Twelve concertos comprise the collection L'estro armonico by Antonio Vivaldi, composed for string ensembles. None other than Johann Sebastian Bach, seven years his junior, was so taken with these works that he made his own arrangements for six of them, albeit not for strings but for harpsichord or organ: for example, Vivaldi's Concerto No. 10 for four violins was rewritten by Bach into a concerto for four harpsichords.
Rinaldo Alessandrini and his ensemble Concerto Italiano have recorded all twelve concertos for this double CD on naïve and juxtaposed them in particular with the six arrangements by Bach: like echoes, the original concerto and the arrangement alternate. Harpsichordist Rinaldo Alessandrini enlisted congenial support in the form of harpsichordists Andrea Buccarella, Salvatore Carchiolo and Ignazio Schifani, but the strings of Concerto Italiano can also demonstrate their virtuosity thanks to their playful ease.
Works:
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Vivaldi: Concerto no.1 for 4 violins rv 549
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Vivaldi: Concerto no.2 for 2 violins rv 578
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Vivaldi:Concerto no.3 for violin rv 310
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Bach: Concerto for solo harpsichord bwv 978 after rv 310
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Vivaldi: Concerto no.10 for 4 violins rv 580
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Bach: Concerto for 4 harpsichords bwv 1065 after rv 580
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Vivaldi: Concerto no.11 for 2 violins and cello rv 565
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Bach: Concertor for solo organ bwv 596 after rv 565
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Vivaldi: Concerto no.12 for violin rv 265
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Bach: Concerto for soloharpsichord bwv 976 after rv 265
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Vivaldi: Concerto no.4 for 4 violins rv 550
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Vivaldi: Concerto no.5 for 2 violins rv 519
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Vivaldi: Concerto no.6 for violin rv 356
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Vivaldi: Concerto no.7 for 4 violins rv 567
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Vivaldi: Concerto no.8 for 2 violins rv 522
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Bach: Concerto for solo organ bwv 593 after rv 522
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Vivaldi: Concerto no.9 for violin rv 230
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Bach: Concerto in for solo harpsichord bwv 972 after rv