Luogo e data di registrazione		La Chaux-de-Fonds (Svizzera) - luglio 1975 (op. 7) Vienna (Austria) - aprile 1959 (op. 8, 1-4) Roma (Italia) - settembre 1961 (op. 8, 5-12)
	Registrazione: live / studio		studio
	Producer / Engineer		-
	Prima Edizione originale LP		Philips - 6700 100 - (2 LP's) - durata 51' 53" | 52' 40" - (p) 1976 - Analogico - (op. 7) Philips - 835 030 - (1 LP) - durata 43' 58" - (p) 1959 - Analogico - (op. 8, 1-4) Philips - 835 109 - (1 LP) - durata 37' 33" - (p) 1962 - Analogico - (op. 8, 5-8) Philips - 835 110 - (1 LP) - durata 41' 44" - (p) 1962 - Analogico - (op. 8, 9-12)
	Note		-

Leaving aside a dozen concertos published individually, in all probability without the composer’s authority, during his lifetime and shortly after, Vivaldi had nine sets of concertos engraved in Amsterdam between 1711 and 1730. These collections can be divided into two groups. The first group comprises four sets (Op. 3, 4, 8, and 9) dedicated to some “person of quality” and prefaced by a letter of dedication. All of them contain 12 works and have a fanciful collective title such as “L’Estro armonico” or “Il Cimento dell’armonia e dell’invenzione.” It is probable that Vivaldi paid for their engraving out of his own pocket and trusted to the generosity of the dedicatee for a defrayal of his expenses. The second group comprises five sets (Op. 6, 7, 10, 11, and 12) with no dedication. Except for Op. 7 they contain a mere six works and have prosaic titles such as “Concerti a cinque stromenti“ (Concertos in five instrumental parts), the title of both Op. 6 and Op. 7. One assumes that the initiative for their publication came from Amsterdam and that the publisher bore all the costs, including the composer’s payment. Indeed, the imprint of Op. 10-12 informs us that publication was undertaken at the expense of Michel Charles Le Cene, head of the renowned Amsterdam firm. While Op. 6 and 7, published around 1716-17 under the name of Jeanne Roger, Le Cène’s predecessor, are not explicit on this point, they seem to conform to the same pattern. Vivaldi eventually found this “commissioned” type of publication unsatisfactory; in 1733 he confided to an English visitor that he had decided not to send any more compositions to Amsterdam, since published works diminished the market for his more profitable trade in manuscripts! The distinction between collections with and without a dedication would be of little consequence if it did not explain, at least in part, some important musical differences between the works in each category. Because the dedicated collections were intended to appeal to the taste of the dedicatee as much as to that of the general public, they tend to possess a consistent, well-defined character. Thus the works in "La Stravaganza." Op. 4 (c. 1714), which is dedicated to Vivaldi’s pupil Vettor Dolfin, a Venetian noble, are particularly adventurous in harmony (a quality much prized by the Venetians), while “La Cetra,“ Op. 9 (1727), dedicated to Emperor Charles VI, cultivates an unusually lyrical species of virtuosity. By comparison the works in the undedicated sets are disparate in character and uneven in quality. Vivaldi’s publisher, and no doubt the composer himself, knew that the enthusiastic amateurs of north-west Europe, who would form a large part of the market, would not exercise the connoisseurship of a Venetian patrician or an Austrian monarch, but would respond favourably to a more catholic selection of works, from which obvious aesthetic or technical difficulties were excluded. CONCERTOS, OP. 7 Perhaps it was the publisher who suggested to Vivaldi that each of the two libri (volumes) making up Op. 7 should be headed by an oboe concerto. In 1715 the firm of Roger had brought out a very popular collection of concerti a cinque by another Venetian, Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751), which contained several oboe concertos, at that time a novelty in the published repertoire. The two oboe concertos Vivaldi included in his own Op. 7 conform to some extent to the rather old-fashioned Albinonian conception of a concerto “with” rather than “for” oboe, where the wind instrument’s role is often more one of partnership than dominance. Most of Vivaldi’s oboe concertos published subsequently, as well as the many which remained in manuscript, are more straightforwardly soloistic in character - more akin to violin concertos, in fact. So perhaps these two concertos are among Vivaldi's earliest for that instrument, which had been taught since 1707 to the girls of the Ospedale della Pietà, the charitable institution with which he