Antonio Vivaldi (Composer), Janine Jansen - Vivaldi: The Four Seasons - Janine Jansen
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CD Details
Artist: Antonio Vivaldi (Composer), Janine JansenEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2005-10-11
Music Label: Decca
Soundtracks:
- Allegro
- Largo
- Allegro
- Allegro non molto
- Adagio - Presto
- Presto
- Allegro
- Adagio molto
- Allegro
- Allegro non molto
- Largo
- Allegro
Music reviews of Vivaldi: The Four Seasons - Janine Jansen
Music Review: Good work, sensitive playing but shortcomings galore
Rating: 3 Stars
Janine Jansen is a young Hollander that's making a name for herself beyond the shores of her native land. This CD of Vivaldi's chestnut, "Four Seasons", is helping build her international reputation.
Jansen is a young woman that plays a 1727 Stradivarius and that fact alone has set a lot of musicologists atwitter. She plays with a senstivity and syle in keeping with the way performers do the "Four Seasons" today. Jansen is abetted here by a band of seven -- two violins, viola, cello, double bass, theorbo and either harpsichord of box organ (played by one Jan Jansen, probably a relative but not identified in the notes or at Ms. Jansen's Web site.) This octet performance eschewing the full string band also set some critics atwitter.
Musically, these performances are warm, virtuosic and mainstream with a few touches that show the players and soloist have something to say about the music. Note Janine's free use of rubato in the opening of "Spring" and her free portamento in its second movement. Right away the listener knows this group has an idea about the music. Janine closes "Spring" with phrasing beginning with sforzando and going from PP to FF in a matter of notes or bars. Her tendency to close movements quietly and peacefully begins here, also.
From the beginning the soloist and group are aided by a recorded sound that is deep, clear and natural with orchestral depth and definition. This is DDD but not SACD although it sounds close to the latter.
While the first two were also well done, I thought the closing pair of concertos were the better ones on the CD. "Autumn" has a notable stream of consciousness approach in its adagio molto with the solo violin and harpsichord obligato sharing the spotlight. The concluding "Winter" concerto begins high exqiusite techinque by the soloist and fury from everyone. Its following largo is a lot like a Mravinsky largo (more like allegro) and the concluding allegro offers an exhibition of counterpoint between the soloist and cellist. Again, each concerto concludes quietly and peacefully.
Musically, I thought this performance was interesting and it is certainly well-recorded. However, since that performance way back when by steel-fingered I Musici, the bar has been set impossibly high on recordings of this music. Anything that's going to come along in 2006 and compete must have a great deal going for it musically, must have some extramusical interest, and, perhaps most important, must have something on the recording to keep us interested beyong the warhourse quartet of concertos.
While the musical values of this recording are good and the recording is exceptional, it fails to meet any of the other criteria. Any full price CD in the new century (this one has a list price of $18 even though BMG is marketing it for $14) must have more than the puny 40 minutes here dedicated to the "Four Seasons." With a capacity for 80 minutes on a CD, London has left half the loaf unbaked but is asking you to pay for the whole thing.
Extramusically, this recording has little else going for it. The notes are not enthralling. They don't tell you how old is Ms. Jansen or whom is Jan Jansen. You get three paragraphs about the music and a half-dozen artful gold-laced photos of the soloist with not a single word about any of the other performers.
I think this CD is probably directed to crossover listeners with money to burn and no interest in any of these things. It is good musicmaking inside but otherwise doesn't hold much interest for serious collectors or those that want to know more about this warhorse set of concertos or the players. A nice notch in the bedpost, then, for Ms. Jansen but nothing special otherwise.
2010 update: the Janine Jansen fan club registered dismay about my review in the comments. Four years down the line and discounted from its original $19 list price, this recording isn't terrilbe value for the $8 or $9 you can now purchase it used through Amazon vendors. But, with short playing time and little more than a nice recording of the Four Seasons -- of which Arkiv Music now lists a staggering 239 recordings available, many of which are linked to more and better music for less than you'd pay for this used -- I still wonder what makes this recording in any way special.
Description of Vivaldi: The Four Seasons - Janine Jansen
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