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The Four Seasons
Concerto in E major, op.8 no.1 RV269 "La primavera" (Spring) Concerto in G minor, op.8 no.2 RV315 "L'estate" (Summer) Concerto in F major, op.8 no.3 RV293 "L'autunno" (Autumn) Concerto in F minor, op.8 no.4 RV297 "L'inverno" (Winter)
Coupled with...
MARIANA SIRBU violin |
[59'42"] full price
Sonnets not included, but each movement is annotated with detail.
by René Chia
Spring starts with a spirited introduction marked by an unusual
continuo consisting of a chamber organ and a lute. Amusingly, in the
second movement, the goatherd's dog barks lethargically,
sounding very sleepy itself. The slow woof-woof of the
dog/violas seems like it's yawning. Like a lullaby, everything
about this performance is very gentle, almost lulling the
orchestra and audience to sleep. The pastoral dance itself does
not seem strong enough to awaken the sleepers - in fact, it
sounds like a stately court dance here.
In Summer, soloist Mariana Sirbu is excellent, while the continuo is soft and inconspicuous. Still, the overall effect is
more like a shower rather than a storm. In the middle movement, Sirbu has a pleasantly light vibrato. The concerto
ends with the 15-piece orchestra (including soloist, keyboardist and lutenist) generating a very fierce storm despite their
size.
The Winter must be really cold because both the teeth are chattering
and feet are stamping with such violence. The "Winter Largo" depicts
one sitting before a cosy fire, a very realistic portrayal of rain
plop-plopping onto the ground is achieved by the pizzicato strings. The
lute adds colour to the continuo and marvellously echoes the soloist's
tune. Sirbu plays her achingly sweet solo with light vibrato and sensitive
phrasing. Alas, my favourite movement is so short.
Except a few small areas, this interpretation is overall very beautiful, very lady-like and without any over-indulgence.
The recording is however, thanks to Philips' inconsistent engineering, somewhat muffled and boxed-in. If you are seeking a beautiful and sweet Four Seasons which isn't too extraordinary, this would be the one.
I Musici is a famous 12-member string orchestra which has recorded many fine performances of string music, including a previous version of The Four Seasons, with the rest of the Opus 8 concerti, currently available on Philips Duo 438 571. With this new digital recording, they continue to justify their fame and skill.
In the delightful countryside scenes of Autumn I, there are many ear-catching touches in the score, such as a little harpsichord flourish
here, a lute strumming there and the soloist's sensitive diminuendos. For
the sleeping drunkards, the violins draw a veil before the eyes, while the
lute adds a melancholic note to the music. Finally, in The Hunt, I Musici
make a compromise between the legato style of modern performances
and the rhythmic bounce of period style. Altogether a very musical
interpretation.
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V I V A L D I
Four Seasons A Year |
This disc is available at or can be ordered from, Tower (Pacific Plaza & Suntec City), HMV (The Heeren), Sing Discs (Raffles City) and Borders (Wheelock Place).
René Chia aspires to own as many versions of Le quattro stagioni as Han-Leon has for Sibelius CDs... give or take a million.
Back to the Classical Index!... or read more Baroque music reviews from the Inkvault Archives!
126: 25.12.97. up.11.6.1999 ©René Teo
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