Vivaldi: Vocal and Orchestral Works

Advantages: Superb strings, Vivacious virtuoso violin
Disadvantages: None

..., cello, violine and bass continuo. 2. Cimento Dell'armonia E Dell'inventione, Op.8 Nos. 1-4: Le Quattro Stagioni Among his concertos, Vivaldi wrote a number of programmatic works. Concertos that tell a story.The Four Seasons is the most famous of these works. Vivaldi wrote this around 1725. Its title, Cimento Dell'armonia E Dell'inventione, translated means, The contest between harmony and invention. To achieve this, Vivali gives each movement a recurring theme and then adds contrast and decoration. Kennedy has made this concerto his own. He plays it with a passion and a brilliance. It shows Kennedy’s skills to the full with the contrasting moods and affects. i.La Primavera: Spring in E major The recurring theme in Spring is played by Kennedy’s solo violin representing a sleeping goatherd. The orchestral violins portray rustling... Read review

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Advantages: Wonderful transcriptions of JS Bach's majestic music; sensitive, tender, vivacious, effortless and fluid playing.
Disadvantages: Nil.

..., Baroque pieces are the devil to muster (and master) on any musical device, but the trumpet makes special demands on the player's breathing that the other plucked, hammered and bowed instruments do not. Being such a wimp at breath-holding and control myself, I listen amazed at Ms Balsom's sustained breaths on parts that run on without pause, such as those on the Allegro from the Vivaldi-inspired Concerto in D. The music on 'Works for Trumpet' occasionally ascends to such heights of sublimity that leave me on the verge of tears. Such heavenly ecstasy can be experienced with the Largo of the Concerto in C Minor (after Marcello) and the Adagio of the Concerto in D (after Vivaldi), which have Ms Balsom's reflective trumpet seeming all alone in a bittersweet melancholy, the companion organ sounding so hushed and distant. With the help... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Great performances of popular favourites and some rare gems
Disadvantages: Barely none, with perhaps slight issues with sound.

...Compilation albums of classical music are often a somewhat hit and miss affair. Great for the beginner, not so much for a seasoned collector. Therefore finding compilations that step outside of the norm in offering something else from the evergreens like Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Vivaldi's Four Seasons, or Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and include some rarer gems is a thing that is ever so more interesting. Such was the sensation when I chanced upon this album, entitled "Colours of the Orchestra", a collection of orchestral treats that in various ways showcase the versatility and richness of a symphony orchestra. There is a number of composers included, all sequenced alphabetically, this set containing people from A to G. This album was then followed by a second collection that continued from where the first one ended, but personally I haven... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful