MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW Plain text for smartphones & printers

Support us financially by purchasing
this through MusicWeb
for £10 postage paid world-wide.

Antonio VIVALDI (1678-1741)
Concertos Op. 8, The Four Seasons
Concerto in E, RV269 Spring [10:38]
Concerto in G minor, RV315 Summer [10:00]
Concerto in F, RV293 Autumn [11:09]
Concerto in F minor, RV297 Winter [8:30]
Concerto in E flat, RV253 La Tempesta di Mare [8:55]
Concerto in C, RV180 Il Piacere [8:31]
Simon Standage (violin)
The English Concert/Trevor Pinnock
rec. Rosslyn Hill Chapel, Hampstead, London, England, 1978
CRD 3325 [59:02]

For many people The English Concert’s famous Archiv recording of the Four Seasons (400 045-2) will be a treasured part of their collection. Here is a recording of the same music from around five years before that shows an ensemble in development. The performance is slightly slower than their more famous recording and the sound is not as crisp. That being said, this is still interesting and impressive, and not just for those who seek to chart the development of the ensemble.

The performance and sound could be said to be in transition. It is not as heavy as a modern instrument version but it is warmer than one has become use to from period ensembles, a sort of musical half-way house. It is historically informed however, with Trevor Pinnock expertly directing the ensemble from the harpsichord. This may be as a result of the acoustic but I think it has a bit more to do with the ensemble than the hall. It is a pleasing sound. It may be fuller and less bright than their later recording but it is a valid alternative.

This recording also has the bonus of the fifth and sixth concertos from the Op. 8 set. Here La Tempesta di Mare and Il Piacere are given spirited performances by artists who are in excellent form throughout.

The accompanying booklet is excellent. Not only do you get an introduction to the music and a brief description of each of the concertos but you also get a copy of the texts and translations of Vivaldi’s original descriptive poems to the Four Seasons. That's a detail all too rare these days.

Stuart Sillitoe

 

 



Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing