Ensemble Zefiro offer a cool and finely polished reading of the Tenth Serenade for 13 instruments. Their articulation is clear and precise, their ensemble is as accurate as one can ever ask of a diverse wind group, their collective tone is light and clear (they use period instruments). The first movement has some attractively elegant playing; the marvellous Adagio emerges a little more objective in feeling than perhaps the music would justify – there is not much of that saturated, warm sound that it seems to ask for and the individual soloists (oboe, clarinet, basset-horn) seem emotionally reticent although their discreet musicianship cannot be faulted. The second Minuet is a particular delight at their quickish tempo (the first is just a shade stolid) and has some nice details of timing. They clearly treat the Romance as the heart of the work, choosing a slowish tempo for the main section and playing with a good deal of intensity, and the middle section, too, is appealing, poised in rhythm and coloured by the soft tone of the agile first bassoonist. I enjoyed the variations just as much; they are very tellingly characterized, and the gorgeous penultimate one, with its shimmering clarinets and basset-horns, is truly magical, the lightness Zefiro bring to the final Minuet variation ensures that the magic is not soon dispelled. Then there is a spirited and witty finale. Those who are attuned to the individuality of English wind playing may find this version – the players’ names are a mixture of Italian, French, German and Spanish, and the recording was made in Switzerland – slightly reserved in its approach, but the playing is certainly very accomplished and I am sure the performance is one that will continue to give pleasure over repeated hearings.
As on their earlier CD of Mozart Serenades (Auvidis Astree, 3/97), Ensemble Zefiro offer one of the early divertimentos with english horns as a makeweight. Here, as there, the performance is crisp and direct, the staccatos perhaps rather over-articulated at some points (that happens occasionally in K361 too); a little more affectionate shaping might have helped. The recording is clear but slightly dry.'