was closely associated for much of his life. The 10 violin concertos of Op. 7 all employ ritornello form in their first movements: a tutti ritornello (or refrain) appears at intervals in various keys, the bridging passages (commonly called episodes) being given over to the soloist. The second movements display more variety. Five (Nos. 3, 7, 8, 10, and 11) are in a simple unitary (throughcomposed) form. Two (Nos. 4 and 9) feature in addition a running dialogue between soloist and tutti, while a further two (Nos. 1 and 12) are in a rudimentary ritornello form. Binary form is used in No. 2 and also, with varied repeats, in No. 6. The fifth concerto has a tripartite central movement recalling earlier examples by Torelli and Albinoni. The accompaniment in solo passages is even more diverse. Where single-line accompaniments are preferred, there is a choice between the full string ensemble with continuo, each instrument playing in the appropriate octave (No. 10), upper strings alone (Nos. 7, 8, and 12), and simple continuo (Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, and 9). The slow movement of No. 2 was possibly borrowed from a lost violin sonata, since binary movements of this type in Vivaldi’s concertos often turn out to be transplanted sonata movements! An accompaniment of two strands (first and second violins) is used in No. 11, and one of three strands in No. 3 (unison violins, viola, and bass) and No. 6 (upper strings). The finales are similar in form to the first movements, with two very interesting exceptions. The third concerto ends with what may have originated as a binary giga in a violin sonata, for in this movement the second violins and violas merely provide a harmonic filling, while the first violins contribute even less, being content to reinforce the solo instrument on the first note of each beat. The ninth concerto has a movement headed Alla breve, an indication that four beats are heard in the time of a breve rather than the more usual semibreve. Composers of Vivaldi’s time often reverted to this outdated manner of notation - as Bach was to do in the “Gratias agimus tibi” of his Mass in B minor, and Handel in the chorus “And with his stripes” in “Messiah” - when they wrote a movement in an austere contrapuntal style. But for the presence of two solo episodes in deference to the concerto medium, Vivaldi’s Alla breve is a typical specimen. It is, to be sure, rather impersonal and seems to be indebted to the music of Bolognese composers such as Torelli and the young G. M. Alberti (1685-1751), one of Vivaldi's first Italian emulators. Alberti’s concertos contain several finales of this kind, and the comparison gains in pertinence from the fact, coincidental or not, that the opening motive of the first movement of Vivaldi’s work is strikingly similar to that of the first concerto, also in B flat, of Alberti’s Op. 1 (1713). The Danish scholar Peter Ryom (from whose catalogue of Vivaldi’s works the numbers prefaced by “RV” are taken) has pointed out that four of the present concertos (Nos. 5, 10, 11, and 12) exist in alternative, presumably earlier manuscript versions in which at least one movement is entirely different. Vivaldi may indeed, as Ryom surmises, have revised these works on the occasion of their publication; or what we know as the "published" version may have been based on one of several versions already in circulation. Whatever the chronology and function of these alterations, we can be sure of one thing: Vivaldi regarded none of the versions as a “definitive” one to which no further modifications could be made. For him, as for most of his contemporaries, every finished work was at the same time potential raw material for a future work. How could composers have thought and acted otherwise when to refurbish an old work under the guise of a new one was often the only way to keep it in the repertoire. It is ironic that Vivaldi should have praised the firm of Roger for the accuracy of their engraving in the preface to his Op. 3, for they served him badly in Op. 7. Most of the errors are easily spotted and rectified (some of them crept in when the engraver momentarily forgot that he had to work from right to left on the plate to produce a line of symbols to be read from left to right on the paper!) but a few remain enigmatic. The quality of the music, too, sometimes falls below the sustained level of excellence found in Op. 3 and, especially, Op. 4. But there is enough fine music in the set (one might single out the slow movement of the third concerto and the entire fourth concerto) to justify a much better