Vivaldi: Flute Sonatas

performed by ConSerto Musico, Francesco Baroni (harpsichord), Roberto Loreggian (organ), Roberto Loreggian (harpsichord), Stefania Marusi (flute)
composed by Antonio Vivaldi, Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Give flutist Mario Folena credit: he's come up with a Vivaldi flute disc that's markedly different from the dozens of others on the market. First is the centerpiece: Jean-Jacques Rousseau's very own transcription for solo flute of the "Spring" concerto from The Four Seasons. Even if this isn't quite a meeting of two of the greatest minds of the eighteenth century, it's skillfully done (all of the echo effects are intact), interestingly altered so as to make the music fall in line with Rousseau's ideas about natural style ... Read More

Give flutist Mario Folena credit: he's come up with a Vivaldi flute disc that's markedly different from the dozens of others on the market. First is the centerpiece: Jean-Jacques Rousseau's very own transcription for solo flute of the "Spring" concerto from The Four Seasons. Even if this isn't quite a meeting of two of the greatest minds of the eighteenth century, it's skillfully done (all of the echo effects are intact), interestingly altered so as to make the music fall in line with Rousseau's ideas about natural style and just all-around nifty. It offers an instant term-paper or thesis topic for the desperate music history student. But wait, there's more. In the sonatas for solo flute and basso continuo, Folena begins with an improvisational-style prelude. There are a few puzzling issues here. One would have liked to learn more about this procedure, which most of the many authentic-performance groups playing Vivaldi have not seen fit to adopt, but the booklet merely calls it the "ancient practice of... Read Less