Vivaldi: Concerto for 2 Flutes, Strings and Continuo in C, R533

This anniversary collection by Jeunesses Musicales marks 60 years of service to the young: 60 years of excellence. The compilation presents some of the best recordings made at ANALEKTA by artists who toured under the aegis of JMC or have been associated with the Montreal International Musical Competition, founded in 2002. Discover some of the great performers of the Canadian music scene.

Aside from his numerous flute concertos (including the six of the famous Op. 10), Vivaldi's catalogue includes three unpublished concerti for ottavino (piccolo) without opus number (the autograph manuscripts are to be found in the Turin Library), which are practically unique in Italian Baroque music. For this unusual soloist, Vivaldi 'imposes runs of great volubility and perilous breaks' (Marc Pincherle) in his allegros whilst also revealing, in the slow movements, 'the instrument’s unsuspected expressive possibilities'.

Even though not initially written for piccolo, the other three concertos that round out this programme are particularly well suited to the instrument. The one in A minor (P. 77) was originally a concerto da camera for recorder, two violins - in a tight dialogue with intentionally parallel parts - and bass. The Concerto in C minor (P. 440) had also been written for recorder whereas the Concerto for two flutes in C major (P. 76) called for two transverse flutes. All three feature two particularly nimble and voluble - even spectacular - fast movements flanking a mysterious, questioning or serene nocturnal cantilena. But, in addition, each one takes on a clearly pronounced character: playful and mischievous in the case of the Concerto in A minor, dramatic for the one in C minor, and festive and cheerful in the Concerto for two flutes.

Here they perform Flute Concertos which are arrangements of his already popular existing chamber concertos.

Throughout his life, Antonio Vivaldi never elaborated on the sources of inspiration for his compositions. This could be one of the reasons why the spiritual kinship between his concerto pieces and Eastern European gypsy music has hitherto gone unnoticed. While this assumption may seem absurd at a first glance at the geographic situation, it becomes clearly apparent upon closer inspection.

This collection of concertos is named after the town in Slovakia in which they were found. The compositions represent a very small sample of the 350 works in the collection.