Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra Vivaldi

“Citterio’s affinity for Vivaldi has become very clear in her short time with Tafelmusik. Her splendid playing always delights. Yet it is in her invitational style of leadership that she brings the orchestra to perform with precision, joy and sparkling musicality.” A landmark Tafelmusik recording, Vivaldi con amore is the orchestra’s first with Music Director Elisa Citterio. This all-Vivaldi album showcases Citterio and members of the orchestra in concertos for violin, oboe, bassoon, and lute, underlining the level of virtuosity across the ensemble.

Tafelmusik, Canada's orchestra on period instruments, was founded in 1979. Since the arrival of its Music Director and concertmaster Jeanne Lamon in 1981, Tafelmusik has achieved international recognition for its concerts and recordings. The ensemble has eighteen core members and is expanded as the need arises. All members of the orchestra are specialists in historical performance practice and perform on original instruments or modern replicas faithful in design and construction to the originals.

Quebec contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux scored a top rating on her earlier Analekta disc of Handel Italian cantatas, and in that review I expressed a desire for more recordings from this sensational young singer. If you enjoyed the Handel program (and if you don't have it, get it), you'll be just as happy with this new disc that combines two famous Baroque solo-vocal works with some engaging, relentlessly upbeat orchestral selections from the same period. Lemieux continues to impress with her warm, true-contralto tone, fluid legatos, canny phrasing, and total command of the technical aspects of these justifiably popular yet challenging works.

The performances are scintillating, dynamic, articulate, and vibrant, the virtuoso violin solos by Elizabeth Wallfisch occupying a playfully precarious edge between daring excitement and temporal excess–a stance joined in equal measure by her fellow soloists and her very fine orchestral partners. This is Vivaldi performance uninhibited by self-conscious stylistic gestures or distracting "period" mannerisms–it's just informed, virtuosic ensemble playing.

Music Director of Tafelmusik from 1981 to 2014, Jeanne Lamon was loved by audiences, and praised by critics in Europe and North America for her virtuosity as a violinist and her brilliant musical leadership. Under her direction, Tafelmusik achieved international stature with over 80 recordings to its name, and with tours to over 350 international cities including invitations to the most prestigious concert halls and festivals in the world.

Leonardo Leo (1694 - 1744) was among the leading Neapolitan composers of his day. He attended the Conservatorio Santa Maria della Pieta dei Turchini in Naples and remained in the city until his death. Leo was also a prominent teacher and held positions at the Conservatorio S Maria della Pietà del Turchini and the Conservatorio S Onofrio. Leo composed mainly operas, oratorios and cantatas with very little instrumental music. Chief among his instrumental works are the six cello concertos on this disc, composed in 1737 - 38. They were presumable commissioned by the Duke of Maddaloni, who was an amateur cello player.

This compilation offers a selection of the best recordings of French baroque repertoire drawn from Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra’s own catalogue.
The album includes the 2005 JUNO Award-winning, Grammy Award-nominated recording of an orchestral suite from Rameau’s epic five-act “tragédie en musique” Dardanus, originally released on CBC Records.
The Tafelmusik Chamber Choir and guest soloists are featured in a 2006 CBC recording of the Grand Motet “Dominus regnavit” by Mondonville.
…
Ms. Lamon and Tafelmusik have earned high marks … The music's greatness might not be so obvious but for Tafelmusik's fine period style… It will have listeners wondering why this music is not as well-known as works by Bach, Handel and Vivaldi. –The New York Times

This is an excellent and varied selection of composers from the very well known like Palestrina, Monteverdi, Bach and Vivaldi, through the less famous but familiar like Frescobaldi, Sainte-Colombe and Zelenka, to the downright obscure. It is all delightful: the musicians are uniformly excellent, and include such great names as Gustav Leonhardt, Cantus Colln, Christopher Hogwood and so on. They give fine performances both of the familiar works and of the less familiar ones. Obviously there will be discs you like more than others and you may already have favourite versions of some works, but these discs are never less than very good and are often outstanding.

VIVARTE is the legendary Sony Classical period music label known for producing outstanding recordings on period instruments. The recordings by legendary producer Wolf Erichson are made with the best recording technologies available and by one of the best production teams in the world (Tritonus Music Production, Stuttgart). The collection contains a perfect overview of VIVARTE's legendary catalogue ranging from Vivaldi to Brahms including recordings with specialists in historically informed performance practice such as Anner Bylsma, Gustav Leonhardt, Tafelmusik, Huelgas Ensemble, L'Archibudelli among others. Many of the recordings received critical acclaim all over the world and won prestigious awards. This box set includes CDs presented in paper sleeves with the original artwork, a 250 page booklet with track listings and the original liner notes for each recording.