Vivaldi wrote over forty concerti a quattro for strings alone, without a soloist, and the present group were gathered together in a single manuscript, written in the hand of Vivaldi's father, and have been preserved in the Paris Conservatoire library ever since. They are each in three movements, with the central slow movement quite brief and acting as an expressive interlude linking the two vivacious framing allegros. The exception is RV 114, which is in two movements, the first moving from a sharply dotted allegro, with a jolly Chaconne to round things off. RV 133 has a striking Rondeau finale, and it is thought that these two works may have been composed separately from the others. They are all freshly inventive and played here with springing rhythms and plenty of vitality. In three concertos, though not specified by the composer, woodwind have been added to give extra colour. The touch of abrasiveness on the string sound is aurally bracing, and the slow movements have a nicely ruminative improvisatory feel. The recording is first class. The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs
VIDEO: Concerto for strings RV 133 in E minor by Antonio Vivaldi Allegro-Largo-Allegro Budapest Strings 1991
