February 19, 2013

  • Review: Vivaldi Bassoon Concerti

     

    Vivaldi: Concerti for Bassoon, Vol. 3
    Sergio Azzolini, bassoon; L’Aura Soave Cremona
    Naïve OP 30539
    Total Time:  70:25
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

     

    While many musicologists may joke that Vivaldi wrote the same solo concerto 600 times, this new series of releases may open up a deeper understanding to the sheer variety that this Baroque composer brought to a developing form.  Back in the 1920s, some benefactors purchased what was a collection of some 450 works surviving from Vivaldi’s private library.  Beginning in 2000, the undertaking began to begin recording this massive collection of undiscovered works while also preparing an edition of them for publication and wider availability.  The present release is the seventh disc in a subcategory of concerti releases, the third featuring bassoon, and the 54th overall release in a series scheduled to complete in 2015.

    Unclear at times who these 6 concerti were written for, it is likely that they were at least performed by Anton Moser.  Moser was a bassoonist at the court of Count Wenzel von Morzin until 1737 and likely performed some of the 39 concerti for the instrument.  Each of these works reveals a remarkable understanding of the bassoon’s capability as a virtuoso instrument.  In many cases, we hear the instrument reaching more into its tenor register for greater expressive quality.  Many a player will also recall the way Vivaldi likes to leap from one register to another in slower movements for more interesting emotional intensity.

    The opening Concerto in F (RV 485) makes for a good introduction to the period style and sound of the ensemble.  Soloist Sergio Azzolini is using an instrument from ca. 1710 and its sound will be quite different to those not used to the sound of an early bassoon.  There is a warmer tone overall and the instrument manages to blend rather well with the ensemble in the tutti sections where it will often follow the basso continuo line.  Vivaldi later transcribed the work for oboe (RV457).  The second concerto is in C Major (RV 474) and is written in a more obbligato style and the recording here shifts to one to a part accompaniment (note also the appearance of a lute in the accompaniment lending a rather unique quality to the texture.  The concerto features a wider use of arpeggio and rapid finger work making it a nice showpiece.  A more profound work follows in the Concerto in c (RV 480).  This is the only work in this key for bassoon and lends a sense of Sturm und Drang style in its final movement.  Even its opening feels as if it belongs to early Haydn, but with some parallels in the composer’s own Four Seasons concerti.  By the Concerto in G (RV 494) we have a work that is in a Rococo, or pre-Classical period concerto style that suggests what will appear more in the 1740s and 1750s.  The final Concerto in C (RV 475) is laid out in its score like Vivaldi’s violin concertos suggesting it may have begun as a work for himself.  It features more frequent cadenzas allowing freer fantasia-like improvisations.  The choices for improvisation are listed in the accompanying booklet and essentially open up further exploration and improvisation for later recordings wishing to interpret these sections differently.  Each of the works is rather dramatic and at times feels a bit operatic especially in the often gorgeous slow movements.

    The performances by L’Aura Soave Cremona are quite committed and are well-matched against the solo lines reflecting the ensemble’s commitment to the cantabile style of Italian musical institutions.  Sergio Azzolini is one of the finest bassoonists around and his performances here are simply amazing and seemingly effortless, which is some cases they certainly could be.  He makes some of the arpeggio passages seem as if they are far less difficult than one would think.  His tone and articulation make these concerti come alive and create a rather amazing listening experience.  The expressive playing in the slow movements are what help lift up these recordings from simple run-throughs of “lesser” Baroque music.  While the dexterity and sheer musicality of Azzolini’s virtuosity shape the outer movements of each concerto with dramatic flair.

    The program is also quite intelligently chosen to demonstrate the depth of style and compositional ability of Vivaldi overall.  It is quite an accomplishment to wade through so many works to help illustrate where the composer was headed towards the end of his life.