Antonio Vivaldi

“Mingardo's singing instantly grabs the heart of the listener; it is not so much a narrative description of Mary's lament but more like a first-person tragic soliloquy that might brings an atheist to tears. Rinaldo Alessandrini supervises with erudition and insight.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2007

“This is claimed to be a recording of the 'complete' recorder concertos of Vivaldi (RV441-5) and there's no other listed version of RV441 it has that field to itself. Such archival primacy would be of little significance if the performances were sub-standard – but here they're high quality on all counts.
Kecskeméti bears the bulk of the soloist's burden, while Czidra appears only in RV442 (for treble recorder). Kecskeméti acquits himself on the same instrument with no less distinction in RV441 and, with no reflection on Czidra's manifest abilities, he could surely have made a clean sweep. Kecskeméti has the greatest 'showcase' opportunities, and he makes the most of them. His speed and clarity of articulation (as clean as a whistle, as it were) in the flanking movements are breathtaking and in some scale passages his sure-tongued choice of separate articulation gives life and variety – listen to the Allegro molto of RV443 and marvel! He adds embellishment where appropriate and in good taste. The basic five concertos alone would leave a disc somewhat under-filled and the choice of RV95, in which the recorder is featured, as a filler is a happy one. The Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia's contributions are happily lightfooted.
Excellent recording quality and bargain price are just extra reasons why this disc is a must-buy.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Whether Vivaldi wrote these cantatas for an exceptionally talented singer or just decided to give others a mischievously hard time isn't known; the fact remains that they're tough assignments. If Polverelli finds them so, she gives no sign of it. She's a mezzo with a cloudless upper register and a full-throated lower one, a wide and subtly nuanced range of volume, supple and pitch-perfect. These three chamber cantatas deal with various unhappy aspects of love, and she projects them without resorting to 'grand-operatic' excess. These are performances to treasure.
The chamber concertos show Vivaldi at his most happily inventive. All those on this disc have alternative versions, and if RV97 and 105 lack something of the verve of those by Giardino Armonico they're no less infectious.
The recording is clear and very well balanced, and the vocal texts are given in three languages, including English. A thoroughly enjoyable disc.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010