For those listeners who are only familiar with the most popular facet of Vivaldi’s output, the ubiquitous Four Seasons, the prospect of wading through this earlier set of twelve violin concertos may not initially sound all that enticing. Unlike their much more familiar cousins (which in fact are a part of another set of concerti, Il cimento dell’Armonia e dell’Invenzione op.8), La Stravaganza does not come equipped with easytograsp programmatic clues as to what the music is ‘about’ – no musical depictions of cuckoos, peasant’s dances, midday heatwaves, buzzing flies or walking over iced rivers here. Instead, what you get is two cd’s worth of more or less ‘abstract’ Italian baroque concerti, with a typically Vivaldian accent.
Does that imply an unimaginative déjà vu journey over a terrain devoid of real interest, then, with nothing much more to tell these twelve concertos apart from each other than their somewhat dryish RV catalogue numbers? After all, a very accomplished composer also once exclaimed that Vivaldi was but a dull fellow who just composed the same concerto over and over again.
The answer, of course, is a resounding no. To a certain extent, the aforementioned opinion of Stravinsky may well be justified – however, following this logic, it would be as correct (and as blatantly wrong) to claim that all Camille Pissarro actually could paint was a single dot. Errare humanum est, even if you should happen to be a Stravinsky. Accusing Vivaldi of dullness just because he happened to compose in a certain personal style sounds every bit as silly as condemning Pissarro’s canvases, in a word, pointless.
Be as it may, and to the joy of all baroque music lovers, La Stravaganza is literally bursting with gloriously swirling melodies, dazzling solos, melting cantilenas and powerful ritornellos. All this topped with a spotless and inspired delivery from the ASMF and the soloists (Carmel Kaine and Alan Loveday) makes this set an irresistible ‘must have’.
This performance of La Stravaganza not only manages to negotiate the tricky runway leading towards Vivaldian heights of elegance and beauty; it also takes flight, and the following dazzling sense of weightlessness elevates the listener to quite another level.
Composer: Antonio Vivaldi
Orchestra: The Academy Of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Conductor: Neville Marriner
Soloist: Alan Loveday, Carmel Kaine
Format: LP x 2, Stereo
Label: Argo Record (Decca)
Release: 1975
Catalogue: ZRG 800/1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analyzed folder: /Volumes/HRS Music/ Classical Publishing/192kAnVi_LaStr_Marr/192k Vivaldi - La Stravaganza - Marriner
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR Peak RMS Filename
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR13 -1.26 dB -19.30 dB A1 No. 1 In B Flat Major.aif
DR14 -0.97 dB -19.47 dB A2 No. 2 In E Minor.aif
DR14 -0.68 dB -20.58 dB A3 No. 3 In G Major.aif
DR14 -0.29 dB -20.75 dB B1 No. 4 In A Minor.aif
DR15 -1.41 dB -20.73 dB B2 No. 5 In A Major.aif
DR14 -0.75 dB -20.18 dB B3 No. 6 In G Minor.aif
DR14 -0.47 dB -20.27 dB C1 No. 7 In C Major.aif
DR14 -0.84 dB -20.26 dB C2 No. 8 In D Minor.aif
DR14 -0.49 dB -19.45 dB C3 No. 9 In F Major.aif
DR14 -0.49 dB -20.20 dB D1 No. 10 In C Minor.aif
DR16 -0.50 dB -20.89 dB D2 No. 11 In D Major.aif
DR16 -1.15 dB -23.15 dB D3 No. 12 In D Major.aif
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of files: 12
Official DR value: DR14
==================================================================================
