Vivaldi – Glorias, Dixit Dominus, Magnificat, Beatus Vir (1994, FLAC)

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Cast:
St. John’s College Choir
King’s College Choir
Wren Orchestra
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
English Chamber Orchestra
George Guest, Philip Ledger, Stephen Cleobury – conductors

Tracks:

CD1
01-11. Gloria in D major, RV 588
12-23. Gloria in D major, RV 589

CD2
01-06. Magnificat, RV 610
07-16. Dixit Dominus (Psalm 109), RV 594
17-25. Beatus Vir (Psalm 111), RV 597

https://mega.co.nz/#!PU1TjLRK!IjEP3Et6I3db0pJ6yC8k-lkX8_oEJbmxawAxEMAtu30

———- Post added at 09:21 PM ———- Previous post was at 09:21 PM ———-

Vivaldi’s sacred music is not so famous as that of his contemporaries Bach and Handel, so this is a bargain opportunity to catch up. You might think Vivaldi’s playful, virtuoso Italianate character and Catholic context would produce radically different music, but in George Guest’s urgent readings, the mixture of restrainedly exultant choruses and austerely beautiful arias are near-identical to Bach.
The opening movement of the second ‘Gloria’, with its swirling violins and temperately joyous trumpet and winds, is one of the most celebrated pieces of Baroque music; nothing here quite equals it, but there is a haunting, echoing quality to some of the slower movements at odds with the generally celebratory form. The reverb-heavy production exploits this somtimes too much, making the sound seem artificial. For a more ‘Italianate’ interpretation, I would recommend Trevor Pinnock, whose caressing tempos allow Vivaldi’s warm harmonic spaciousness to breathe.