Vivaldi 12 Sonatas

During the summer of 1989, oboists Alfredo Bernardini and Paolo Grazzi together with bassoonist Alberto Grazzi founded Zefiro, a versatile ensemble specialized in 18th century music predominantly featuring wind instruments. Zefiro soon made a name for itself worldwide, and to celebrate its thirty years of activity Arcana is releasing an elegant 10-CD set of their complete recordings of baroque music. From the ensemble’s first disc (Sonatas by Zelenka - Grand Prix du Disque), the compilation alternates recordings of repertoire composers and pieces that have become absolute points of reference, such as the Vivaldi Bassoon Concertos, Handel’s Fireworks (Diapason d’or de l’année 2009) or the Bach Overtures (judged by Gramaphone to be one of the 50 best Bach recordings of all time).

This collection represents the full range of Vivaldi recordings Christopher made with the AAM, and includes L'Estro Armonico Op.3, La Stravaganza Op.4, and the violin concertos Opp. 6, 8, 9, 11, and 12; solo concertos for flute (op. 10), oboe, bassoon, and cello; and various concerti grossi. Also featured are the complete cello sonatas, along with the cantatas "Amor, hai vinto" and "Nulla in mundo pax sincera", and sacred vocal works Stabat Mater, Nisi Dominus and the enduringly popular Gloria.

All six of Corelli's published collections of instrumental music demonstrate his exceptional skill as a violinist and composer, but it was in his Violin Sonatas Op. 5 that Corelli had the most significant impact on violin technique. The Op. 5 collection consists of 11 sonatas and a 12th sonata with a series of 23 variations on the famous 'Follia' theme. All 12 pieces contain a variety of difficult violin techniques.

All six of Corelli's published collections of instrumental music demonstrate his exceptional skill as a violinist and composer, but it was in his Violin Sonatas Op. 5 that Corelli had the most significant impact on violin technique. The Op. 5 collection consists of 11 sonatas and a 12th sonata with a series of 23 variations on the famous 'Follia' theme. All 12 pieces contain a variety of difficult violin techniques.

The revival of the viola d'amore as an instrument distinct and separate from the viola is a well-established phenomenon, advanced by composers and performers alike at least since the 1920s. That doesn't mean, however, that there are a great many players of the viola d'amore around, nor are there nearly as many viola d'amores in existence to play, at least in a quantity relative to the number of violas that are out there. It is certainly an odd duck instrument; it has six or seven strings and a rank of sympathetic strings that vibrate along with the player, it puts out rich harmonics and has a mellow, somewhat nasal sound. Although it has earned a considerable number of nods from twentieth-century composers, its historical repertory is relatively small; Attilio Ariosti remains the all-time champion among Baroque composers for the viola d'amore, having written 21 sonatas for the instrument. Next in line is Antonio Vivaldi, with eight concertos and four arias with viola d'amore used in a concertante format. This Virgin Classics disc, Vivaldi: Concerto per Viola D'amore contains all of these concerti, of which the last is a double concerto for viola d'amore and lute, and these are performed by the group that probably constituted the state of the art in Vivaldi interpretation in 2007, Fabio Biondi's Europa Galante.