La Serenissima / Adrian Chandler / Tabea Debus SETTECENTO

 

SETTECENTO

 

La Serenissima / Adrian Chandler EXTRA TIME

EXTRA TIME

La Serenissima / Adrian Chandler THE GODFATHER

La Serenissima explore the network of friendships and collaborations that helped bring together German and Italian styles during the Baroque, with concertos by Telemann, Pisendel, Brescianello and others.

The musical world of eighteenth-century Europe was a small one. Despite the problems presented by contemporary standards of transport, it was quite normal for composers in one part of Europe to be entirely au fait with what was happening elsewhere. This is borne out by the closeness of three German composers: Telemann, godfather to C.P.E. Bach; Pisendel; and J.S. Bach, who admired both his compatriots and composed some astoundingly difficult music for the violinist Pisendel. This programme celebrates their music as well as the music of those who contributed to their musical heritage. Included alongside the German triumvirate are works by Vivaldi who physically helped with the composition of Pisendel’s A minor concerto movement, Fasch who was a great friend of Pisendel and Telemann, and Brescianello, an Italian who helped the dissemination of Italian instrumental music throughout the German-speaking lands and whose concertos were played in Dresden by Pisendel.

La Serenissima / Adrian Chandler VIVALDI The French Connection

Intriguing title? Well some, at least, of Vivaldi’s own French connections are known: the French ambassador to Venice was among his patrons, and he supplied 12 concertos without soloist to an unknown Parisian collector. Adrian Chandler has taken three of these last as a starting-point for a full disc of flute, bassoon and violin concertos in which, he reckons, references to the French style are apparent. But is a dotted rhythm here, a chaconne there and a sprinkling of Rameau-ish moments enough to make Vivaldi sound French? Wisely, Chandler does not claim so, though his concession that “Vivaldi’s style is rarely unrecognisable” puts it mildly; Vivaldi seldom sounds like anyone else, even in the grand overture-like first movement of the Violin Concerto RV211, by some margin the most French-drenched piece on this disc. The chaconnes and melodic frou frous found elsewhere may suggest Frenchness to one as sensitive to the composer’s style as Chandler, but to the average listener they will surely sound like Vivaldi from head to toe.

But if this disc works hard to justify its title, what care we when the results make such enjoyable listening? And who can blame Chandler for looking for a way to programme and market Vivaldi that avoids filling it with 10 works all of the same type? Here the three solo instruments come and go in various combinations, always pleasing us and never outstaying their welcome. They are played with skill and taste, lapsing only when the bassoon overpowers the flute in the slow movement of RV438. The orchestral sound, as always with La Serenissima, achieves bright attractiveness and vivacity without feeling the need to pursue the taut energy of some other groups. And that’s just fine. (Lindsay Kemp / Gramophone)

Mhairi Lawson / La Serenissima / Adrian Chandler ANTONIO VIVALDI L'Amore per Elvira

"L'Amore per Elvira" is the title La Serenissima have given this disc, referring to the fact that the three chamber cantatas it includes deal with the ups and downs of love for a lady of that name. Put together they tell a neat little story; the lover timidly declares his feelings; the lover must go on a journey and makes a tearful farewell; the lover returns for a joyous reunion. Each consists of a pair of recitatives and arias, and while the latter are full of the kind of striking and demanding vocal writing we have learnt to expect from Vivaldi, it is the opening recitatives which seem most determined to grab the attention. From the trembling trills at the start of Tremori al braccio or the slightly overwrought Elvira anima mia to the excitable Lungi del vago volto, each sets the mood for its ensuing cantata with memorable boldness and imagination.

Mhairi Lawson brings to them her characteristically bright and powerful tone and strong sense of drama. The three instrumental works which interleave with the cantatas on this disc, and which Adrian Chandler presents with an engaging combination of keen-edged incisiveness and silky tone.

