Vivaldi: Concerto for Strings in E flat major 'Sonata al Santo Sepolcro', RV130

The acclaimed Polish period band Arte dei Suonatori perform eight of Vivaldi’s concertos a Quattro. Their version of Handel’s 12 Concerto grossi Op. 6 was awarded ‘Orchestral Choice of the Month’ in BBC Music Magazine, alongside further critical acclaim from the international music press.

As well as being a major composer in the formation of the solo concerto, he also was the leading exponent of the older concerto a quattro – music in four parts, with several players to a part. His works in this genre are notable not only for their beauty, but also for their experimental character and for providing the most important examples of fugal writing in Vivaldi’s instrumental music.

This recording includes eight of the concertos, as well as the Sinfonia from the serenata La Senna festeggiante (The Rejoicing Seine) composed in honour of the young French king Louis XV, and the Sonata a 4 in E flat major ‘Al Santo Sepolcro’.

Rediscover the feminine vocal world of the red priest. Sara Mingardo and Rinaldo Alessandrini plunge us into the gripping theatricality and emotion of the Stabat Mater, and the exaltation and sorrow of the Virgin at the feet of the cross, plus several other works including three concertos.

Rare recordings of two settings of Mary’s passionate Easter lament. For their second L’Oiseau Lyre disc, Il Giardino Armonico, again under their director Giovanni Antonini, are joined by celebrated mezzo-soprano Bernarda Fink, for a project exploring the Passion of Christ as seen through the eyes of the Virgin Mary. The two central works are both vocal settings of the Virgin’s lament. The first, Il Pianto di Maria, was long thought to be by Handel – a clear reflection of its outstanding musical quality. It was not until the 1990s that handwriting experts established it as the work of the little-known Venetian composer Giovanni Ferrandini. The other key vocal work will be the World Premiere recording of an aria by Francesco Conti – composer to the Habsburg court of Vienna - in which the martyr Lorenzo, threatened with being burnt alive, refuses to deny his Christian faith. This deeply touching aria features a rarely heard ancestor of the modern clarinet, frequently used in ‘pathetic’ arias of the period – the soprano chalumeau. Short instrumental pieces form a musical setting around these vocal jewels, and include music by Caldara, Marini, Pisendel, Weiss and Vivaldi.

This recording features Vivaldi's six immensely entertaining Recorder Concerti Op. 10, in performances of stunning panache and virtuosity. Praised by the Los Angeles Times for their “astonishingly vital music-making”, the New York-based Baroque ensemble REBEL (pronounced “Reh-BEL”) has earned an impressive international reputation. Matthias Maute is widely regarded as one of the finest German recorder and traverso players of his generation.

This delightful release from Smekkleysa is centred around Vivaldi scores that were discovered in the last century. In 1926 an extensive collection of handwritten scores from a private source came to light, which is now housed in the Turin library. The violin concerto, the cello concerto and the concerto for two oboes featured on this recording are all from this treasure trove.

This disc features beautiful and moving works reflecting on the grief of the Virgin Mary written by great Vivaldi, Pergolesi and Bach. Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater dates from around 1711 or 1712 and he used just the first ten verses of the text, creating one of the most sombre of all settings.

Bach’s adaptation of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater uses a contemporary German version of the Biblical Psalm 51. To suit the requirements of the new text Bach made certain alterations to Pergolesi’s vocal parts but retained the scheme of solo arias and duets between a soprano and an alto voice. He also added a new, independent viola part to the score and rewrote the basso continuo, giving the work a new harmonic vitality.

Pergolesi’s Salve Regina, composed around the same time as the Stabat Mater, and of a similarly expressive, sorrowful style. Of Pergolesi’s two settings of the text, the present one – originally in C minor – is the most well-known, and is here performed in the F minor version for alto voice.

Daniel Taylor directs the Theatre of Early Music as well as performing himself - “The beauty of his voice will stop you in your tracks.” Gramophone