Today’s blog entry is brought to you by the letter F. Flute. Four. France. Franz. F major.
Spring may finally be here to stay. The gray of yesterday has given way to a breezy, warmer day. The sun is out and I have been enjoying today’s album of the day much more than I thought I would. While listening to the first few movements of Violin Concerto, for violin, strings & continuo in E major (“La Primavera,” The Four Seasons; “Il cimento” No. 1), Op.8/1, RV 269 , I didn’t think the performances by both Rampal and the FLCO would hold. I was completely wrong. By the time I got to the III. Presto- Tempo impetuoso d’estate they were both on fire. I was skeptical at first because a flute is the musical star here. I have nothing wrong with the flute, mind you, it’s just I wasn’t sure how I would receive this pairing. Truth be told, I was drawn to the absolute cheesy, for a classical record, album cover. It seems wrong, like chewing gum in church, but I can’t help but love it. Of course this is Jean-Pierre Rampal. As I would learn today, he was a world renown French Flautist. A flute virtuoso, Rampal brings his A game to these Antonio Vivaldi pieces. Besides the famous “Four Seasons,” the Flute Concerto, for flute, strings & continuo in E minor (“Darmstadt”), RV 430, Flute Concerto, for flute, strings & continuo in D major, RV 783 and the Double Concerto, for violin & organ, strings & continuo in D minor, RV 541, are also featured on this better than you would think disc. The supporting Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra also shines on this recording. They bring enough vigor in the “Autumn” and “Winter” sections to shake the house. All in all this was a fantastic listen. And look at that, another F word.
https://twitter.com/djwurley/status/453611208906919936
*”Jean-Pierre Rampal plays Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons(1723) and More”* Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra 1993
Sony Classical Label
365, Album of the Day 2014 