Vivaldi & Bach: The Concertos for Recorder & Preludes

Featuring

Stefan Temmingh
Capricornus Consort Basel
Johann Sebastian Bach
Antonio Vivaldi

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Interpretation

Stefan Temmingh chose a different, characteristic basso continuo lineup for each Vivaldi concerto, varying it minimally between movements, rather than using many instruments simultaneously.

Compositional Technique

Vivaldi's colleague Benedetto Marcello satirically criticized Vivaldi's operas and concertos for their excessively elaborate and opulent improvisational ornamentation.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Stefan Temmingh, the recorder player on this album, views Vivaldi's concertos as "miniature operas" in three acts, similar to how Vivaldi approached his "Four Seasons" with accompanying poems.

Interpretation

The ornamentation on this album was inspired by Vivaldi's German student Johann Georg Pisendel's lavish ornaments for a violin concerto and a part-book from Vivaldi's student Anna Maria at the Ospedale della Pietà.

Historical Context

Vivaldi had the opportunity to use a psaltery at the Ospedale della Pietà, an orphanage where he worked, which is featured on this recording.

Interpretation

The performer, Stefan Temmingh, prefaces each Vivaldi concerto with a Bach prelude to create contrast and sharpen the listener's senses for Vivaldi's music.