COMPOSERS: Vivaldi
LABELS: Virgin Veritas
WORKS: La cetra, Op. 9
PERFORMER: Monica Huggett (violin); Raglan Baroque Players/Nicholas Kraemer
CATALOGUE NO: VBD 5 61594 2 Reissue (1987)
For all the charges of unacceptable schematicism levelled at Vivaldi and his kind, Monica Huggett, as supremely imaginative as well as technically and stylistically accomplished an exponent of the baroque violin as any, demonstrates clearly that this music benefits from the guiding hand of a charismatic interpreter: her delivery of Vivaldi’s exuberant, even manic, inspiration is never less than involving and, in the slow movements, never less than touching. It’s a pity, then, that the Raglan Baroque Players prove less than equal partners, preferring at times merely tentative accompaniment to real dynamic exchange. All things considered, Hogwood and the AAM on L’Oiseau-Lyre, at full price, remain the preferred option. Antony Bye
Vivaldi: La cetra, Op. 9
For all the charges of unacceptable schematicism levelled at Vivaldi and his kind, Monica Huggett, as supremely imaginative as well as technically and stylistically accomplished an exponent of the baroque violin as any, demonstrates clearly that this music benefits from the guiding hand of a charismatic interpreter: her delivery of Vivaldi’s exuberant, even manic, inspiration is never less than involving and, in the slow movements, never less than touching.
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:18 pm