Vivaldi: The Four Seasons (Le quattro stagioni, Op. 8 Nos. 1-4)

On the occasion of its 25th anniversary in 2010, Ondine releases a series of five twofers, containing best-selling titles from the back catalogue.

The focus is on five of Ondine’s star artists: sopranos Soile Isokoski and Karita Mattila, baritone Jorman Hynninen, violinist Pella Kuusisto and clarinettist Kari Kriikku.

These releases are specially priced (2 CDs for the price of 1) and are limited edition, running through 2010 only.

On CD, with bonus DVD: a visualisation, shot in Venice, to illustrate the city’s changing moods throughout the year this stunning performance on CD of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, recorded in 1994, is performed by Italian early music ensemble Il Giardino Armonico and conducted by Giovanni Antonini. Accompanying the CD, the bonus DVD features a special visualisation of this most famous Vivaldi concerto, shot in Venice, where the composer conceived the work. It captures the atmosphere of this beautiful city in all its varied moods and aspects throughout the year: in spring when sunlight starts to sparkle on the water, the city awakens and romance is in the air; in summer when the tourists arrive, adding new life and energy to this teeming city as they wander through narrow alleyways, visiting Venice’s fine squares and churches, and taking in the city’s vistas from vaporettos and gondolas; in autumn when the city takes on a different mood as the visitors go home and Venice is seen against a darkening night sky; and in winter when an icy blast sweeps across the lagoon. Against the famous backdrop of the lagoon and the Grand Canal, this film also shows craftsmen at work making gondolas, musical instruments and Murano glass.

Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons are among the most popular of Baroque concertos and have inspired musicians to perform them in their original form and in many different guises.

Following the lead given by J.S. Bach when he transcribed a number of Vivaldi’s other concertos for keyboard, this disc presents a sparkling new version of The Four Seasons for solo piano by Jeffrey Biegel.

This is complemented by equally effective arrangements by Andrew Gentile of two of Vivaldi’s other beloved concertos for mandolin and lute.

“Biegel brings a lush sound and elastic sense of rhythm to his interpretations. Architectural shaping of the pieces comes easy to him. His unself-conscious and seemingly effortless expression has a broad and appealing range, without resorting to the maudlin. His balancing of textures brings out the many melodic strands and harmonic treasures. The technical demands do not hinder him, do not call attention to themselves or him. This release rewards the listener on many levels.” American Record Guide

Born in Serez in 1705, Nicolas Chedeville is considered by many to be the most celebrated musette player France had ever had. The musette is a bagpipe-like instrument which was a common feature in French baroque music, and due to the instruments popularity at the time, He became a much sought after teacher among the aristocracy, eventually attaining the title of “Maître de Musette de Mesdames de France”. In 1739 Chedeville, who had already made a name for himself as an adaptor of several contemporary works, created a version of "The Four Seasons" including instruments such as the hurdy-gurdy and the musette. As a result of the inclusion of these instruments alongside the more usual violin and recorder, the music takes on a rural character which found particular favour with wealthy aristocratic amateurs and their romantic fantasies about peasant life.

The ensemble “Les Eclairs de Musique” was founded in 1996. It is made up of artists who have a special knowledge of techniques in the performance of baroque music, many of whom have worked with the greatest baroque groups of recent years including Academia Bizantina, Concerto italiano, I Barocchisti, and Les Arts Florissants.

This fascinating and rare recording, which was originally made in 2001 and released the following year has been re-mastered for 5.1 surround sound, and is being made available for the first time as a hybrid SACD.

The talented young soloist Christina Day Martinson is a native of Saskatchewan, Canada, and twice a National Finalist and prize-winner in the Canadian Music Competition. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory, holds a diploma from the Royal Conservatory in the Netherlands, and earned a Master of Music degree in historical performance from Boston University. It was at the Boston University School of Music that Ms. Day Martinson made the decision to concentrate on period violin and baroque performance. She studied performance practice with Martin Pearlman, who became her mentor and provided her first professional opportunities on period violin.

Telarc’s premier ensemble, Boston Baroque, has enjoyed international critical and popular success with releases such as Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos and Orchestral suites, Handel’s Concerti Grossi Op. 6, Water Music and Royal Fireworks Music, and choral recordings including Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Mozart’s Requiem and Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Virgine.

Martin Pearlman is among this country’s leading interpreters of baroque and classical music on both period and modern instruments. Pearlman has been acclaimed for more than thirty years in the orchestral, choral, and operatic repertoire from Monteverdi to Beethoven.

The celebrated “Four Seasons” are the first four of a set of twelve concertos which Vivaldi composed with the overall title Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione (”The contest between harmony and invention”), Op. 8. The title is also being made available in the SACD format.