Search - Antonio Vivaldi, Jordi Savall, Le Concert des Nations :: Vivaldi: La Viola da Gamba in Concerto

A thrilling ride in Venice, with a very special friend

Simon Zaleski | 09/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is simply thrilling. I bought it not out of interest in Vivaldi, whom like so many others I had not the highest esteem for, but purely out of curiousity about what a viola da gamba would be like in a concerto setting. Plus, Savall is one of my favorite musicians alive today.



It turns out that this CD includes a breathtaking variety of color, from the opening Concerto for violin, viola da gamba, and orchestra, to the closing Concerto "for many instruments" which is virtually a Baroque "concerto for orchestra" and is truly dazzling. The CD also includes some classic favorites such as the concerto for 4 violins.



The CD simply drew me into the exciting, decadent, and passionate world of Baroque Venice and the familiar but out-of-place sound of the viola da gamba was almost like a friend who came along for the ride. It was wonderful hearing the instrument put though its paces in the concerto setting, and Savall and Le Concert des Nations produced many thrilling performances in this disc. There were opportunties here to compare and contrast its sound with that of the Baroque cello and violin... This, along with a friend's performance of a Vivaldi concerto on original instruments and a disc by The Red Priest, has really helped turn me into a Vivaldi lover.



But it wasn't merely the gamba solos that enthralled me. The wonderful quality of tone by the hautboy, recorder, and chaleumeau soloists was wonderful as well...overall, the orchestra and soloists had a perfect feel for the music that is rivaled only by a very few.



Take a ride down the famous canals in a Baroque gondola and be sure to park it at the Pieta when you do. This disc is yet another of Savall's successes."

Ravishing Gallic Vivaldi

Mike Birman | Brooklyn, New York USA | 11/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The string sonorities on this splendid disc are as richly recorded as any I've ever heard. The sound has an almost tactile presence. There are moments of ravishing beauty where Savall and Le Concert des Nations play Vivaldi as if he were Debussy. The gamba can easily get lost in a recording but not here. Savall's playing provides a lovely balance between strength and a smooth, legato expressiveness that seems to float in the air like the fragrance of flowers. When Vivaldi is played with such an attention to fine detail, you feel as if you're strolling past The Campanile in early Spring after a light rain. Most Vivaldi recordings exhibit a blandness of conception. Lacking the sunny Italianate effervescence that should make Vivaldi's music bubble forth, they are the source of the complaints of sameness that plague Vivaldi's music. Listen to this splendid disc to hear how Vivaldi should be played and recorded. Here is music with its roots in the earth, even as it rises upwards on wings of celestial beauty.



Mike Birman"

Sound quality matches the music

Neil S. Cohen | Valley Stream, New York USA (home of "The Grateful | 08/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the best sounding string CD's I have heard. I know that Vivaldi can sometimes be trite, but this music is sublime and, if your system is up to it, you will feel like those wonderful strings are right in the room with you. Buy it with the Boccherini (which is also wonderful music, even if the sound quality, while excellent, isn't quite as good as the Vivaldi) for a double treat.



Enjoy."