acquaintance with it. Michael Talbot CONCERTOS, OP. 8 The date of composition of Op. 8 is not certain: Vivaldi never dated any of his manuscripts nor did his publishers add a date. In the dedicatory letter, which was written in 1725, Vivaldi apologises for the fact that Count Wenceslas of Morzin has been familiar with “The Four Seasons,” the title given to the first four concertos of the 12, for some time already. Probably Op. 8 contained concertos that were written for different occasions and at different times, but all have in common a high degree of imagination and harmonic skill, and in fact Vivaldi gave this work the title “ll Cimento dell’armonia e dell’invenzione” (The Test of Harmony and Invention). The first edition appeared in Amsterdam and was published by Michel Charles Le Cène about 1725. The text of the present recording is based on this edition and on that published a few years later by Le Clerc-Boivin in Paris, which contains a small number of variants. These concertos are scored for violin solo, first and second violins, violas, cellos, and continuo, and consist of three movements, flanked by two quick movements. They are true violin concertos: the soloist is given the opportunity in the sections between the tutti to display a brilliant technique that is typical of Vivaldi. Each of the four concertos of “The Four Seasons” is preceded by a “key” sonnet; the poet is unknown but the poems could easily have been written by Vivaldi himself. Each sonnet bears a letter at the side of each episode which is repeated at the point in the score representing the same episode. Moreover Vivaldi gave “a clear explanation of all the things represented in them (the Seasons)” (as he wrote to Count Morzin in the dedication of Op. 8), that is he added explanatory notes to clarify these concertos. These works, remarkable for the precision of the descriptive detail, are among the first examples of socalled programme music and have remained among the greatest for the high quality of the musical invention, the perfection of form, and the delicacy of the writing. Of the next four concertos, Nos. 5-8, of Op. 8 only two bear a title; No. 5 “La tempesta di mare” (Storm at Sea) and No. 6 “ll piacere” (Pleasure). There is another concerto by Vivaldi called “La tempesta di mare.” This is Concerto No, 1 in F of Op. 10, which contains six concertos for transverse flute, strings, and continuo. It is interesting to compare how Vivaldi has treated the same subject in these two different works. This is not the only point of contact between Vivaldi’s Op. 8 and his Op. 10: the second movement of Concerto l\lo. 7 of Op. 8, a Largo in C minor, appears, in the same key, as the second movement of Concerto No. 6 of Op. 10. The fifth concerto of Op. 8, “La tempesta di mare,” is in E flat. The first movement begins with successive entries of the first and second violins, violas, and lower strings. Pauseless semiquaver figures convey very effectively the impression of stormy waters and the virtuoso episodes of the solo violin seem intended to evoke squalls of wind. The slow movement, a dialogue in a rather subdued tone between the solo violin and the other strings, seems like a lull in the storm caused by the dropping of the wind. The respite does not last, however. The heavily accented notes and the rapid descending scale passages of the final Presto soon recall the tempest. The sixth concerto in C, called "Il piacere,” has the only title among those given to the concertos of Op. 8 with no descriptive intention. The “Pleasure” is not that of the senses - though one cannot fail to be struck by the great beauty of the orchestration - but of an acquired state of well-being, of serenity. The first Allegro flows very freely. The episodes for the solo violin, one of which, set in the upper limits of the instrument's range, is technically very difficult, are of the same character. The Largo begins with a descending chromatic theme two bars long announced homophonically by all the strings except the solo violin. When the latter enters with a very cantabile melody (the indication on the score is Vivaldi’s own), the rest of the orchestra accompanies it playing in the same rhythmic homophonic style as the opening of the movement. Other examples of this method of accompanying a solo in a slow movement can be found in Vivaldi and also in the works of Albinoni and Bonporti. The effect is of the whole orchestra participating in the melody of the solo voice. The last movement is a strongly rhythmic Allegro. Its theme is characterised by widely spaced intervals which compel the strings to