There’s a scene in the brilliant (and Oscar-winning) Woody Allen movie Midnight in Paris in which Adriana (Marion Cotillard), girlfriend of Pablo Picasso and others, says to Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll) – after hearing a few sentences of a novel written by Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) that was read aloud by Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates) – “I’m already hooked. Hooked.”
That’s a roundabout way of me saying (as I’m listening to CD 17 of Vivaldi), “I’m already hooked. Hooked.”
There’s no way to dislike Vivaldi’s music, especially that very bright and bouncy flute.
Which is a very good thing because this entire CD is titled Flute Concertos Op. 10.
And I’m diggin’ it.
Such vivacious music!
One of Steve Martin’s old stand-up comedy bits was about the banjo.
He’d walk on stage carrying a banjo and start to play.
He’d tell the audience that the banjo made such a happy sound that nobody could play the banjo and be unhappy.
His appearance on The Tonight Show certainly demonstrated that.
That’s how I feel about Vivaldi’s music. It makes me happy.
And what more could one ask of simple piece of music?
Nothing, I say. Nothing.
Just the Facts
Vivaldi CD 17 features 20 tracks for a total running time of 50.01.
L’Arte dell’Arco returns, with Federico Guiglielmo at the helm.
For this CD, the players are:
Federico Guglielmo, violin I and concertmaster
Isabella Bison, violin II
Mario Paladin, viola
Christiana Contadin, violotto
Roberto Loreggian, harpsichord/chamber organ
Ivano Zanenghi, theorbo/baroque guitar
These pieces of music were composed in 1729 and recorded on July 9-11, 2014, in Padua, Italy, in collaboration with Instituto Italiano Antonio Vivaldi.
There isn’t much information online about Vivaldi’s six Flute Concertos. Even Wikipedia is bare bones on this one.
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: 5
Another terrific recording from Brilliant Classics!
Some of these were jaw dropping. For example, Track 9 (“Concerto No. 3 in D il Gardellino, Allegro”). Something about that composition blew my socks off.
But I found something of great interest and joy in every track, from the opening track to the closing one.
This recording is so pristine that one can hear Mario Folena intake breath before launching into the next notes on the flute. Brilliant Classics is truly an underrated gem of a record label.
Highly recommended!