Vivaldi F. XII, n, 38 -- looking for CD

[Mandolino D'Amore]

I'm looking for a recording of the

Vivaldi Concerto in D Minor
for Viola D'Amore, Lute, Strings and Harpsichord, F. XII, n, 38

It's the prettiest Vivaldi mandolin concerto I've heard! (Well, I think this is the one I heard.)

I've only found this Dm concerto listed on one album ... #but it was on vinyl, and I'd like to find a CD recording:

VIVALDI: #CONCERTI FOR MANDOLIN AND OTHER FAVORITES
— CBS MASTER WORKS 35878 (Vinyl)
THE GERMAN STRING ORCHESTRA, SIEGFIED BEHREND.

SIDE ONE:
- Concerto in C Major for Mandolin, Strings and Harpsichord, F. V, n. 1....
- Concerto in D Minor for Viola D'Amore, Lute, Strings and Harpsichord, F. XII, n, 38...
- Concerto in C Major for Two Oboes, Strings and Harpsichord, F. VII, n. 3....

SIDE TWO:
- Concerto in C FMajor for Two Mandolins, Two Guitars, Strings and Harpsichord, F. XII, n. 37....
- Trio Sonata in C Major For Mandolin, Lute and Continuo, F. XVI, n, 3....

[Eugene]

Greetings mandolino,
I love the d-minor concerto too, even more than the famous D-major concerto. #The F catalog of Vivaldi's works is a little antiquated. #Most people are now using the RV catalog to refer to Vivaldi's works. #The piece you're seeking is RV 540 and is still frequently recorded. #If you like the sound of gut-strung violins and period instrument recordings, my favorite CD of these works is:
Il Giardino Armonico. 1993. Concerti per liuto e mandolino. Teldec, 91182.

[Tony R.]

Hello, Mandolino D'amore.
I've not heard Eugene's recommendation, but you could also try Paul O'Dette with the Parley of Instruments on Hyperion KA66160. This disc has the Viola D'amore and Lute Concerto as well as all the usual goodies.

[Plamen Ivanov]

Hello Mandolino D`Amore,

I have the RV 540 on a cassette tape, performed by "The English Concert". Roy Goodman plays Viola D`Amore and Nigel North the lute. Besides I have also a whole casette with Vivaldi concerts for viola D`Amore - RV 392, RV 393, RV 394, RV 395, RV 396, RV 397. The orchestra is "I MUSICI", the viola player - Massimo Paris. I have also the one that Eugene mentioned performed by the "Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble" and Monica Hugget on the viola D`Amore. That`s just a small part of my teenage Vivaldi madness heritage. I don`t know, if these recordings are available on CDs. Try to find them. If you don`t succeed and if you really want to have them, I`ll send them to you. Another good idea is to bring this vynil to a record studio and to ask for transferring the record on CD. Two days ago I spoke with the guys from the studio, where I make recordings about the same concerning Mozart`s pieces and they said, that it`s possible and it`s not just transfer, but also clearing the sound, editing, etc.

Good luck!

[Eugene]

The Paul O'Dette recording on Hyperion is a little odd in that Mr. O'Dette used the mandolino for all the pieces except RV 540 on this recording. His playing is always marvelous, but I do favor the plucked soloist in the next octave lower for the lute trios and the concerto in D, RV 93.

[Mandolino D'Amore]

Thanks everybody!!!

I purchased:

Vivaldi: Lute Concertos
Conductor: Paul Kuentz
Performer: Narciso Yepes, Monique Frasca-Colombier
Label: Deutsche Grammophon ##429528
December 10, 1990
ASIN: B000001GCK
http://www.amazon.com/exec....assical (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000001GCK/qid=1084660329/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/103-4471627-3489402?v=glance&s=classical)

-- and --

Vivaldi: Concerti
Performer: Lisa Beznosiuk, Margaret Faultless
Label: Linn Records #151
November 14, 2000
ASIN: B000050I1S
http://www.amazon.com/exec....assical (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000050I1S/qid=1084819724/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/103-4471627-3489402?v=glance&s=classical)

... still wondering if anybody has heard the version I mentioned:

VIVALDI: #CONCERTI FOR MANDOLIN AND OTHER FAVORITES
— CBS MASTER WORKS 35878 (Vinyl)
THE GERMAN STRING ORCHESTRA, SIEGFIED BEHREND

... or if you know of its whereabouts on CD.