miss a string. This leap is also found in some of the solo episodes. The first movement of the seventh concerto in D minor is very cantabile in character. The accompaniment to the solo episodes is provided sometimes by the continuo, sometimes by the rest of the strings holding chords, and sometimes by the first violins and continuo. This subtlety has the effect of increasing the variety and interest of the solo passages. The Largo (as already stated, this movement appears again as the rniddle movement of Concerto No. 6 of Op. 10) consists of a simple, almost vocal, melody entrusted to the solo violin and supported by a constantly moving accompaniment of quavers from the rest of the strings. The last movement has a very brilliant theme with a constant rhythm which returns in every tutti passage. In this movement the solo violin makes frequent use of double-stopping. The character of the very expressive movement which opens the eighth concerto in C minor is underlined by the use of numerous appoggiaturas. The Largo which follows is of outstanding beauty. It begins with strings and solo violin playing together but soon the soloist takes leave of the orchestra and to the accompaniment of the continuo alone elaborates a noble melody through various modulations. When, however, the original key (B flat) is reached again, the rest of the orchestra joins in to finish the movement. The final Allegro, with its rhythmic vitality and the brilliance of the solo passages, forms a fitting conclusion to the deep spirituality of the second movement. On the solo part of Concertos Nos. 9 and 12 are written the following words: “This concerto can also be played on the oboe", in these two works Vivaldi avoids his usual style of writing for a violin concerto so that the music keeps within the range and technical possibilities of both oboe and violin. It is probable that this was a concession to prevailing taste, for at that time the oboe was a very popular instrument in Venice. Vivaldi himself wrote several concertos for the oboe and he used it together with other wind instruments in various concertos. The first movement of the ninth concerto in D minor is characterised by a syncopated figure in the violins which is repeated in every tutti and which sometimes appears in the solo episodes. The descending chromatic passages with which the violins close nearly all the tutti are very effective. In the second movement, for the first time in “Il Cimento,” the first and second violins and violas are silent, the sweet and noble melody being entrusted to the solo violin accompanied only by the continuo. The third movement begins with a remarkably brilliant harmonic stroke: a chord of the third and sixth on the tonic which at once resolves into an inversion of the dominant and delays for a brief instant the affirmation of the tonality. Here again Vivaldi repeats the same material, either in the major or the minor, in each tutti. This common device gives the quick movements their sense of unity and coherence, which is yet further heightened by the solo episodes, in which thematic material is cleverly mixed with imaginative and virtuoso passages. The tenth concerto, in B flat, is entitled “La caccia” (The Hunt). This is the only one in the last group of four concertos in Op. 8 to bear a title. It is interesting to note how the same subject gives rise to the same state of mind in the composer. This is especially true of the first movement which at once brings to mind the other famous “Hunt” of Op. 8, viz. the third movement of Concerto No. 3, “Autumn.” As in the preceding concerto the slow movement is entrusted to the solo violin and continuo alone. Often the last solo episode of the Allegro movements gives a hint of what the final cadence will be, without, nevertheless, departing from the strict rhythmic flow of the movement. The first and last movements of the eleventh concerto in D are in fugal style, a form not often used by Vivaldi. In the first movement the solo violin, which in this concerto has a particularly important role, weaves intricate patterns as the rest of the orchestra develops the thematic material. In the deeply felt Largo the solo violin is accompanied by the strings without the continuo. As in Concerto No. 9, the solo part of the Concerto No. 12 in C can be played either on the oboe or on the violin. Whereas the first movement has a vigorous tunefulness and the last is richly sonorous throughout with no relaxation of the rhythm, the slow movement, in C minor, is pervaded by a touch of melancholy which can always be found in Vivaldi’s work. Vittorio Negri