Vivaldi: Concerto for violin, strings and continuo in F, RV292

It is remarkable that concertos by Vivaldi are still awaiting their first recordings, and this CD programmes 8 ‘solemn’ concertos. Solemn in this context usually meant a slow introduction, acting as a prelude to the following 3 movements. Vivaldi was a master at creating concertos from other works, and these were known as ‘pasticcio’ concertos. For example, sinfonias or overtures to his many operas provided a happy hunting ground for such concertos, and on this CD the concertos are a mix of Vivaldi’s pasticcios and those of the Pablo Queipo de Llano, a Vivaldi scholar and author the comprehensive CD booklet essay.

To illustrate how adept Vivaldi was at turning existing works to new uses, the finale of RV197 was originally the double fugue from the overture to the serenata La senna festeggiante RV693. This had in turn been adapted by Vivaldi from the closing section of Lotti’s Moralita d’una perla. The opening movement of RV155 was reused by Vivaldi for his Salve Regina RV618 The tradition of pasticcio concertos arranged from other composer’s works was common practice at the Dresden court, where the director was Johann Georg Pisendal, a pupil of Vivaldi. Many movements by Vivaldi were found among the manuscripts in Dresden, and form the basis for these reconstructions.

Period instrument performances.

Extensive booklet note by the editor of the concertos.

New recording made in 2009 in Venice.

Baroque violinist extraordinaire Adrian Chandler has produced two of the most popular and enduring CDs in the Avie catalogue: Per Monsieur Pisendel, sonatas by Albinoni, Pisendel and Vivaldi (AV 0018); and Vivaldi in Arcadia, a selection of pastorale concertos and arias (AV 0031). His scholarship and passion for the works of the Red Priest marry with his dazzling virtuosity and evident glee on his third Avie offering, Music for the Chapel of the Pietà. Vivaldi’s infamous output during his time at the girl’s orphanage Ospedale della Pietà was complemented for a time when he served as the Maestro di Coro at the Pietà, producing the enchanting Salve Regina and the rich Laudate Pueri, presented here with the stunning soprano Mhairi Lawson. The instrumental works, which include two novel concerti for violin and organ, were almost certainly written for intervals in the Pietà’s church services.