Antonio VIVALDI (1658-1741)

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... Concerto in C major, op.8 no.6 RV180 "Il piacere" (Pleasure) Concerto in E flat major, op.8 no.5 RV253 "La tempesta di mare" (Seastorm) MARIANA SIRBU violin I Musici

PHILIPS Classics 446 699
[59'42"] full price

Sonnets not included, but each movement is annotated with detail.

by René Chia

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.

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.

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.

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.

Manze/Amsterdam Baroque Earthbeat! Ensemble Guidantus Amsterdam Guitar Trio Harp Consort (DHM) Sirbu/I Musici (Philips) Accardo/Soli di Napoli (Philips) Nishizaki/Capella Istropolitana (Naxos) Lamon/Tafelmusik (Sony) Toso/I Solist Veneti (Erato) Warren-Green/LCO (Virgin)

V I V A L D I Four Seasons A Year The Four Seasons Sonnets Inktroduction to Vivaldi Inktroduction to the Four Seasons

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.

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126: 25.12.97. up.11.6.1999 ©René Teo

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