L'Aura soave Cremona performs Vivaldi's bassoon concertos in this release on naïve.
This group plays with penache and energy! For a bassoon sound, the concerti are played full-hog, the baroque bassoon popping out of the texture with a robust sound. The orchestra and soloist aren't shy about going for drama, they'll alter their speed, their dynamic intensity, following the sound world Vivaldi left in 7 different concerti.
What happy sounds come out of this ensemble - perhaps no better than in the dramatic introduction to RV 503, in B-flat. The bassoon and ensemble join together in tutti sections with a luscious sound. The endinf to the C major concerto sounds as if it's an entre-act to an operatic production, Vivaldi's writing here with a big orchestral sound, in a way, I have to admit, is different than concerti for other instruments. Having written this many (and more) works for bassoon, I'm left to belief he liked tenor double reed.
The CD ends with the dramatic RV 484 which I first heard with the English Concert with Milan Turcovic some years ago on DG Archiv. I also had the pleasure to hear this concerto live, at a student recital at Eastman in '96. One of only two works on the CD in a minor mode, they take veiled approach, and the ensemble is almost subdued in the drama department compared to their major-moded outbursts. I might be so bold to say that the EC did better with the string accompaniment. However the zesty guitar that makes up the continuo in the last movement here, is plenty of fun.
An all-around enjoyable recording, that not only tickles us with near-perfect technical perfection, but some very affective interpretations that seem to well-capture Vivaldi with color and soul-pleasing timbres.
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