This, by most counts, is a marvellous CD with lots on offer. There is excellent playing, some inspired music, a full programme of nine concerti (for soloists without orchestra) and a rich bass with a wide spectrum of sound.
In fact, there is probably too much of a good thing here. Nine concerti is too many to listen to straight through - for me, at least - especially since seven of the nine are in a major key (four of them in D). Would it ever have been Vivaldi's practice or wish to perform nine in a row? Almost definitely not. So it's up to the listener to be selective if the concentration level begins to waver.
L'Astree do a fine job of presenting these pieces as colourfully as possible. I particularly liked Ubaldo Rossi's flute in RV101i, where notes are neither tied or detached, but something in between, with note divisions being merely suggested by a slight vibrato-like wobble. RV107iii is similarly creative: the first few bars are played as a theorbo solo, producing something of a surprise. It is this concerto above all that shows Vivaldi anticipating modernism - in particular the minimalism of Michael Nyman, perhaps.
The playing is uniformly outstanding. Likewise the recording. There's no doubling of instruments here - everyone is a soloist - so the thinned out texture enables you to hear each part with crystal clarity.
