Recordings of
Vivaldi
concertos may seem to be a dime a dozen, but this one is a standout. Violinist
Amandine Beyer
sets herself the task of bringing together and interpreting concertos with a great variety of instrumentation, and one will be bowled over by the sheer variety here. Start at the end with the
Violin Concerto in F major, RV 572
, whose subtitle,
"Il mondo al rovescio"
("The World Upside Down"), gives the album its title. It features a solo violin and cello playing in each other's clefs. Elsewhere, listeners will hear a solo clarinet, a good deal of percussion in the supposedly percussionless Baroque, really wild echo effects in the first movement of the
Violin Concerto in A major, RV 344
, a couple of examples of
's solemn style in writing for a formal church environment (entirely different from his usual mode), and a great deal more.
Beyer
directs the ensemble
Gli Incogniti
from the violin, and the musicians convey a sense of wonder at
's unfailing exuberance. These players have recorded three albums of
now, and they truly stand out from the crowd; this album made best-seller charts in late 2022. ~ James Manheim