Vivaldi 12 Sonatas

Discovered by Michael Talbot in 1973, the 12 sonatas of the Manchester manuscript are generally considered the high point of the composer's chamber music. They are performed here by Fabio Biondi, one of the most authoritative Vivaldi performers.

In his definitive study of the composer's life and work, Michael Talbot spoke of the prospect of 'perpetual discovery' in respect of Vivaldi, resulting from a neglect spanning centuries. 'Scarcely a year passes,' he wrote in 1978, 'without the announcement of some fresh discovery'. This CD gives an excellent example of what we might expect even now, 30 years after Talbot's study, with a collection of new finds from just the last year and a half!

Vivaldi’s sonatas op.5 appeared in 1716 and have some special features: The opus is declared as the second part of his op.2 and contains four solo sonatas and two trio sonatas, which was rather unusual at that time. In order to present their works to the audience, the 18th century composers tried to supply the title pages of the scores with as precise and detailed description of the contents.

Vivaldi’s Sonatas for two violins, anco senza basso se piace (also without bass if preferred), represent one of the innumerable peaks of his compositional prowess. They are structured in three movements, each of which develops in a bipartite manner, making evident reference to concerto form, with only the internal bipartite structure alluding to sonata form. This distinguishes Vivaldi’s approach to the duo without bass from that of some of his European colleagues, namely Telemann (Sonates sans basse, 1727) and Leclair (Sonates à deux violons sans basse Op.3, 1730).

Apollo’s Fire’s unique take on these masterpieces is finally an album! If you thought you knew The Four Seasons, be prepared for surprises! GRAMMY winners Jeannette Sorrell and Apollo’s Fire join with virtuoso violinist Francisco Fullana to present Vivaldi’s revolutionary acts of musical storytelling with fierce commitment.

Vivaldi’s lively and engaging earlier works need virtuoso playing – and here receive it… Like most composers of his time, Vivaldi began his publishing career with sonatas. His sonatas, although just as strongly marked by his distinctive musical personality, are played much less today than his admittedly more numerous concertos. The six here, not in fact from the published sets, are utterly unlike the familiar Corelli sonata model: no serene, rationally worked-out counterpoint, but brilliant violinistic gestures and capricious changes of texture, pace and mood…What they need is two violinists who are lively virtuosos, able to imitate each other closely, match exactly in articulation (or inexactly, if they choose) and frolic happily in thirds or sixths high on the E string (as required a good deal in the finales of RV68 and 70). Certainly that’s what they get here.

Loiselle and Boucher have selected transcriptions for cello and organ of some Vivaldi’s well-known works. Loiselle appears regularly at various music festivals and events in Canada and has played as a guest soloist with many different orchestras. Vincent Boucher is a very active recitalist. In 2002 he was awarded the prestigious Prix d’Europe by the Académie de musique du Québec.

Here's a second release from Brilliant Classics of the Neapolitan musician Francesco Mancini (1672–1737), a leading light in his city's culture of composition and education as director of the Conservatorio di S Maria di Loreto, maestro of the Royal Chapel and composer of 29 operas and more than 200 cantatas. His modern reputation largely rests on his recorder sonatas (available on 94058); the new release extends our knowledge of that cheerful aesthetic to his recorder concertos, in similarly sprightly, periodinstrument performances by young musicians with a background in this repertoire.