Today’s Vivaldi listening experience is a little different.
For one thing, I’m listening to CD 3 in the evening, rather than in the morning.
For another Star Trek: Enterprise Season 1 Episode 1 is on TV – although I can’t hear it because I have on my Bose noise-canceling headphones.
I can see it, though.
And Vivaldi’s Sonata in A makes for an interesting score to it, let me tell you.
So, with our cat beside me (looking all bare-ribbed and starving because he hasn’t been fed in three hours) and the adventures of Captain Archer’s crew in front of me, I’m giving the third CD in the Vivaldi Edition from Brilliant Classics a listen.
I wish I could have heard this music at my usual time of between 6:30 and 7:00 in the morning. The sooner the better with these projects of mine. By the time night falls I just want to put my jammies on and veg out.
But this music is holding my attention, which is a good thing.
I can tell you right now that my favorite piece so far is Sonata No. 4 in F – Allemanda.
It’s bright and sprightly. Great guitar work. Or is that a theorbo?
Whatever it is, Michele Pasotti is playing the crap out of it.
Just the Facts
This was recorded January 16-19, 2012 by the L’Arte dell’Arco players.
Frederico Guglielmo seems to be leading the troup this time.
The running time for these 22 tracks is 48:30.
These violin sonatas were written in Venice in 1709, making them over three centuries old.
This recording is marked DDD, which means it is an all-digital recording. (Digitally recorded, Digitally mixed, and Digitally mastered.) Purists, those folks who think vinyl sounds better than CDs (they’re wrong) would probably look askance at this recording. To my ears, this is the best way to record music to precisely capture every note. But what do I know?
Just the Feelings
Recording quality: 5
Overall musicianship/vocals: 5
CD liner notes: 2 (booklet in box set)/5 (pdf download from web site)
How does this make me feel: 4
Overall, I’m less enthused about these selections than I was for the first two discs. The first track that jumped out at me was the aforementioned Sonata No. 4 in F – Allemanda. Another one that did was the fourth movement of Sonata No. 4 in F: Corrente, which was as lively as any composition could ever hope to be.
Once again, though, I’m attracted to the Allemanda of Sonata No. 6 in C. I love sprightly music! But the third movement (Giga) is also quite good, as was the second movement (Giga) to Sonata No. 1 in G minor.
My favorite track on the entire CD, however, was Fantasia, which was movement 2 from Sonata in D. Terrific violin work.
I think this is a CD that I could listen to again!
Recommended!
By the way, another thing I always investigate is numbering system for the music to which I listen. In this case, Vivaldi’s music contains the letter RV, as in RV 31 or RV 9. The RV stands for Ryom-Verzeichnis. From its entry on Wikipedia, I learned this:
The Ryom-Verzeichnis or Ryom Verzeichnis (both often abbreviated RV) is the standard catalogue of the music of Antonio Vivaldi created by Danish musicologist Peter Ryom. Verzeichnis is the German word for catalogue. First published in 1973 under the title Antonio Vivaldi: Table de Concordances des Œuvres (RV), the Ryom-Verzeichnis has existed in several forms over the course of its development. The catalogue is often used to identify Vivaldi’s works by a simple number.
Good to know!