Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
x2²
Double Concertos – details beneath review
La Serenissima/Adrian Chandler
rec. 2023, Cedars Hall, Wells Cathedral School, Somerset, UK
Reviewed as a 16/44 download with PDF booklet from Premier
Signum Classics SIGCD908 [71]
Adrian Chandler, the director of the ensemble La Serenissima, comes up with an interesting observation in the liner-notes to his recording of double concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. He mentions that Vivaldi included several such concertos in his Op 3, a set of twelve concertos which were published in Amsterdam under the title L’estro armonico. “This set of concertos took Europe by storm and influenced composers such as Bach, Graupner and Telemann, who composed many works in a similar vein.” He then notes that in Italy only a few composers did the same, and that even they did only produce a relatively small number of double concertos. He does not speculate about the reasons. Maybe it has something to do with the circumstances in which their concertos were performed and the kind of musicians who performed them. One difference is obvious: instrumental concertos in Italy were performed during mass, but in the Protestant liturgy in Germany there was no place for instrumental music, except organ works.
It seems likely that double concertos – or, more generally, concertos with two or more solo parts – were less virtuosic than solo concertos. However, in the case of Vivaldi that is not entirely true. His concertos for two violins in particular are hardly less demanding than his solo concertos. Some of these were intended for performance by him and his father. Others may have been written for performance by the girls of the Ospedale della Pietà, whose technical prowess was generally admired. The two concertos included here are certainly not easy stuff, not even the one in B-flat (RV 524), which is a relatively late piece and bears the traces of the galant style. The other concerto – in G (RV 516) – is the most brilliant of the two, even in the slow movement, where the harmonic possibilities of a dialogue between violins is explored.
Here, as in so many concertos by Vivaldi, the soloists are on their own, only supported by the basso continuo. That is the case in all the double concertos included here. The connection between soli and tutti is different within Vivaldi’s concerto oeuvre. In some cases the strings open the proceedings, and after a while the solo instrument enters. In other cases, the latter participates right from the start and comes forward after a while. There are also concertos which open with a passage for the solo instruments. An example is the Concerto in G minor (RV531), whose first movement opens with a passage for the two cellos with basso continuo. Only in the tenth bar do the tutti strings enter. Chandler states that most of the double concertos may have been written for special occasions. In this case, he believes that the concerto was intended for religious purposes. It is included in a volume with the title Opere sacre, e Concerti. He points out that some sacred works by Vivaldi himself and by Caldara include passages for two cellos.
More than any other composer, Vivaldi wrote music for oboe(s), both sonatas and concertos, and he included the instruments also in vocal music. The Concerto in C (RV 534) is another example, whose first movement opens with an episode for the two solo instruments with basso continuo. The second movement is played by the oboes with basso continuo. Then in the third movement, the strings begin, and after a few bars the oboes come in. Within a single concerto, three different procedures are demonstrated. The Concerto in C (RV 533) is the only one for two transverse flutes in Vivaldi’s oeuvre. Chandler observes that this is rather surprising, considering that Vivaldi wrote many flute concertos (a number of which have been lost) and it is known that the Ospedale had some flute players in its ranks.
The programme opens and closes with concertos that in the Vivaldi catalogue are ranked among the concertos for multiple instruments. The Concerto in F (RV 572) is a clear example; it is scored for violin, cello, two flutes, two oboes, harpsichord and strings. The instruments come forward as solo instruments in various combinations. The Concerto in C (RV 557) is a somewhat different case. In the two fast movements, the two violins play the leading role. In the first the two oboes also have some solo passages, but in the last movement they merely colour the ensemble. Even more striking is the largo in the middle; it is scored for two recorders and basso continuo. These instruments don’t play any role in the fast movements. The explanation is that in Vivaldi’s time, players of wind instruments played more than one instrument; in this case, the oboists may have turned to the recorders in the largo.
There was a time that British ensembles were rather restrained in their interpretation of Italian instrumental music. The appearance of Italian ensembles was a breath of fresh air, as they delivered much more colourful performances, with strong contrasts in tempo and dynamics. That is history. We have here a British ensemble which produces high-spirited interpretations of Vivaldi’s double concertos, in an unashamedly Italianate fashion. The result is an exciting disc, which I have thoroughly enjoyed. The playing of the solos is outstanding, the rhythmic pulse in the fast movements irresistible, and the slow movements are pathetic – in the right – or perhaps, old – sense of the word. This disc will make any music lover happy and I am sure anyone who has it in his or her collection will regularly return to it.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
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Contents:
Concerto for two violins, two oboes, two recorders, strings and bc in C (RV 557)
Concerto for two cellos, strings and bc in G minor (RV 531)
Concerto for two transverse flutes, strings and bc in C (RV 533)
Concerto for two violins, strings and bc in G (RV 516)
Concerto for two oboes, strings and bc in C (RV 534)
Concerto for two violins, strings and bc in B-flat (RV 524)
Concerto for violin, cello, two transverse flutes, two oboes, harpsichord, strings and bc in F ‘Il Proteo ò il Mondo al Rovescio’ (RV 572)
