Considering their high quality, and that there are 61 of them, the gentle art of recording has not been over-generous to Vivaldi's concertos and sinfonias for string orchestra; this recording, though containing several of which there are other versions, at last raises the available total above ten. There are some alternatives but, with the arrival of this recording you may happily discount them, for these performances on period instruments (no details given) have no serious rival. There is no clear distinction between a concerto and a sinfonia here, nor do any of the six three-movement or the three two-movement works follow the same formal pattern; the wind-less orchestral colour seems to emphasize rather than conceal the infinite variety of the Red Priest's imagination. RV114 has a chaconne (Giaconna) as its final movement but RV157 has one for its first, sitting on the bass of ''Dido's lament'' but much brisker. Several movements, quick and slow, use fugato 'expositions' and the wide range of textures includes the use of plucked strings as accompaniment. There are thematic affinities among the three movements of RV163. All this and much more is in this fine music, and if Vivaldi is apt to borrow then he does so from a good source—himself. The playing is alert, throughout the whole spectrum, the upper-string sound is pleasantly edgy and with tightly reined vibrato, and every strand is clearly audible in the recorded fabric. The clean sound of the CD is closely matched by that of the LP. If this non-vocal debut of Capella Savaria is typical of their work, let's have more of it, please.'