Amid the current welter of Vivaldi recordings, however, there is no doubt that with well programmed and performed releases such as this, La Serenissima are winning an important place for themselves. (Gramophone)

Adrian Chandler / La Serenissima VIVALDI X2

The Vivaldi recordings by Adrian Chandler and his British period instrument ensemble La Serenissima, named after the nickname of the Venetian Republic and specializing in its music, are breaking new ground. Give this one a try if you haven't heard the group before: it's wonderful. Chandler focuses on double concertos, which Vivaldi produced in profusion for his players as the Osepale della Pietà, but which have been largely neglected on recordings. Chandler digs up unusual and interesting pieces; there isn't an overplayed item in the bunch. And the big news is his overall style: 180 degrees removed from muscular Italian Vivaldi approaches derived from operatic styles. For Chandler, the Vivaldi concerto is a playful, subtle affair, with soloists neither blending into the ensemble, as in some small-group readings, nor standing up to it in big contrasts. Instead, Chandler's soloists react flexibly to the orchestral tutti, catching the variety in Vivaldi's solo treatments. The work on Chandler's period horn and wind players is notable; hornists Anneke Scott and Jocelyn Lightfoot tame the temperamental natural horn and produce gentle sounds that fit perfectly with Chandler's approach. Sample one of the two-oboe concerts, such as the first movement of the Concerto in D minor, RV 535, or the finale of one of a pair of violin-and-cello concertos included, the Concerto in B flat major, RV 547, to hear how Chandler and La Serenissima weave the solo line into the orchestral texture rather than setting it apart. Also included is a notorious puzzle, the Concerto S.A.S.I.S.P.G.M.D.G.S.M.B. in F major for two horns, two oboes, bassoon, violin, cello, strings, and continuo, RV 574. This work has been the subject of speculation because of its title (it may stand for Per Sua Altezza Serenissima il Signor Principe Giuseppe. Maria de' Gonzaga Signor Mio Benignissimo, but then again maybe not), but its real interest lies in the truly virtuosic mixing of the solo parts, and in this performance, where Chandler has explored just that aspect of Vivaldi's double concertos on the program up to that point, and it makes an entrancing finale. Bravo! (James Manheim)

Adrian Chandler / La Serenissima THE ITALIAN JOB

Born on Merseyside in 1974, Adrian Chandler studied modern and baroque violin at the Royal College of Music with Rodney Friend and Catherine Mackintosh. Whilst a student at the RCM he founded the ensemble La Serenissima with whom he has since performed numerous solo recitals and Vivaldi concerti in major festivals such as Spitafields, Chelsea, Southwark, Cheltenham, Lake District Summer Music, Lichfield, Bruges, South Bank Early Music Festival and York Early Music Festival, as well as in concert series in Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malta, Mexico, Spain and the UK. 

His performances have been broadcast by BBC Radio 3, Radio Scotland, Dutch Radio, Radio 3 Belgium, Radio France, Danish Radio, Classic FM and Japanese TV.  He has also toured The Four Seasons with the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire and given performances of Mozart and Beethoven violin sonatas in Japan.  Highlights from 2012 included performances of Vivaldi’s L’Olimpiade at festivals such as Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music (the UK’s modern and historical premiere), Bath International Festival (opening night), Buxton and at the Eilat Festival in Israel.  2013 sees him returning to Buxton for tercentenary performances of Vivaldi’s Ottone in villa and performances in the Oslo Chamber Music Festival as a guest soloist and director.

La Serenissima was formed in 1994 for a performance of Antonio Vivaldi’s La Sena festeggiante and has now firmly established itself as one of the leading exponents of the music of eighteenth century Venice and connected composers. Since its first CD release in 2003, La Serenissima has been universally applauded by publications including Gramophone Magazine, The Sunday Times, BBC Music Magazine, Diapason, Fanfare Magazine, American Record Guide, The Independent, The Strad, Falstaff Magazine, La Stampa, Gaudisc, Goldberg Magazine and The Evening Standard for its performances on the Avie Label.