Presto Recording of the Week
16th February 2024

Théotime Langlois de Swarte (violin/director), Le Consort

Legrenzi: Occhi miei si dormire (from La divisione del Mondo)
Vivaldi: Sinfonia in B Minor, RV 168 (extract)
Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in D minor, RV813
Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in A Major, RV 768: Adagio
Vivaldi: Concerto, Op. 3 No. 6 'Con Violino Solo obligato', RV 356
Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in E-Flat Major, RV 256 "Il ritiro"
Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in B-Flat Major, RV 370: Ciaconna (Reconstruction by Olivier Fourés)
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons: Summer, RV315
Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in A Major, RV 349: Fantasia "per Anna Maria"
Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in E major, RV 267
Vivaldi: Bassoon Concerto in C Major, RV 478: Diminutions on the Forlana (Arr. by Olivier Fourés)
Vivaldi: Concerto in C Major, RV 171
Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in D Major, RV 212: Recitativo
Vivaldi: Concerto in E minor, RV 278
Legrenzi: La divisione del Mondo: Aria "Lumi potete piangere"
Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in B minor, RV 37a
Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in B Minor, RV 37a: V. Allegro
Vivaldi: Concerto for Two Horns in F Major, RV 539: Fanfara (Arr. by Olivier Fourés)
Vivaldi: Tempesta di mare (from La fida ninfa)
Vivaldi: Dorilla in Tempe, RV 709: Overture
Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in E flat major, RV 250
Johann Paul von von Westhoff: Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor: Imitatione delle campane
Vivaldi: Concerto in D minor, RV 237
Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in E flat major, RV 252
Anonymous, Jean-Joseph Mouret: Fanfare in F Major
Vivaldi: Concerto for Multiple Instruments in F RV569
Vivaldi: Ardi, svena (from Sorge vermiglia in ciel)
Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in B-Flat Major, RV 583 "in due cori con violino discordato": Ciaconna

One must get past the cliché (‘Vivaldi composed the same concerto 500 times’) to understand the extent to which composer, instrument and genre form an indissoluble whole; and that is what Théotime Langlois de Swarte and the musicians of Le Consort have set out to do.

From his early youth in Venice to his last days in Vienna, the ‘red-haired priest’ pushed back technical and academic boundaries, constantly creating new narrative forms: the journey of a lifetime.

"de Swarte’s flexible musicianship, and the thoughtful way in which he’s tailored both his forces and his playing to the evolving career and style of the composer, would make his Vivaldi performances compelling even without the added draw of all those fascinating premieres and rediscoveries. This is a real gem of an album and de Swarte continues to go from strength to strength." - Presto Music, 16th February 2024.