Vivaldi: Concert for the Prince of Poland

1	Sinfonia, for strings & c
2	Sinfonia, for strings & c
3	Sinfonia, for strings & c
4	Violin Concerto, for viol
5	Violin Concerto, for viol
6	Violin Concerto, for viol
7	Double Concerto, for viol
8	Double Concerto, for viol
9	Double Concerto, for viol
10	Concerto per eco in lonta
11	Concerto per eco in lonta
12	Concerto per eco in lonta
13	Violin Concerto, for viol
14	Violin Concerto, for viol
15	Violin Concerto, for viol
16	Concerto in tromba marina
17	Concerto in tromba marina
18	Concerto in tromba marina
Vivaldi: Concert for the Prince of Poland
1.	Sinfonia, for strings & continuo in G major, RV 149 7:03
	Composed by Antonio Vivaldi
	Performed by Academy of Ancient Music and Andrew Manze
2.	Violin Concerto ("La tempesta di mare"), for violin, strings & continuo in E-flat ("Il cimento" No. 5), Op.8/5, RV 253 9:10
	Composed by Antonio Vivaldi
	Performed by Academy of Ancient Music, Andrew Manze and Andrew Manze
3.	Double Concerto, for viola d'amore & lute, strings & continuo in D minor, RV 540 12:51
	Composed by Antonio Vivaldi
	Performed by Academy of Ancient Music and Andrew Manze
4.	Concerto per eco in lontana, for 4 violins, strings & continuo in A Major, RV 552 15:10
	Composed by Antonio Vivaldi
	Performed by Academy of Ancient Music and Andrew Manze
5.	Violin Concerto ("Il piacere"), for violin, strings & continuo in C major ("Il Cimento" No. 6), Op. 8/6, RV 180 10:10
	Composed by Antonio Vivaldi
	Performed by Academy of Ancient Music, Andrew Manze and Andrew Manze
6.	Concerto in tromba marina, for 2 violins, 2 recorders, 2 mandolins, 2 chalumeaux, 2 theorbos, cello, strings & continuo in C, RV 558 10:48
	Composed by Antonio Vivaldi
	Performed by Academy of Ancient Music and Andrew Manze

Barnes & Noble

Written to honor Prince Frederick Christian's visit to Venice in 1740, the enchanting concertos on this album count among Vivaldi's last compositions -- possibly even his final ones. They lack nothing in invention and spirit, however, having been first performed at a gala in honor of the prince, son of the King of Poland, at the Ospedale della Pietà, the convent-orphanage-conservatory where Vivaldi was maestro. The project to reconstruct that performance is Andrew Manze's, who directs the Academy of Ancient Music here and supplies the violin solos. He also wrote the notes in the accompanying booklet, where he relates that the main musical offering for that evening has been lost, a Serenata called Il coro della muse with a libretto by Goldoni, for which these works served as between-act fillers. In place of the missing Serenata, Manze substitutes two concertos from Op. 8, "La tempesta della mare" and "Il piacere," which, while familiar (they follow The Four Seasons in the Op. 8 collection), are still beautifully realized. The main attraction, however, is the 1740 works, which Manze plays nimbly and imaginatively, although his tone seems on the thin side, and the Academy carry off in fine form. The final Concerto is a timbral tour de force, scored for recorders, chalumeaux (think early clarinets), mandolins, theorbos (lutes), and violins imitating marine trumpets -- one-string historical curiosities favored by Baroque theoreticians. We'll never know if the prince was charmed by this remarkable work, but this listener certainly was. EJ Johnson

Gramophone

A delightful, well-conceived programme, executed with refinement of taste and technique.

BBC Music Magazine

A veritable pageant of colour.