On this chilly, rainy, overcast day, the music of Vivaldi is serving to uplift me.
Another thing uplifting me is my perch this morning – the second floor of a local library. It overlooks a field that’s currently occupied by wild turkeys. I always enjoy sitting on the second floor looking out at that field. Very soothing.
Plus, another positive today is that I discovered somebody’s web site that I wouldn’t have known existed had I not started my blog.
What I discovered is a WordPress site called Early Music (the official URL is OldMusicBook.wordpress.com).
I’m excited to explore this person’s site. No name is given regarding the owner’s identity other than “kompromissis,” though.
Is that a name? Or the German word for “compromise”? Can’t tell.
The site looks like a long-running and interesting place to visit for people who love Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music.
I’ll have to explore it.
In the meantime, help yourself to a visit or two. You can reach it here.
Be forewarned: Even the person’s “Blogs I Follow” links are fascinating.
Whomever that is has great taste.
So you’ll be exploring awhile.
NOTE: It appears the site hasn’t been updated since October 23, 2023. I don’t know if that means all of the music he/she wanted to explore has been explored, or if he/she stepped away from the site for awhile.
On to Vivaldi, CD 7, which is titled La Stravaganza Op. 4 I.
Just the Facts
Vivaldi CD 7 features 19 tracks for a total running time of 46:22.
L’Arte dell’Arco returns, with Federico Guiglielmo at the helm; however this time all of the musicians are different. (That L’Arte dell’Arco troup is either quite large, a revolving door, or a group that comes together as needed with whichever musicians are available at the time.)
This time, the players are:
Federico Guglielmo, solo violin and concertmaster
Esther Crazzolara (concertino)
Alessa Pazzaglia (ripieno), violin I
Isabella Bison (concertino)
Mauro Massa (rpieno), violin II
Andrea Vassalle (ripieno), violin II
Olga Arzilli, viola
Luigi Puxeddu, cello
Mauro Zavagno, violone/double bass
Davide Pozzi, harpsichord/chamber organ
Luca Marconato, theorbo/baroque guitar
Since I was unfamiliar with the word “ripieno,” I looked it up on Wikipedia to discover it means:
The ripieno (Italian for “stuffing” or “padding”) is the bulk of instrumental parts of a musical ensemble who do not play as soloists, especially in Baroque music. These are the players who would play in sections marked tutti, as opposed to soloist sections. An individual member of the ripieno is called a ripienista.
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: 2
As with the previous CD, nothing really stood out to me with this disc. The music is extremely well performed, and is interesting, even uplifting. But I’m looking for those “wow factor” tracks that elevate a composition to must-hear status. I’ve encountered them before in my musical explorations.
To be honest, I had more fun exploring the unknown blogger’s web site about Early Music.
That’s not to say these pieces were not performed well. They were. I’ve never encountered a CD from Brilliant Classics that wasn’t top-notch. But they just didn’t grip me.