The virtues of the English Concert in Vivaldi (indeed in more or less anything) are well known: stylish but urbane, technically and stylistically well-founded, and for the most part deeply musically satisfying. Those who know the Standage/EC/Pinnock Four Seasons, still one of the most satisfying in a huge field, will know broadly what to expect–and those who don’t should not hesitate to make its acquaintance. (This will require an extra purchase, since it is not present here; it will be money well spent.)
Fashions have moved on, not always for the better, since these (1985-87) recordings were made. Today it is comparatively rare to encounter a Vivaldi performance or recording without downright silly tempos, a surfeit of theorbo power chords, ornamentation well beyond what the music can support or the players’ musicality supply, and a palette of articulations that would raise at least one of Bartók’s eyebrows. This type of thing is utterly alien to the Pinnock approach; here, the music speaks for itself with a rare unforced naturalness. Besides Pinnock, Simon Standage deserves no small credit here, as soloist in more than a dozen of the concertos and leader/concertmaster in all the others. Lisa Beznosiuk also has an entire disc to herself, giving fluent, attractively poised performances of the six Op. 10 concertos (including the famous La Notte and Il gardellino).
The recorded sound is bright and clear, occasionally a little glaring, which does not flatter some of the performances. This is only rarely in evidence, and in any case should not deter you. There is a scandalous amount of music and musicianship here, even without taking into account the price. There are also extensive and informative booklet notes. Heartily recommended.
