YO-YO MA – Vivaldi’s Cello (Reissue) – 2LP – 180g Crystal Clear Vinyl [NOV 21]

2LP – Limited Edition 180g Crystal Clear Vinyl with insert. Featuring Ton Koopman and The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra.

Vivaldis Cello gives listeners a chance to hear a different kind of Vivaldi. Some of the music on this vinyl set was written by the composer to feature the cello of his day, but thats only half the story. Vivaldis Cello couples those scores with music that Vivaldi originally intended for the violin, the viola damore or the human voice. Music thats now been transcribed for the cello.

On this album, Yo-Yo Ma plays the 1712 Stradivarius cello that he had already appropriately altered for the two Simply Baroque recordings [MOVCL024] he made with Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. Ma also uses a Baroque bow, and he adopted the relative tuning (in which instruments are tuned only in relation to each other) employed by the orchestra. The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra performs on period instruments and uses Baroque performance practices.

Koopman says Vivaldis scores were only slightly altered to give voice to the cello. Vivaldi didnt write differently for a singer than instrumentally, says Koopman, I maybe changed the ornamentation to make it more instrumental. I also looked for pieces for lower voices, so we could leave them in the same key.

Of course, any notion of this album ignoring what is now Vivaldis most famous piece was out of the question. And so in a brief nod to the enduring popularity of The Four Seasons, Ma and Koopman play an arrangement of the throbbing Largo from the works Winter Concerto. In Vivaldis slow movements, you can play with your heart, says Koopman. The music feels at home.

Vivaldis Cello is available as a limited edition on crystal clear vinyl and includes an insert.

Tracklist:

SIDE A
1. Concerto In G Minor For Two Cellos, Strings And Basso Continuo, RV 531, I. Allegro
2. Concerto In G Minor For Two Cellos, Strings And Basso Continuo, RV 531, II. Largo
3. Concerto In G Minor For Two Cellos, Strings And Basso Continuo, RV 531, III. Allegro
4. The Four Sesons – Violin Concerto In F Minor, RV 297, “Winter”: II. Largo
5. Concerto In B-Flat Major For Cello, Strings And Basso Continuo, RV 423, I. Allegro
6. Concerto In B-Flat Major For Cello, Strings And Basso Continuo, RV 423, II. Largo
7. Concerto In B-Flat Major For Cello, Strings And Basso Continuo, RV 423, III. Allegro

SIDE B
1. “Cos Sugl’ Occhi Miei” From La Fida Ninfa, RV 714
2. Concerto For Viola D’Amore, Lute And Orchestra, RV 540, I. Allegro
3. Concerto For Viola D’Amore, Lute And Orchestra, RV 540, II. Largo
4. Concerto For Viola D’Amore, Lute And Orchestra, RV 540, III. Allegro

SIDE C
1. “La Gloria Del Mio Sangue” From Giustino, RV 717
2. Concerto In C Minor For Cello, Strings And Basso Continuo, RV 401, I. Allegro Non Molto
3. Concerto In C Minor For Cello, Strings And Basso Continuo, RV 401, II. Adagio
4. Concerto In C Minor For Cello, Strings And Basso Continuo, RV 401, III. Allegro Ma Non Molto
5. “Noli, Cara, Te Adorantis” From Juditha Triumphans, RV 644

SIDE D
1. “Laudamus Te” From Gloria, RV 589
2. “Quanto Magis Generosa” From Juditha Triumphans, RV 644
3. “Dite Oihm” From La Fida Ninfa, RV 714

Total Audio Length: 01:07