I have had this performance of Antonio Vivaldi’s most popular work since the mid-1980s when it first appeared on VHS. I have always enjoyed it and have waited a long time to get it on DVD. This DVD release is dated 2000 but I have only just recently come across it, Now I can retire my old VHS tape which has served me well. I still have a VHS player for those handful of items that have yet to make it to digital. It will now serve as a backup in case something happens to the DVD.
What makes this performance so different and special is that it seeks to replicate what a performance in Vivaldi’s time would have been like. The players are dressed in 18th century costumes complete with white wigs (musicians were then considered the same as servants) and they are performing in the gallery area of a large estate. The number of musicians is also consistent with Vivaldi’s original forces. There are 9 players in all. 4 violins (one of them the soloist), 2 violas, a cello, and 1 double bass and 1 harpsichord to perform the continuo part.
The musicians are the English Bach Festival Baroque Ensemble led by violin soloist Christopher Hirons. The smaller forces not only give a closer approximation of Vivaldi’s sound but allows the solo part to be more integrated into the whole. These are not Romantic Era violin concertos where the soloist takes center stage. Hirons handles the solo part beautifully allowing us to see what a virtuoso Vivaldi must have been. He wrote the solo part for himself while the other players were originally young women from the orphanage where he taught and conducted services (Vivaldi was an ordained Catholic priest).
THE FOUR SEASONS are the first 4 violin concertos of a set of 12 entitled THE CONTEST BETWEEN HARMONY & INVENTION and published around 1720 as his Op. 8. They are one of the earliest examples of intentionally descriptive program music. Vivaldi even wrote a series of sonnets before each “season” telling the performers what he was trying to musically convey. Those sonnets are reproduced here before each concerto. Just hit pause to fully read them. The other 8 are just regular Baroque concertos and have no real specific programs.
I highly recommend this DVD for capturing an authentic performance in period style. You’ll think that you have stepped back in time and are witnessing a concert from the 18th century. There are many, many performances of THE FOUR SEASONS out there but this one remains something special. An added plus is the subdued artistic lighting that makes it look as if it’s a painting come to life.
The Capsule Critic 