Manze Vivaldi

'Andrew Parrott's interpretation of these concertos is an imaginative one & ….effective. John Holloway is the solo violinist in each work and he gives stylish performances.’ –Gramophone
‘Manze’s feeling for detail, his lightly articulated bowing, in a word his sensibility, bring out the charm of Vivaldi’s music; and in this set, with its many affecting slow movements….. the charm is considerable’ –Gramophone

Antonio Vivaldi - Concert for the Prince of Poland
Academy of Ancient Music - Andrew Manze
EAC+LOG+CUE | WV: 300 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Harmonia Mundi # HMX 2907230 | Country/Year: Europe 2002, 1998
Genre: Classical | Style: Baroque

…No doubt the Prince of Poland himself would have been thrilled to hear a concert in his honour performed as finely as it is here by Andrew Manze and the Academy of Ancient Music.

Here, at a bargain price, is a real treat: the lively, elegant, musically alert Andrew Manze leading and playing a handful of wonderful Vivaldi concerti preceded by a little Sinfonia. The concerti, all backed up by the usual strings, are for various combinations of instruments. Two are straight violin concerti (playful and bright). One is for violin and three echo violins that repeat what the lead violin has done, but at a distance from the other performers (very entertaining). The most beautiful is for lute and viola d'amore (a gentle, dark texture).

Here we have a disc recorded in July of 1996 but not released until September of 2000. Additionally, we have Christopher Hogwood, a conductor who led the Academy of Ancient Music in some of their most successful recordings but who now does not have a steady contract. And we have Andrew Manze, a violinist who was a hired soloist with the Academy at the time of the recording but is now its music director. What does this suggest? It suggests a disc that languished in the record company's vaults until Manze's name and fame got it released.

Andrew Manze is not only a superb violinist – check out his Biber sonatas – but also a superb music director. Since taking over the calcified old Academy of Ancient Music and bringing the group with him to Harmonia Mundi, he has produced a stunning series of recordings: a couple of Vivaldi discs, a wonderful set of Handel's Opus 6 concertos, a sublime disc of the Bach concertos. Now they have released Geminiani's Concerto Grossi after Corelli's Op. 5, and it is their best yet.

Listening to the sonatas in this 1993 Harmonia Mundi recording after seeing the written scores, it is easier to understand the process of converting dots into music. Although the title page (in Vivaldi's showiest calligraphy) reads Suonate a Violino e Basso per il Cembalo (ie keyboard), this recording injects extra colour - Nigel North adding to the continuo, playing archlute, theorbo and guitar. His plucked strings are a welcome feature throughout, being especially prominent in the dramatic opening to Sonata number 7 in c. Elsewhere, Andrew Manze provides his own elaborations in the slow movements, for which the scores do not write out embellishments for the repeated sections.

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.

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.

Pachelbel / Handel / Vivaldi / Albinoni & Others
The English Concert - Trevor Pinnock
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 342 MB | Full Artwork: 100 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Archiv Produktion # 415 518-2 | Country/Year: Germany 1985
Genre: Classical | Style: Baroque

The English Concert is a baroque orchestra playing on period instruments based in London. Founded in 1972 and directed from the harpsichord by Trevor Pinnock for 30 years, it is now directed by harpsichordist Harry Bicket. The orchestra has been led by Nadja Zwiener since September 2007. The English Concert was founded by Trevor Pinnock and others in November 1972. The date of foundation is often given as 1973, probably because they started with seven people and only later progressed onto the orchestral repertoire as their number increased. They were one of the first orchestras dedicated to performing baroque and early classical music on period instruments, their repertoire from then to now ranging approximately from Monteverdi to Mozart…