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)

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)