More than 300 years after Antonio Vivaldi composed The Four Seasons, the most famous work in the history of music is still as lively and invigorating as ever. Now Le Concert de la Loge has recorded this Baroque treasure with it's founder and director, the violinist Julien Chauvin, as soloist. For the occasion, the Chateau de Versailles has loaned him an exceptional instrument: a Neapolitan violin by Nicola Gagliano, adorned with fleur-de-lys and inlaid decorations. This instrument, which was played by Yehudi Menuhin in the 1970s, comes from the 'collection de Madame Adelaïde', named after one of Louis XV's daughters. It has not left the Chateau for almost a century and is in a perfect state of preservation. The main work is complemented by Vivaldi's no less celebrated 'La Follia' and an aria that is now famous in it's own right, 'Sovvente il sole' from Andromeda liberata, the score of which was discovered in Venice in 2002. It is performed here by the countertenor Paul-Antoine Benos-Djian.
1 * the Four Seasons: Violin Concerto in F Major, Op. 8, No. 3, RV 293, "L'autunno" (Autumn)
2 1. I. Allegro
3 2. II. Adagio Molto
4 3. III. Allegro
5 * the Four Seasons: Violin Concerto in F minor, Op. 8, No. 4, RV 297, "L'inverno" (Winter)
6 4. I. Allegro Non Molto
7 5. II. Largo
8 6. III. Allegro
9 7. Andromeda Liberata, RV Anh. 117, Aria: Sovvente Il Sole
10 * the Four Seasons: Violin Concerto in E Major, Op. 8, No. 1, RV 269, "La Primavera" (Spring)
11 8. I. Allegro
12 9. II. Largo E Pianissimo Sempre
13 10. III. Danza Pastorale: Allegro
14 * the Four Seasons: Violin Concerto in G minor, Op. 8, No. 2, RV 315, "L'estate" (Summer)
15 11. I. Allegro Non Molto
16 12. II. Adagio - Presto
17 13. III. Presto
18 14. Trio Sonata in D minor, Op. 1, No. 12, RV 63, "Follia"
More than 300 years after Antonio Vivaldi composed The Four Seasons, the most famous work in the history of music is still as lively and invigorating as ever. Now Le Concert de la Loge has recorded this Baroque treasure with it's founder and director, the violinist Julien Chauvin, as soloist. For the occasion, the Chateau de Versailles has loaned him an exceptional instrument: a Neapolitan violin by Nicola Gagliano, adorned with fleur-de-lys and inlaid decorations. This instrument, which was played by Yehudi Menuhin in the 1970s, comes from the 'collection de Madame Adelaïde', named after one of Louis XV's daughters. It has not left the Chateau for almost a century and is in a perfect state of preservation. The main work is complemented by Vivaldi's no less celebrated 'La Follia' and an aria that is now famous in it's own right, 'Sovvente il sole' from Andromeda liberata, the score of which was discovered in Venice in 2002. It is performed here by the countertenor Paul-Antoine Benos-Djian.
