Re: Vivaldi: Four Seasons
Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 12:32 am
Many thanks to Fergus for coming up with the idea for this series of threads. Also for all his hard work explaining the sounds hidden or otherwise in Vivaldi’s’ Four Seasons.
I have four versions of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons:
(1) Takako Nishizaki on violin with Capella Istropolitana conducted by Stephen Gunzenhauser [CD] on the Naxos label.
(2) Mark Tucker on flute with The English Ensemble leader Clare Thompson, [CD] on the Timbre Records label.
(3) Celebration of the Baroque with the Musicians of San Marco conducted by Alberto Lizzio [CD], Orbis (disk 5)
(4) José-Luis Garcia on violin with The English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin [Cassette Tape] on the Readers Digest label.
Having read all that Fergus wrote and the information contained in the CDs booklets [especially the Orbis], I had an appreciation of what to expect from these pieces of music. Approaching the listening challenge as a Country and Rock music lover, I found it easier to get into the music by simply letting it wash over me while I just listened without trying to hear the dog or the cuckoo or the skaters.......... My enjoyment was certainly increased by knowing what the music was about.
As you probably know by now, I do not go in for detailed sound quality analysis. I enjoyed the four different versions of the music but found the Mark Tucker CD a little tiring and the sound of the flute a bit irritating and grating especially when compared to the violins. Surprisingly, the sound of José-Luis Garcia playing on the cassette tape was better than expected and even though there were no track numbers displayed, I found that I could identify the Seasons and the sections within each season easily enough. The Naxos CD is readily available and sounds pretty good as does the Orbis disk (which may not be easily obtainable). Fergus, Ciaran, Sean, Simon and others have analysed the playing of the soloists, their posts are very informative and there is nothing I can add to those. When I last spoke to Fergus, I remember that he talked about ‘the performance’ and how it differs on the different recordings, this is a quality that passed me by completely. Generally I find that I can evaluate the playing and interpretation only when I see and hear the performance ‘live’. I feel that the recording process seems to lose some or all of that insight and the joie de vivre that you experience at a live performance,no matter what type of music is being played.
My wife thought I would prefer the Winter concerto which turned out to be the case as I prefer the starkness and openness of the wintertime. I also liked the Autumn concerto and least liked the Spring and Summer concertos.
Twentieth century Italian composer Dallapiccola wrote (on the similarity in style of many of Vivaldi’s works): “Vivaldi didn’t write 450 concertos, he wrote one concerto 450 times”. This was brought home to me recently when I switched on the radio and heard music playing, music that I recognised as Vivaldi (it was not part of the Four Seasons). It was Vivaldi!
In the few weeks since Fergus suggested this exercise, my listening to Classical music has increased. I listen to Lyric FM most days [even if only for a few minutes at a time] and have started playing the occasional Classical CD. I notice that I am now listening ‘differently’ to all music (as alluded to on another post) especially Rock and Country; before I locked into the beat but now I am hearing the lyrics too. I have gained a greater appreciation of the song writing skills of Johnny Cash as a result. I find the idea of Vivaldi improving my understanding of Johnny Cash’s music slightly strange but it has and that of other singers too.
The Vivaldi experience has been enjoyable. The discipline of a group listening to and commenting on one work was good and educational and I am looking forward to what delights are revealed over the coming months.
I have four versions of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons:
(1) Takako Nishizaki on violin with Capella Istropolitana conducted by Stephen Gunzenhauser [CD] on the Naxos label.
(2) Mark Tucker on flute with The English Ensemble leader Clare Thompson, [CD] on the Timbre Records label.
(3) Celebration of the Baroque with the Musicians of San Marco conducted by Alberto Lizzio [CD], Orbis (disk 5)
(4) José-Luis Garcia on violin with The English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin [Cassette Tape] on the Readers Digest label.
Having read all that Fergus wrote and the information contained in the CDs booklets [especially the Orbis], I had an appreciation of what to expect from these pieces of music. Approaching the listening challenge as a Country and Rock music lover, I found it easier to get into the music by simply letting it wash over me while I just listened without trying to hear the dog or the cuckoo or the skaters.......... My enjoyment was certainly increased by knowing what the music was about.
As you probably know by now, I do not go in for detailed sound quality analysis. I enjoyed the four different versions of the music but found the Mark Tucker CD a little tiring and the sound of the flute a bit irritating and grating especially when compared to the violins. Surprisingly, the sound of José-Luis Garcia playing on the cassette tape was better than expected and even though there were no track numbers displayed, I found that I could identify the Seasons and the sections within each season easily enough. The Naxos CD is readily available and sounds pretty good as does the Orbis disk (which may not be easily obtainable). Fergus, Ciaran, Sean, Simon and others have analysed the playing of the soloists, their posts are very informative and there is nothing I can add to those. When I last spoke to Fergus, I remember that he talked about ‘the performance’ and how it differs on the different recordings, this is a quality that passed me by completely. Generally I find that I can evaluate the playing and interpretation only when I see and hear the performance ‘live’. I feel that the recording process seems to lose some or all of that insight and the joie de vivre that you experience at a live performance,no matter what type of music is being played.
My wife thought I would prefer the Winter concerto which turned out to be the case as I prefer the starkness and openness of the wintertime. I also liked the Autumn concerto and least liked the Spring and Summer concertos.
Twentieth century Italian composer Dallapiccola wrote (on the similarity in style of many of Vivaldi’s works): “Vivaldi didn’t write 450 concertos, he wrote one concerto 450 times”. This was brought home to me recently when I switched on the radio and heard music playing, music that I recognised as Vivaldi (it was not part of the Four Seasons). It was Vivaldi!
In the few weeks since Fergus suggested this exercise, my listening to Classical music has increased. I listen to Lyric FM most days [even if only for a few minutes at a time] and have started playing the occasional Classical CD. I notice that I am now listening ‘differently’ to all music (as alluded to on another post) especially Rock and Country; before I locked into the beat but now I am hearing the lyrics too. I have gained a greater appreciation of the song writing skills of Johnny Cash as a result. I find the idea of Vivaldi improving my understanding of Johnny Cash’s music slightly strange but it has and that of other singers too.
The Vivaldi experience has been enjoyable. The discipline of a group listening to and commenting on one work was good and educational and I am looking forward to what delights are revealed over the coming months.
