Vivaldi: Concertos pour Violencelle Vol.2 - Christine Busch, Roel Dieltiens, Ensemble Explorations

Vivaldi : Concertos pour Violencelle Vol.2

Christine Busch, Roel Dieltiens / Ensemble Explorations
Christine Busch : Violin
Roel Dieltens : Cello
Ensemble Explorations
Roel Dieltiens : Direction

Concerto en la mineur F.III/21, RV 420 Concerto en Mi bemol majeur, F.III/5, RV 408 Concerto en Fa majeur, F.III/14, RV 411 Concerto en rι mineur, F.III/23, RV 407 Concerto en Fa majeur, F.IV/5, RV 544 Concerto en la mineur, F.III/13, RV 421 Concerto en Do majeur, F.IV/3, RV 561 for violin and 2 celli (2nd Cello by Richte van der Meer)

Gramopfhone Music Magazine : May 2002Spellbinding accounts of some of Vivaldi's finest concertos

Only some force majeure could have diverted my rapt attention from beginning to end of this disc. Roel Dieltiens is a Baroque cellist par excellence and the modest size of Ensemble Explorations (seven players including continuo) suits these works admirably. Vivaldi poured some of his finest music into his numerous concertos for bassoon and cello both dual register instruments for which he had obvious affection to which the affecting slow movements richly testify. Dieltiens superb bow control and his natural empathy with style and emotional aura make these memorable musical experiences. His "vocal" nuancing of volume and addition of exquisite embellishment comfortably reach the benchmark set for me by Pleeth and Bylsma in their 1977 recording of the G minor Double Concerto -RV531 (L'Oiseau Lyre 5/86). Listen to the Largo of the E flat Concerto -RV408- and prepare to tug a grateful forelock. These qualities enhance the quicker movements albeit at a less intimate level. The smaller ripieno is especially apt to the sonata related concertos such as that in A minor -RV420- and in those in which it plays a more prominent role Ensemble Explorations provide ample weight to ensure contrast; their incisiveness energy and audible enthusiasm are infectious. Christine Busch and Richte van der Meer rise no less to the occasion the former outstandingly in the conversational Largo of the F major Concerto -RV544- and as soloist in that of the D major -RV561. A nicely varied and imaginatively used continuo makes a positive contribution. The quality of the recording per se calls for another tug of the forelock. If this marvellous disc does not feature in my Critics Choice early next year then 2002 will indeed have been a year to remember.

All Music : James Leonard

Vivaldi's many cello concertos are performed here with consummate taste and superb musicality by Roel Dieltiens and the Ensemble Explorations. Recorded in 1997 and 2001 and originally released separately by Harmonia Mundi, this 2007 lavishly packaged reissue includes both discs complete with entertaining and informative essays and more than a dozen very lovely (though very tiny) reproductions of paintings of Vivaldi's Venice. Dieltiens plays with a rich tone and a light touch and his robust virtuosity and enthusiastic sympathy for the music are irresistible. The seven members of the Ensemble Explorations -- five strings plus lute or guitar and organ or harpsichord -- play with a sense of cooperation, which leaves this music sounding as concertos from the period should, which is to say more like chamber music. Harmonia Mundi's sound is cool and clear, yet deep and full. Though fans of modern cellos and modern performance practices might prefer more romantic interpretations, anyone with an interest in period instruments and period performance practice will want to hear these recordings.

Posted by Ice