Thanks again,

Mandolino d'Amore

[Eugene]

I'm familiar with Yepes's recording on Deutsche Grammophon; it is a nice, modern-instrument performance on guitar and modern mandolin (complete with mandolin tremolo in the slow movement of RV 558). #Siegfried Behrend was a very well-known musician, but I have not heard his performance of Vivaldi.

[Tony R.]

Hi Eugene and 'Mandolino D'amore.'
Sorry Eugene I'd completely forgotten that Paul O'Dette's choice of instruments on the disc I recommended were quite controversial!
As to one of the discs Mandolino purchased (the Linn one) -that has some wonderful playing on it from Liz Kenny (Lute) & Cat Macintosh,(Viola D'amore) and comes highly recommended.
(Mind you, there's some weird Oboe Playing on that Disc....... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif )

[spinhead]

Oh, I know it's been 16 years, but wanted you to know @Mandolino D'Amore that I've loved that exact version for a very long time. Lost my copy in my divorce 18 years ago. Only available on vinyl, but now that I've remembered it (on a baroque plucked instrument binge) I'm going to pick up a good condition used copy from Discogs.com and digitize it myself.

[vonbiber]

I have the Concerto per viola d'amore, liuto, archi e basso continuo RV540
on a CD (Musica per mandolino e liuto, naïve OP30429) with Rolf Lislevand
on luths, baroque guitar and mandolins

[Eugene]

Since this chat has been resurrected, there are a couple additions to my short list of period-instrument favorites that aren't yet listed here (although Il Giardino Armonico's remains my favorite):

—Pietro Prosser, Mario Paladin, and L'Arte dell'Arco (Federico Guglielmo, cond.). 2010. Vivaldi: Mandolin and Lute Concertos. Brilliant Classics, 93810. (Marvelous and including all the mandolin works on period mandolins.)

—Rachel Barton Pine, Hopkinson Smith, and Ars Antigua. 2015. Vivaldi: The Complete Viola d'Amore Concertos. Cedille, CDR 90000 159. (RV 540 is the only plucked-string work on this disc, so perhaps a little too peripheral to this forum.)

[Joe Bartl]

Was YouTube around in 2004? In any case, as usual with that venue, you won't lack for a variety of performances of this piece.

Joe

[standing.wav]

Has anyone listened to this record? I'm revisiting it after seeing this thread. I can't find much info on the ensemble, but I'm fairly certain they're playing modern instruments.
189554
189555

[Louise NM]

Definitely modern instruments. In their videos they are using modern bows, metal-wrapped strings, chin rests, shoulder rests, lots of vibrato, etc. The sound is also modern. They seem to have been founded in 1959, which was before the idea of historically informed performance was widespread, and it looks like they never climbed on that bandwagon.

[Eugene]

Of course, Musical Heritage Society's specialty was repackaging existing recordings for their own label, directly marketed to semi-gullible "members" (and I was one in the late '80s–early '90s).

I Solisti Veneti under Scimone was a modern-instrument chamber orchestra that originally recorded for Erato Records (the label was subsequently gobbled up by the Warner conglomerate). They seemed to be really prolific on that label in the 1980s. (If you're curious about the industry context that gave rise to the chamber orchestra this video about Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" is a nice overview (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iDQTuC0C8Y), the discussion of chamber orchestras beginning at 2:57. Note that I Solisti Veneti is not one of the ensembles discussed; this is only for context.)

A number of I Solisti Veneti recordings have come and gone from my own shelves. Several remain, but oddly, none that I've kept discusses the ensemble or its history in the liner notes. I do have a recording they made of the Vivaldi mandolin works, but the one with Orlandi and Frati as soloists. My own impression of Scimone's direction is of uniform consistency: always precise and disciplined, but frankly, they sometimes seem too mechanical in tempo and dynamic for my personal tastes, too dully "square." Of the recordings with which I'm familiar, these negatives were most evident to me in their 1985 recording of Tartini violin concerti.