Istituto Per I Beni Musicali In Piemonte - Vivaldi Edition
concerti per strumenti a fiato vol. 3
tesori del piemonte vol. 22

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (1678-1741) - Concerti per fagotto e oboe

Concerts for bassoon and oboe.

Concerti RV 481, 461, 545, 498, 461, 501

Sergio Azzolini (bassoon. Reconstructed instrument, built from Vivaldi's notes by renowned musical instrument builder Peter de Koningh.)
Hans Peter Westermann (oboe. He built the instrument himself)
Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca

Recorded in August and September 2003 in Chiesa di S. Vigilio Col. S. Martino/Italy in cooperation with the WDR (German tv station)
Label: Opus 111

A bassoon has a mysterious and sensible sound. It can sound warm and comforting, express melancholy as well as desire and ferociousness. Vivaldy wrote over 30 concertos for this instrument. This recording was made using a specially reconstructed 4 key bassoon as it was used in Vivaldi's times. And the oboe in this recording was built by the oboe artist himself. 

01. (3:42 min)  Concerto RV 481 in Re minore per fagotto, archi e basso continuo: I. Allegro
02. (3:58 min)  Concerto RV 481 in Re minore per fagotto, archi e basso continuo: II. Larghetto
03. (2:39 min)  Concerto RV 481 in Re minore per fagotto, archi e basso continuo: III. Allegro molto

04. (3:54 min)  Concerto RV 461 in La minore per oboe, archi e basso continuo: I. Allegro non molto
05. (2:35 min)  Concerto RV 461 in La minore per oboe, archi e basso continuo: II. Larghetto
06. (2:42 min)  Concerto RV 461 in La minore per oboe, archi e basso continuo: III. [...]

07. (3:49 min)  Concerto RV 545 in Sol maggiore per oboe e fagotto, archi e basso continuo: I. Andante molto
08. (2:51 min)  Concerto RV 545 in Sol maggiore per oboe e fagotto, archi e basso continuo: II. Largo
09. (3:24 min)  Concerto RV 545 in Sol maggiore per oboe e fagotto, archi e basso continuo: III. Allegro molto

10. (4:08 min)  Concerto RV 498 in La minore per fagotto, archi, e basso continuo: I. Allegro: piano sempre
11. (4:03 min)  Concerto RV 498 in La minore per fagotto, archi, e basso continuo: II. Larghetto
12. (2:49 min)  Concerto RV 498 in La minore per fagotto, archi, e basso continuo: III. Allegro

13. (2:49 min)  Concerto RV 451 in Do maggiore per oboe, archi e basso continuo: I. Allegro molto
14. (3:18 min)  Concerto RV 451 in Do maggiore per oboe, archi e basso continuo: II. Largo
15. (3:17 min)  Concerto RV 451 in Do maggiore per oboe, archi e basso continuo: III. Allegro

16. (1:59 min)  Concerto RV 501 'La Notte' in Si bemolle maggiore per fagotto, archi e basso continuo: I. Largo
17. (1:35 min)  Concerto RV 501 'La Notte' in Si bemolle maggiore per fagotto, archi e basso continuo: II. 'Fantasmi': Presto | Presto | Adagio
18. (2:44 min)  Concerto RV 501 'La Notte' in Si bemolle maggiore per fagotto, archi e basso continuo: III. 'Il Son(n)o'
19. (3:15 min)  Concerto RV 501 'La Notte' in Si bemolle maggiore per fagotto, archi e basso continuo: IV. 'Sorge l'Aurora': Allegro

Customer Review from Amazon:
Startlingly Effective Performances, September 16, 2004
By J Scott Morrison 
Quite by chance I heard the first band on this CD, the opening Allegro movement of Vivaldi's bassoon concerto, RV 481, on BBC Radio 3's program, 'CD Review,' and I was immediately struck by the brio and winning confidence of the playing of soloist and ensemble alike. I'm not generally a huge fan of Vivaldi, particularly in his chug-a-chug mode, and although this first movement is one of those passages, the playing here was so infectious that I had to hear the whole thing. I was not disappointed. The following movement, for instance, a Larghetto with lots of double-dotting played with equally extraordinary ferocity and rough good humor by bassoonist Sergio Azzolino, won me over completely. Azzolino, a one-time pupil of the master bassoonist, Klaus Thunemann, is a marvelous player who combines secure technique with dramatic flair. The CD contains a total of six concerti, three for solo bassoon, two for solo oboe (played by Hans Peter Westermann, Azzolino's equal) and one double concerto for both soloists. Of course, Vivaldi wrote many concerti for these instruments and one might think they tend to sound alike (and indeed they all DO sound like Vivaldi!) but they each have their own felicities. In the A minor oboe concerto, RV 461, for instance, the long lines of the oboe solo are accompanied by violins and violas only. The justly famous bassoon concerto, RV 501, called 'La Notte,' is in five movements played without interruption leading to the evocative 'Sorge l'aurora' ('Sunrise'), another of Vivaldi's nonpareil tone pictures. The double concerto, RV 545, has lovely combinations of the two instruments, as well as clever canonic writing.

The soloists (as well as the players in the string ensemble, Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca) play baroque instruments. I particularly liked the sound of the baroque organ (Gianpietro Rosato) featured at times in the continuo. The solo double-reed instruments have an appealing huskier sound than that of modern instruments. This really seems to fit the heartiness of Vivaldi's music. Perhaps that's one reason I liked this CD so much--the sound seems appropriate to the pastoral and rustic effects of Vivaldi's music.

There are many other recordings of these concerti (including a wonderful double-CD played by Thunemann on a modern instrument) and I've heard many of them, but I like these performances best.

Album Collateral:
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