VA - Ultimate Vivaldi: The Essential Masterpieces (2007) (5 CD Box Set)

The task of picking "essential masterpieces" for a big-box collection like this is essentially futile. Sure, one could complain that restricting the vocal music to the two Gloria settings distorts Vivaldi's output severely, but any selection would cause complaints - and the compilers could point out that it was instrumental concertos that made Vivaldi popular and instrumental concertos on which his popularity rests. Furthermore, the recordings featured here, mostly by the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, are, in many cases, those that turned Vivaldi into an industry - they were the backbone of programming on NPR, the BBC, and their counterparts in other countries for years. The lovely guitar-concerto recordings by the Romeros on disc four (mostly transcriptions from mandolin concertos) are still standards, and the broad performances of the two Glorias on disc five are attractive although dated in their use of Gian Francesco Malipiero's rather Mahlerian additions to the original score. (The performance of the Gloria in D major, RV 588, is by singers and orchestra, not for four guitars as is indicated in the track list.) The major weakness of this set lies not in the selection, which might serve as a reasonable car-stereo catchall for casual listening. The problem is the centerpiece, the performance of the Four Seasons on the opening disc, with Salvatore Accardo on violin, apparently leading I Solisti di Napoli. These were exactly the sorts of performances the clean English readings of the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields was trying to avoid, with oddly legato orchestral lines and a bizarre harpsichord continuo that adds distracting ornamental scales at the ends of many phrases. Despite the draw of Accardo's name, the performance was a poor choice for the set; the crisp lyricism that drew so many people to Vivaldi is just not on display here. There's plenty of worthwhile music on these five discs, but an "essential masterpieces" Vivaldi set with a subpar Four Seasons is anything but essential.

Tracklist:

CD1 - Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
01. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in E 'Spring' - i. Allegro
02. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in E 'Spring' - ii. Largo
03. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in E 'Spring' - iii.Allegro
04. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in G minor 'Summer' - i. Allegro non molto
05. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in G minor 'Summer' - ii. Allegro
06. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in G minor 'Summer' - iii. Adagio-Presto-Adagio
07. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in G minor 'Summer' - iv. Presto
08. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in F 'Autumn' - i. Allegro
09. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in F 'Autumn' - ii. Adagio molto
10. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in F 'Autumn' - iii. Allegro
11. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in F minor 'Winter' - i. Allegro non molto
12. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in F minor 'Winter' - ii. Largo
13. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in F minor 'Winter' - iii. Allegro
14. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in B minor RV580 - i. Allegro
15. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in B minor RV580 - ii. Largo
16. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in B minor RV580 - iii. Larghetto-Adagio-Largo-Allegro
17. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in F major RV551 - i. Allegro
18. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in F major RV551 - ii. Andante
19. Accardo - I Solisti di Napoli - Concerto in F major RV551 - iii. Allegro



CD2 - Vivaldi: Wind Concertos
01. Neil Black/Academy of St Martin/Marriner - Oboe Concerto in F Major, RV456
02. Martin Gatt/Academy of St Martin/Marriner - Bassoon Concerto in A minor, RV498
03. William Bennett/Academy of St Martin/Marriner - Flute Concerto in C minor, RV441
04. Nicklin/Black/Academy of St Martin/Marriner - Concerto for 2 Oboes, Strings and Continuo in D minor, RV535
05. William Bennett/Academy of St Martin/Marriner - Flautino Concerto in C, RV443
06. Academy of St Martin - Marriner - Concerto in F Major for 2 oboes, bassoon, 2 horns and violin, RV574



CD3 - Vivaldi: Cello Concertos
01. H.Schiff - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 411/412 in F major - I. Allegro (RV 411)
02. H.Schiff - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 411/412 in F major - II. Larghetto (RV 412)
03. H.Schiff - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 411/412 in F major - III. Allegro molto (RV 411)
04. H.Schiff - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 418 in A minor - I. Allegro
05. H.Schiff - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 418 in A minor - II. (Largo)
06. H.Schiff - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 418 in A minor - III. Allegro
07. H.Schiff - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 424 in B minor - I. Allegro non molto
08. H.Schiff - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 424 in B minor - II. Largo
09. H.Schiff - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 424 in B minor - III. Allegro
10. H.Schiff - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 413 in G major - I. Allegro
11. H.Schiff - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 413 in G major - II. Largo
12. H.Schiff - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 413 in G major - III. Allegro
13. H.Schiff - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 401 in C minor - I. Allegro non molto
14. H.Schiff - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 401 in C minor - II. Adagio
15. H.Schiff - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 401 in C minor - III. Allegro ma non molto



CD4 - Vivaldi: Guitar Concertos
01. Los Romeros - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 580 in B minor for 4 guitars (orig. 4 violins) - I. Allegro
02. Los Romeros - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 580 in B minor for 4 guitars (orig. 4 violins) - II. Largo-Larghe…
03. Los Romeros - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 580 in B minor for 4 guitars (orig. 4 violins) - III. Allegro
04. Los Romeros - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 532 in G major for 2 guitars (orig. 4 mandolins) - I. Allegro
05. Los Romeros - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 532 in G major for 2 guitars (orig. 4 mandolins) - II. Andante
06. Los Romeros - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 532 in G major for 2 guitars (orig. 4 mandolins) - III. Allegro
07. Los Romeros - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 356 in A minor for guitar (orig. violin) - I. Allegro
08. Los Romeros - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 356 in A minor for guitar (orig. violin) - II. Largo
09. Los Romeros - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 356 in A minor for guitar (orig. violin) - III. Presto
10. Los Romeros - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 425 in C major for guitar (orig. mandolin) - I. Allegro
11. Los Romeros - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 425 in C major for guitar (orig. mandolin) - II. Largo
12. Los Romeros - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 425 in C major for guitar (orig. mandolin) - III. (Allegro)
13. Los Romeros - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 93 in D major for guitar (orig. lute) - I. (Allegro)
14. Los Romeros - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 93 in D major for guitar (orig. lute) - II. Largo
15. Los Romeros - Academy of St Martin - Concerto RV 93 in D major for guitar (orig. lute) - III. Allegro



CD5 - Vivaldi: Glorias
01. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV588 - Gloria in exelsis Deo
02. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV588 - Et in terra pax hominibus
03. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV588 - Laudamus te
04. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV588 - Gratias agimus tibi
05. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV588 - Domine Deus
06. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV588 - Domine Fili Unigenite
07. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV588 - Domine Deus, Agnus Dei
08. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV588 - Qui tollis peccata mundi
09. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV588 - Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris
10. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV588 - Quoniam tu solus Sanctus
11. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV588 - Cum Sancto Spiritu
12. English Chamber Orchestra/Malcolm - Concerto D minor , RV.540 - I. Allegro
13. English Chamber Orchestra/Malcolm - Concerto D minor , RV.540 - II. Largo
14. English Chamber Orchestra/Malcolm - Concerto D minor , RV.540 - III. Allegro
15. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV589 - Gloria in exelsis Deo
16. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV589 - Et in terra pax hominibus
17. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV589 - Laudamus te
18. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV589 - Gratias agimus tibi
19. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV589 - Propter magnam gloriam tuam
20. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV589 - Domine Deus
21. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV589 - Domine Fili Unigenite
22. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV589 - Domine Deus, Agnus Dei
23. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV589 - Qui tollis peccata mundi
24. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV589 - Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris
25. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV589 - Quoniam tu solus Sanctus
26. Wren Orchestra/Guest - Gloria d-dur RV589 - Cum Sancto Spiritus