Vivaldi Cello Sonatas
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Antonio Vivaldi
Label: Gaudeamus
Magazine Review Date: 11/1991
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 123
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: CDGAD201
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Sonata for Cello and Continuo |
Antonio Vivaldi, Composer
Anthony Pleeth, Cello Antonio Vivaldi, Composer Robert Woolley, Harpsichord Suki Towb, Cello |
Author: John Duarte
Pleeth and Shepperd (CRD), using period instruments, are at present the only ones to offer all nine extant sonatas, a corpus of Vivaldi's works that is genuinely worthy of an integral recording. All are in slow-fast-slow-fast, four-movement form, seven da chiesa, but RV42 and 46 (with some dance titles) are da camera. Pleeth produces the stronger, more three-dimensional sound and, symbiotically, in all but two of the slow movements (RV39/I, 44/I) his is the slower pace and darker view of the music; Shepperd, more inclined to hairpin notes and to leave spaces in her lines, often sounds more wistful than poignant. One might view her approach as more 'feminine', but 'gentler' would perhaps be le mot plus juste. They both exercise their freedom to embellish, and in doing so, further assert their individuality.
The music opens the door to both Pleeth's and Shepperd's approaches, each presented with compelling advocacy. The intervening movements call for greater athleticism and, where there are abrupt changes of register, a nimble bow arm; both players have these attributes and for the most part strike similar tempos. Shepperd's leaner sound lends clarity and lightness, but her velocity is sometimes achieved at the expense of good intonation—which Pleeth's is not. Shepperd et al. give the Paris sonatas first, in order, but Pleeth and friends mix them with the others and add interest by using harpsichord and chamber organ in alternate sonatas.
Neither set is entirely user-friendly: the RV numbers, which, being ordered by key, correlate with neither the source—Paris edition ofc. 1740 or manuscript—nor the ordinal numbering of the former, can be found only by sifting through the annotation of the ASV set; they are shown on the CRD discs, but on these, each sonata occupies one track and the separate movements are not indexed. Both sets are superbly recorded, the CRD at a lower level, and despite my few reservations I would not care to be without either.'
The music opens the door to both Pleeth's and Shepperd's approaches, each presented with compelling advocacy. The intervening movements call for greater athleticism and, where there are abrupt changes of register, a nimble bow arm; both players have these attributes and for the most part strike similar tempos. Shepperd's leaner sound lends clarity and lightness, but her velocity is sometimes achieved at the expense of good intonation—which Pleeth's is not. Shepperd et al. give the Paris sonatas first, in order, but Pleeth and friends mix them with the others and add interest by using harpsichord and chamber organ in alternate sonatas.
Neither set is entirely user-friendly: the RV numbers, which, being ordered by key, correlate with neither the source—Paris edition of
Vivaldi Cello Sonatas
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