Rating: 4/5
Review: Good but not quite great
I like this disc, but it's not quite as special as I was
hoping it would be. I love Amandine
Beyer's work with Gli Incogniti and Giuliano Carmignola is a very fine Baroque
player; in many ways they produce the goods here but I do have some
reservations.
This is an interesting and quite varied programme of double
violin concerti with – contrary to some beliefs about Vivaldi – a good variety
of moods. There are plenty of Vivaldi's
familiar virtuosic pyrotechnics, but also genuine minor-key drama and some very
lovely slower movements, too. The
players, soloists and ensemble alike, do seem to go at almost all of it with
immense vigour, and while I'm all for Vivaldi being invested with plenty of
fire and emotion, I think there does need to be a little more variation of
tone. It does happen sometimes – the
Largo of RV527 is exquisite, for example – just not quite enough for me.
I also found the sound balance a little odd at times, with
the soloists mixed rather a long way back so there were moments when I was
struggling to make out the solo lines among the ensemble.
Neither of these is a massive criticism; they are both quite
personal perceptions and others may not agree with them. This is certainly a very good disc of Vivaldi
from two terrific players and a very fine ensemble. It's not quite the fabulous treat I was
expecting, but I can still recommend it.
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