Also, La Folia. Francisco Fullana and Alan Choo, violins; Jeannette Sorrell, Apollo’s Fire. Avie AV2485.
By John J. Puccio
Oh, no! Not another Four Seasons! Does one really need another Four Seasons? Probably as much as you need another Beethoven Fifth Symphony, right? But this one is a little different being a historically informed performance by a period-instruments band. Which narrows down the field at least a little bit in that there aren’t that many period-instrument ensembles around anymore. Still, conductor and harpsichordist Jeannette Sorrell founded Apollo’s Fire, also known as the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra, in 1992, and it has proved its worth ever since.
I’ve reviewed a number of recordings from Ms. Sorrell and Apollo’s Fire over the years, and the thing that has always struck me is how sensibly they all unfold. There is nothing ostentatious, gung-ho, overboard, or gratuitous about the performances. Soloist Francisco Fullana’s violin tone is sweet and beguiling; the orchestra plays with enthusiasm and finesse; and Ms. Sorrell leads the players in a well-judged production. Very nice, even if you’ve heard these pieces a hundred times before.
I hardly need to say anything more about the primary works here, the four concertos known today as The Four Seasons by the Italian Baroque composer, violinist, teacher, and Catholic priest Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). Practically everyone recognizes the little tone poems with their chirping birds, galumphing horses, barking hounds, and dripping icicles. Vivaldi meant the music to accompany four descriptive sonnets, and they comprise the first four sections of a longer work the composer wrote in 1723 titled Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione ("The Contest between Harmony and Invention"). Although I doubt that most people remember much about the other concertos in the set, they cannot easily forget these first four.
But, again, why another recording? Ms. Sorrell tells us that Vivaldi “set out to prove that music--instrumental music--is so powerful that it can tell a story without words. In this case, the story is about life in the Italian countryside, the lives of the contadini--the Italian peasants of the 18th century who lived and breathed and celebrated with the changing of the seasons. My role in performing The Four Seasons is to conjure a story.” All very well, of course, but isn’t that what every musician who’s ever performed The Four Seasons tries to do? The question, I suppose, is how well they succeed, and Ms. Sorrell and company succeed very well, indeed.
Good booklet notes, by the way. They not only give us a solid introduction to the Seasons, they provide valuable information on each of the concertos as well. We get each of the poems on which Vivaldi based the music, a little of the music itself in manuscript form, and explanations of each of the stories. If we’re going to use the music to visualize the narratives in our head, we have to know as much as possible about them. The booklet provides that information.
So, how do things come off? About as well as any I’ve heard, and that’s most of them. It’s especially well considering the period instruments they use, which can sometimes be a bit harsh or even strident on competing discs, and the HIP tempos and contrasts used, which can sometimes be a bit extreme in the competition. In fact, the instruments sound smoothly reverberant, and the tempos Ms. Sorrell adopts are refreshingly moderate. Perhaps the overall impression one gets of the music is not so imaginative as, say, that of the Philharmonia Baroque or the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble’s nor as exhilarating as those from La Petite Bande, Tafelmusik, or the English Concert, but Apollo’s Fire is, nevertheless, more than adequate in all departments. Most important, they convey the spirit and picturesque qualities of Vivaldi’s little tone paintings, creating vivid and lasting images in our mind’s of the stories they tell. It’s an altogether pleasant experience.
Accompanying The Four Seasons Ms. Sorrell has paired Vivaldi’s trio sonata La Folia (“Madness”), done up by Ms. Sorrell, Francisco Fullana, and Alan Choo. The title derives from the “folly” of a mad dance and probably originated in Portugal. A booklet note indicates it should be played with a “haughty sarabande-like rhythm, full of the tension of courtship and seduction.” That’s the way the players approach it here, with an elegant abandon.
Producer Erica Brenner and engineer Daniel Shores recorded the music at Avon Lake United Church of Christ, Avon Lake, Ohio in April 2021. As usual with an Avie recording, the sound is excellent. It’s widely spread across the sound stage, with excellent positioning of the instruments spatially and fine dimensionality. Things are a tad close, but it provides a precise definition, with little to no brightness or heaviness. The acoustic setting is just resonant enough to give the ensemble a little additional body. So, it is a good, well-balanced production, among the best you’ll find in this music.
JJP
To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click below:
By John J. Puccio
I’ve reviewed a number of recordings from Ms. Sorrell and Apollo’s Fire over the years, and the thing that has always struck me is how sensibly they all unfold. There is nothing ostentatious, gung-ho, overboard, or gratuitous about the performances. Soloist Francisco Fullana’s violin tone is sweet and beguiling; the orchestra plays with enthusiasm and finesse; and Ms. Sorrell leads the players in a well-judged production. Very nice, even if you’ve heard these pieces a hundred times before.
I hardly need to say anything more about the primary works here, the four concertos known today as The Four Seasons by the Italian Baroque composer, violinist, teacher, and Catholic priest Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). Practically everyone recognizes the little tone poems with their chirping birds, galumphing horses, barking hounds, and dripping icicles. Vivaldi meant the music to accompany four descriptive sonnets, and they comprise the first four sections of a longer work the composer wrote in 1723 titled Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione ("The Contest between Harmony and Invention"). Although I doubt that most people remember much about the other concertos in the set, they cannot easily forget these first four.
But, again, why another recording? Ms. Sorrell tells us that Vivaldi “set out to prove that music--instrumental music--is so powerful that it can tell a story without words. In this case, the story is about life in the Italian countryside, the lives of the contadini--the Italian peasants of the 18th century who lived and breathed and celebrated with the changing of the seasons. My role in performing The Four Seasons is to conjure a story.” All very well, of course, but isn’t that what every musician who’s ever performed The Four Seasons tries to do? The question, I suppose, is how well they succeed, and Ms. Sorrell and company succeed very well, indeed.
So, how do things come off? About as well as any I’ve heard, and that’s most of them. It’s especially well considering the period instruments they use, which can sometimes be a bit harsh or even strident on competing discs, and the HIP tempos and contrasts used, which can sometimes be a bit extreme in the competition. In fact, the instruments sound smoothly reverberant, and the tempos Ms. Sorrell adopts are refreshingly moderate. Perhaps the overall impression one gets of the music is not so imaginative as, say, that of the Philharmonia Baroque or the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble’s nor as exhilarating as those from La Petite Bande, Tafelmusik, or the English Concert, but Apollo’s Fire is, nevertheless, more than adequate in all departments. Most important, they convey the spirit and picturesque qualities of Vivaldi’s little tone paintings, creating vivid and lasting images in our mind’s of the stories they tell. It’s an altogether pleasant experience.
Accompanying The Four Seasons Ms. Sorrell has paired Vivaldi’s trio sonata La Folia (“Madness”), done up by Ms. Sorrell, Francisco Fullana, and Alan Choo. The title derives from the “folly” of a mad dance and probably originated in Portugal. A booklet note indicates it should be played with a “haughty sarabande-like rhythm, full of the tension of courtship and seduction.” That’s the way the players approach it here, with an elegant abandon.
Producer Erica Brenner and engineer Daniel Shores recorded the music at Avon Lake United Church of Christ, Avon Lake, Ohio in April 2021. As usual with an Avie recording, the sound is excellent. It’s widely spread across the sound stage, with excellent positioning of the instruments spatially and fine dimensionality. Things are a tad close, but it provides a precise definition, with little to no brightness or heaviness. The acoustic setting is just resonant enough to give the ensemble a little additional body. So, it is a good, well-balanced production, among the best you’ll find in this music.
JJP
To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click below:
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