Antonio Vivaldi was not simply Venice's most famous son but also one of the most prolific composers of the Baroque period. Although priesthood was his eventual career path his reputation was as the most original, popular, and influential Italian composer of his time, His output runs to more than five hundred concertos, dozens of operas, cantatas and trio sonatas. We are still counting as they are unearthed. When Igor Stravinsky notoriously dismissed Vivaldi’s entire career as: “[someone] who wrote the same concerto four hundred times.” this was not only a most unkind comment, but absolutely untrue as this collection demonstrates.

Venice during Vivaldi’s time fed on novelty. Venetians always wanted something different, something that would literally shock them. These were the same people who loved masks. To be able to satisfy Venetian taste for 20-30 years Vivaldi mirrored these needs by inventing “new stuff” and enjoying himself at the same time.

These seven Cello Concertos were written between the late 1700s and the mid-1720s. From them one can safely conclude that Vivaldi had a fairly good knowledge of the cello. He wrote for it with such dexterity and expertise and his innate feeling for the soul of the instrument demonstrates great empathy. Each concerto is different. Each shows a facet of Vivaldi’s character – the passionate, the pensive, the dramatic. A great deal of this is hard-driven rhythmically yet dreamy, gorgeous. Listen to the slow movements, like that of the A Minor Concerto RV418, where the harmony is so beautifully crafted.

For Han-Na Chang Vivaldi represents “liveliness of harmony and rhythm.” In an interview she conducted last year, she discussed the reasons behind this album - her first recorded foray into the Baroque music: “I have always really liked the Baroque repertoire, especially the Bach, where the soloist speaks. But, Vivaldi is really a new departure. The soloist is more of a group, a continuation with the band. There is a room for inventiveness which I really enjoy and love so much while recording these Vivaldi. At the same time, we are going for this very thin, stringy sound that is totally up-to-date. At the same time, it has the room for playfulness between different sections of the Orchestra.” To this effect, Ms Chang’s performances here are nothing short of phenomenal. Under the direction of Christopher Warren-Green, the London Chamber Orchestra lend their superb abilities to the full.

One of the highlights is the A Minor Concerto RV418, where Ms. Chang gives full rein to her expressive powers. The influence of Rostropovich is evident. He was the Korean’s teacher. She displays warm tone, vivacity and forward drive in the midst of a quest for inwardness and self-reflection. She once described this particular concerto as “[the RV418] is Vivaldi being the most pensive and melancholy. The soloist is improvising on top of a sea of fog, there is this expanse of harmony that is moving along like a glacier. Very slow, mind you, but moving, with a lot of tension. On top of that, I feel myself like a seagull – flying and drifting along.” The result is miraculous.

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This richly entertaining recording is enhanced by exemplary annotations by Michael Talbot.

--Patrick P.L. Lam, MusicWeb International