alternatively
Crotchet

Antonio VIVALDI (1678–1741)
Concerto in D major, RV 234, L’Inquietudine [6.07]
Concerto in E minor, RV 273 [14.45]
Sonata in D minor op. 1 no. 12, RV 63, La Follia [9.22]
Concerto in E flat major, Op. 8 no. 5, RV 253, La Tempesta di Mare [9.03]
Sovvente il sole (from Andromeda Liberata) [9.07] (1)
Concerto in D minor, Op. 3 no. 11, RV 565 (from L’Estro Armonico) [9.27]
Daniel Hope (violin)
Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo) (1) Chamber Orchestra of Europe
rec. St. Paul’s Deptford (London), March 2008
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 4777463 [57.44]

Daniel Hope has already recorded a disc of Bach concertos and a disc of Mendelssohn concertos with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. In many ways this new issue follows on from the Bach disc, using modern instruments but adopting period performance practice. The continuo group includes a number of distinguished performers: William Conway (cello), Kirstian Bezuidenhout (keyboard), Elizabeth Kenny (lute, theorbo). Working without a conductor freed Hope to experiment with improvisation and ornamentation as well as taking a hand in the sound that the ensemble makes.

The first concerto on the disc, L’Inquietudine, opens fast and furious. The ensemble strings play crisply and rhythmically, very much off the string but with an intensity which is entirely modern. The result sounds striking but also a little hard-edged, played with this degree of crispness. With the bow off the string, the modern strings lack the warmth that playing with lower tension gut lines bring. This opening movement characterises the remainder of the disc: it is highly disciplined, superbly played but very high pressure.

The slow movement of this concerto again uses rather strong string tone in the ensemble passages but this is contrasted with a fine line from Hope. In the final movement he treats us to positively lovely streams of notes.

The disc is not all high pressure. Hope certainly knows when to ease off. He does so in the last movement of L’Inquietudine and similarly in the opening of the Concerto in E minor. Here the element of contrast is striking, between the hard-edged rather massive tutti sections and the smoother-lined, rather delicate moments.

Whatever you think about the high pressure element, overall the playing is superb. In the slow movement of the E minor concerto, both soloist and orchestra produce some stunning translucent delicately-textured moments. Hope’s solo line manages to spin a superb web of notes, never seeming hampered or constrained by period performance practice.

For the third item on the disc, instead of a concerto we get Vivaldi’s Sonata for two violins which consists of variations on La Follia. Here Hope is joined by Lorenza Borrani, the leader of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. The playing has a brilliant hardness which is partly modified by the lovely sound from the continuo with fretted instruments to the fore.

The Sonata is followed by the Concerto in E flat major, La Tempesta di Mare. As in the previous concertos the ensemble is crisp but chiselled. This is moderated by Hope’s solo line where he delivers the cascades of notes in quite brilliant fashion.

That a warm, sweet tone is not beyond the ensemble’s parameters is demonstrated by the aria from Vivaldi’s opera Andromeda Liberata. Here Anne Sofie von Otter’s lovely mezzo-soprano voice is balanced beautifully by Hope’s obbligato. His violin playing here develops a wonderful sweetness which he never quite manages in any of the other pieces on the disc.

The final work here is the concerto in D minor for two violins and cello from L’Estro Armonico with the other solo violin again played by Lorenza Borrani and solo cello by William Conway. Perhaps because the solo part is in fact played by three people, this concerto seems to have a warmth which is lacking in some of the other pieces in this collection.

In many ways this is an admirable disc, with some superbly disciplined playing and an interesting dialogue between modern ways and period practice. It is unfortunate that the end result seems to have generated a rather hard-edged product. Some listeners may respond well, but I would certainly advise listening before buying. Whilst Daniel Hope’s playing is superb, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe may be a bit of an acquired taste in this repertoire. 

Robert Hugill

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