One of Vivaldi's many musical virtues is a remarkable understanding of the baroque instruments (and the human voice), which he exhibits in the many solo concertos of his output. Of the known 517 known pieces of his instrumental work, 39 of which are bassoon concertos in autograph, none of which were published in his life time.

Most of his solo concertos were composed for his music teacher's position at the Ospedale della Pietá, a Venetian orphanage for girls. It seems likely that the concertos were played there, by Onofrio Penati, also a teacher at the Pietá. He played oboe and cornetto at St Mark's Basilica - it was common for oboists also to play bassoon during much of the Baroque. However, a French musical visitor to Venice reported that there was a female bassoonist at one of the Venetian orphanages; but it is impossible to definitely prove that this was at the Pietá.

Few recorded sets or selections are played by period instruments, so the arrival of the present disc by Miho Fukui, a much acclaimed bassoonist in Japan, especially with her copy of a Baroque instrument, is welcome indeed. She is accompanied by a group of 4 strings (otherwise forming Quartetto Classico), Violone, Cembalo (harpsichord) and Arciliuto). It has a no-messing title of "Ensemble F". Together, they are dedicated to study and apply Baroque playing practices from the time of Vivaldi. Their goal is to perform all of Vivaldi's bassoon concertos on their period instruments. Hopefully this is a hint that the whole set might eventually be recorded by Ars Production.

Fukui's instrument was built by Peter de Konigh, after one by Thierriot Prudent, from Paris, circa 1765. It has more changes in tone over its range than modern bassoons (at one level it sounds like a modern saxophone) and a somewhat more endearingly rustic overall tonal character than the smooth sophistication of modern bassoons.

Fukui presents five concerti, together with an interpolated Sinfonia from the Opera 'Il Justino', RV 717 as a handy break in the sequence. The chosen concerti contain those which are relatively sad and lyrical in minor keys, while those in major keys sparkle with vivid rhythms. Most are in the typical Baroque three part fast-slow-fast structure, except for RV 502 which has four named movements out of five and an overall title of 'La Notte'. It demonstrates magnificently Vivaldi's vivid imagination as carried over to the solo bassoon. In this group of programme music movements, the beginning of Night is followed by 'Fantasi', phantoms and nightmares, leading to sleep (Il Sonno) and concluding with 'Sorge l'Aurora', the breaking dawn.

The performances are uniformly of prodigious musicality. Dedication of soloist and ensemble in focussing on the group of Vivaldi's bassoon concerti is evident technically and interpretively. The result is a thrilling exposition of Baroque orchestral sound, despite the group's relatively small numbers. Subdued poetic lyricism leads to rumbustious humour, which flashes in a moment to zestful swagger, whence lightly-sprung rhythmic patterns make the foot tap. This skilled and authentic music-making is enhanced significantly by the marvellous balance and focus of the players in an excellent recording.

A mellow ambience adds atmosphere and orchestral colour to the session in the Exchange Center, Kanagana Prefectorial Lake Sagamiko, Japan. The booklet has a row of session photos which show the mic arrays around Ensemble 7. The players are on the stage, whose walls are covered with large panels which appear to be acoustic tiles. In 5.1 multichannel, there is an enjoyable sense of the ensemble almost surrounding the listener, drawing him or her into feeling personally present at the performances. While less realistic, the stereo sonics are clear and well focussed and still have at least a halo of ambience.

Ars Production provide a handsome booklet, in German, English and Japanese. Fukui's scholarly side is evident in her excellent essay on the Bassoon Concertos in general, moving to notes on each of the selected concertos, all illustrated by photos of Vivaldi's writing in his autographs.

This is a remarkable disk of Vivaldi's bassoon solo works, particularly in its excellent application of Baroque playing practise and the sheer joy of exposition. A disc too which is playable time after time without fatigue, and is highly recommended to all collectors of Vivaldi's instrumental solo works.

Copyright © 2015 John Miller and HRAudio.net

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