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Vivaldi four seasons baroque6/25/2023 Unusually for the time, Vivaldi published the concerti with accompanying poems (possibly written by Vivaldi himself) that elucidated what it was about those seasons that his music was intended to evoke. The sound of the "Kaisonic Experience audioXact" recording is remarkably lifelike and vibrant, so this at least gives audiophiles something to cheer about. The Four Seasons is the best known of Vivaldiās works. While the performers are in top form on their instruments and impressive in these single-take recordings, the gimmick of this CD wears thin quickly and may leave the listener feeling non-plussed. Still, the music must be served properly, and there are limits to how well these classic Chinese instruments can accommodate Vivaldi's original notes for the most part, all the pitches are accounted for (with a few approximations, given some differences in tuning), though not every tremolando is accurately executed, and the flashy arpeggios of the solo violin part are difficult to simulate on the bowed erhu or the lute-like pipa. Coming two decades later, this rendition by the Chinese Baroque Players is quite similar to the Japanese group's version in its exotic effect, at least initially, though it must be said that this ensemble's timbres of flute with bowed and plucked strings are less tiring on the ear than the sound of kotos en masse. Some may remember with mild amusement or chagrin Koto Vivaldi, by the New Koto Ensemble of Tokyo, which was an early crossover album that enjoyed some popularity in the late '70s, but eventually faded away, as such fads do. The orchestras Artistic Director and star violinist Henning Kraggerud performs the solo passages in a separate shot, filmed in the snow, ice and magical arctic. This is especially true of versions for instruments from other cultures, which may sound picturesque and charming at first, but pall upon repeated listening. Arrangements of Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons for instruments other than the original strings crop up from time to time, and anyone who knows the lengths some artists and labels will go to rehash these perennial concertos will likely regard them as novelties and little else.
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