Vivaldi - Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione / Europa Galante, Biondi
Product Details
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Another Four Seasons, but this one shoots to the top of the list. Fabio Biondi's imaginative playing is full of spunk and vigor, delineating Vivaldi's scene-painting without overdoing it. His band matches him with rhythmic vitality; this is one Vivaldi set that holds your interest from start to finish.
In his program notes, Biondi explains the use of the "Manchester" manuscript of the Four Seasons, which was closer to the composer's intentions than editions published later, and he discusses the manuscript sources for the other works. The Four Seasons are the first four concertos of Vivaldi's Opus 8 set of a dozen, titled Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione (The Trial of Harmony and Invention). The others may not share the Seasons' popularity, but they're of comparable excellence, especially in performances as exciting as these. First-rate sound, close-up and immediate, underscores the vibrancy of the performances. Biondi's 1991 Four Seasons on Opus 111 is still in the catalog, but this one scores because Virgin includes the complete Opus 8 on two discs for the price of one. --Dan Davis
Customer Reviews
Update
There are already twenty-two reviews of this CD set, 19 of them 5-star and many of them ample in their analyses. This is by far the most exciting performance of Il Cimento dell'Armonia available for a reasonable price. The only serious competition is Reinhard Goebel's legendary recording with Musica Antiqua Koeln, which is costly.
What's the essence of a Baroque violin concerto? It's utter flamboyance. It's the concert-master violinist, standing forth from the ensemble and fiddling like the very red-haired devil. Fabio Biondi has gained a bit of weight since the days of this recording, and he's played The Four Seasons far too often to have the same enthusiasm as in his youth, but he still presents "la bella figura", standing with his back to the audience while conducting the tutti sections, and then stepping to the edge of the stage to scatter Vivaldi's abbundanza of figurations to the adoring house. One feels the improvisational virtuosity Vivaldi himself must have displayed.
For listeners who are ready to progress beyond the Four Seasons into Vivaldi's huge repertoire of vocal music, I recommend the oratorio Juditha Triumphans, a triumph indeed, and a showcase of bravura singing and brilliant instrumentation.
Yes :) This is the one to hear
Well this is the top of the top of the Four Seasons right here. The playing is crisp, authoritative, positive, and captures the spirit of the Four Seasons. While the tempi are fast there is never a feeling of bveing rushed. The playing is clear, flawless and without blemish. There is a feeling that this is the definitive recording. There is a powerful push and an endless spirit that makes the listener comfortable -- nothing is going to go wrong -- we know what we are doing. The listener will not be able to stop in the middle -- there is no way to stop. This is the ultimate recording of the Four Seasons. It just doesn't get any better than this. The interpretation is imaginative, modern, while keeping to the score. All of Vivaldi's magic comes out here. He clearly was way ahead of his time and this recording shows this masterfully.
The rest of the 2 discs are equally masterful and brilliant. This is the way to play Vivaldi.
I would give this set 10 stars if only I could. The technique is incredable and the interpretation is just perfect.
This set is a breath of fresh air. It far exceeds any other recordings of the selections played, even by the same team.
Yes yes yes this is the one :) If you have never heard Fabio Biondi and the Europa Galante, then it is about time you did and this album is a great way to start. After you hear this you will definately call home and report about the experience you had while listening.
It is truely an honor to listen to such a performance. Rarely are disc sets as exciting and exhilerating as this set is. This set is fun to hear and will make you want to hear the Four Seasons and the other concerti over and over. I am sure that if Vivaldi were alive to hear this he would give this a standing ovation and jump for joy.
Boottom line: Get this set :)
Exceptional Playing
Over the years my preference in Vivaldi records has run to Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music but this recording of Il cimento dell'armonica e dell'inventionae (the combat between harmony and invention) is certainly the most energetic and inventive performance that I have heard. What makes this recording different is that Europa Galanta has gone back to the original manuscripts preserved in the libraries of Manchester, Turin and Dresden. The manuscripts reveal a freedom with the manuscript versions on the concerto that does not exist with the published versions. Fabio Biondi examined the manuscripts and where there was multiple versions would sometimes combine ideas from both for tempi but reject notions made by hands other than Vivaldi's. The performance practice that comes out of the manuscripts brings different dynamics and tempi to the performance.
Antonio Vivaldi's opus 8 collection of concerti was meant to astonish with their brilliance of invention, experimenting with instrumental combinations and pushing the orchestral colors to their limits. Arguably, the prominent first four concertos - The Four Seasons - took the idea of invention and colorful description to new heights. However, the popularity of the first four concertos (The Four Seasons) of Vivaldi's opus 8 has come at the expense of relegating the remaining concerti of the collection to obscurity. There is no evidence that Vivaldi arranged the concertos in order of most superior to least and they are recorded here, except for the Four Seasons, out of their numbered order. The fifth concerto, la tempesta de mare, is an exuberant and tuneful concerto with alternate dramatic and calm that seems to depict the fury of a storm. The sixth concerto, Il piacere, explores the idea of pleasure using a laughter-like theme in the first movement, followed by a movement suggesting sleep and a dance-like finale.
The second disc in this set begins with concerto No. 11, which begins with an exuberant first movement followed by a beautifully reflective middle movement with an extensive solo violin part; the Finale is interplay of harmonies with the soloist pitting himself against the other players with a very demanding part. Another of the named concertos, la caccia (or the hunt) - the 10th concerto, follows and is a real tour-de-force with its bold rhythms. The 8th, 9th and 12th concerti explore a richness of melody and invention that is astonishing: the 12th is a joyful concerto with the players leaping to high and low register and the 9th with its more reflective character with the soloist playing a more intimate part.
The music is beautifully recorded and balanced and it is accompanied with a very informative booklet that includes remarks by Fabio Biondi as to how he selected the versions of the concerti played here. A very rewarding set that will be of interest despite how many copies of the Four Seasons you might already have.
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