Duilio Galfetti

Naïve releases the third volume dedicated to Vivaldi’s violin concertos in its ground breaking project, the Vivaldi Edition. Multi award-winning violinist Duilio Galfetti is accompanied by acclaimed early music ensemble I Barocchisti under the direction of Diego Fasolis.

Antonio Vivaldi's four concertos known as «The Seasons» from his collection Opus 8 are probably the most frequently performed, recorded as well as maltreated works from the Baroque period. A number of other composers employed Vivaldi's four masterpieces in their own compositions already during the composer’s lifetime. «Le Printemps ou les saisons amusantes» are arrangements for popular instruments at the time such as the hurdy-gurdy or bagpipes.In 1766 Michel Corrette composed the psalm Laudate Dominum de coelis by adding additional voices to the music of Spring and in 1775 Jean-Jacques Rousseau even published Spring in a transcription for flute solo!

Diego Fasolis' strong sense of rhythm coupled with the fluidity and virtuostic ease of Galfetti's playing render this cd irresistible. The Vivaldi Edition: a recording venture conceived by the Italian musicologist Alberto Basso and the independent label Naïve, is one of the most ambitious recording projects of the twenty-first century. Its principal objective is to record the massive collection of Vivaldi autograph manuscripts preserved today in the Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria in Turin, some 450 works in all. This treasure trove is none other than the private library of scores Vivaldi had at home at the time of his death in Vienna in 1741 and includes his extant operas, hundreds of concertos, sacred compositions and cantatas.

Brisk and bracing, the incisive performances of I Barocchisti are the main attraction of this hybrid SACD, which owes its success to this group's period instrumentation and historically informed methods, perhaps more than to any other aspect. Granted, Handel's jubilant Ode for St. Cecilia's Day, the Organ Concerto No. 13, and the coronation anthem Zadok the Priest already commend themselves, if not for being among his greatest masterpieces, then as essential secondary works. Furthermore, the idiomatic vocal performances by soprano Julia Gooding, tenor Jeremy Ovenden, and the Swiss Radio Choir are certainly attractive, though not out of the ordinary in this repertoire. But it's I Barocchisti's brilliant sonorities and crisp articulation on authentic instruments that give this album its zest, and the quality of the program would be seriously diminished if any of these wonderful sounds were lacking. Directed by Diego Fasolis, a master of early music techniques and styles, this Swiss orchestra is one of the leading ensembles in the field of Baroque music, with exceptional recordings of Bach, Monteverdi, and Vivaldi already to its credit, as well as Handel's Messiah; it has only increased its reputation with this terrific album.

(Blair Sanderson)

This box set gathers all the violin concertos availa-ble in the Vivaldi Edition, plus Concerto Italianos benchmark recording of the red priest's most emblematic work: The Fours Seasons. A real 6-hour baroque violin feast!