorder player, Sebastien Marq, is the parallel of Fabio Biondi, and indeed - these are an ultra dynamic performances,
full of vigor and menacing Italian beauty.
The ensemble Matheus with its director Jean-Christophe Spinosi
are a perfect match to the genius of Marq.

The recording is in the higest level with superb dynamic and rich tonality.

The linear notes are excellent with an interesting note on the choice of the instruments used.

This is a modern, meaning period instruments, recording. The solo instrument is a recorder, of various pitches. You can have the same disc, with three Vivaldi vocal discs, in a box set called Vivaldi and Spinosi. For the same price more or less as this one disc.

The playing is spirited. The only minus side here is perhaps the length, you could have squeezed in another concerto. Possibly. There are 6 concertos here. At least three are from Opus 10, listed as RV433, RV428, RV439. Other concertos included: 441, 312R (a reconstruction), 443. The La Notte included has six short tracks on this disc.

Compare to other Opus 10 recordings, of the flute/recorder concertos. There are several, both period and modern instruments.