re aub ert - ia803407.us.archive.org
Post on 20-Nov-2021
2 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
ASTER'S YOICE” i$ BM = :
Aub onc | ae re
i St ert
RMSE SSNS.
RES
ee
SER CIS SENT:
Sassteer
nace
esha
ausaante
- Vivaldi—IL CIMENTO DELL’ARMONIA E DELL’INVENZIONE, Op. 8: CONCERTOS Nos. 5, 6, 7,8 SOCIETA CORELLI + Aldo Redditi, Violinist
Mono LM-2743
Stereo LSC-2743
“,.,one of the few dedicated ensembles responsible for today’s revival of baroque music,” Founded in 1951, the Societa Corelli is composed of twelve strings—four
first and three second violins, two violas, two cellos and a double bass—and
a piano or harpsichord. The group performs without a conductor, a fact
which makes their vital yet sensitive performances even more redoubtable.
One of the few dedicated ensembles responsible for today’s revival of ba-
roque music, this chamber orchestra has played throughout the world, from
India, Japan and New Zealand to North, Central and South America.
The violin soloist of the Societa Corelli, Aldo Redditi, was born in Turin.
He was graduated from the Conservatory there and then completed his
studies in Salzburg. He has appeared in concert in many of the capital cities
of the world, winning recognition from both public and critics alike.
She Che She She Bho She She he Bh Bho She Che Che he Sho he Che he She he ee he The concertos on this record are only four of over 440 written by the prolific
baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi. In addition to his concerti, Vivaldi com-
posed over forty operas, seventy-three sonatas and twenty-three sinfonias.
During his lifetime, Venetian theaters produced more of his operas than those
of any other composer. Today, however, he is known only through a few of
his instrumental works.
Vivaldi’s birth date has been placed around 1675. He was born in Venice,
at that time the music hub of the world. And he was born into a family
where music was a major influence. Antonio, one of four sons, was educated
for a combined career of music and the priesthood. He began his ecclesiastical
duties in 1703, but poor health prevented him from ever fully assuming them.
Delicate health, however, did not stem his musical career. He became
associated with the Ospedale della Pieta (Hospital of Pity) in Venice, which
sheltered and raised orphaned and abandoned girls. Music was part of their
education. There were four such institutions in the city, and they vied jeal-
ously for musical honors. During his thirty years of service at the Pieta as a
conductor, composer and teacher, Vivaldi’s works became known and loved
throughout Italy.
His prolific genius spun out a fantastic number of sparkling, fluid com-
positions in a variety of musical forms. His work in the concerto form alone
distinguishes him as one of the world’s greatest composers. The concerto
had made its appearance only in the last two decades of the seventeenth
century. Vivaldi’s works brought the form to a clarity and complexity which
enriched and perfected it for the centuries to follow. In bright, fresh scores
Vivaldi made splendid use of the firm bass and florid treble which character-
ized the concerto. He was the first composer to give the slow movement equal
importance with the two Allegros between which it is sandwiched.
Il Cimento
The four concertos recorded here are part of a twelve-concerto cycle
entitled 1 Cimento dell’ Armonia e dell’ Invenzione (The Contest Between
Harmony and Invention). The first four of the Cimento are the famous Sea-
sons, all of which carry descriptive titles. Vivaldi followed through with titles
for the first two concertos heard here.
Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat is called Storm at Sea. The title is a curious one,
since the work is neither sinister nor dark and conjures up none of the feeling
of a rolling, turbulent sea usually associated with such a phrase. If it is a
tempest at all, it is one as painted by Turner rather than by Ryder. Hearing
it, one feels as though he is sailing through a pearl-misty salt spray in a
jeweled ship. Two joyful Allegro movements are barely separated by the
Largo, which lasts only sixteen beats.
The C major Concerto No. 6 bears the title Pleasure. And pleasure it is.
The first phrase is simply shimmering; it establishes a crystal, airy mood. The
Largo is a Siciliana, a melancholy movement borrowed from Neapolitan
opera. It seems rather funereal after the delightful Allegro, as if suddenly in
the middle of summer all the leaves turned gold and began quietly to fall.
The third movement is worth waiting for, however. It is sprightly and engag-
ing, and puts us back in the midst of meadows, flowers and crisp, cool streams.
The seventh concerto, in D minor, is heavier in feeling than either No. 5
or 6. The first movement is inventive and thickly patterned. Solo-tutti tension
is masterfully handled. The Largo does not interrupt the feeling of deft in-
tricacy in this work, and when the final Allegro bursts forth one has the feel-
ing the composition is a whole, all the parts of which are very compatible.
Concerto No. § is in G minor. Melodically speaking, it is not one of
Vivaldi’s more inventive compositions, but as in No. 7, there is an interesting
tension between the solo and ensemble parts.
Notes by Gail Madonia
© 1964, Radio Corporation of America ¢ Printed in U.S.A.
top related