Antonio Vivaldi: Gloria in D (RV 589)
Let’s face it: Vivaldi is never going to be signing copies of his latest CD in a branch of HMV or anywhere else.
There are those that use this fact as an example of classical music’s limits. Nonsense. It is a beauty beyond belief, prompting a frisson of sheer delight, when these limits are cracked open and a new work by a long-gone composer is discovered.
So, take heed if ever you’re flicking through old music manuscripts. Be alert for anything saying ‘Vivaldi’s Gloria’. For while it is well known that the beloved Gloria in D is one of a pair – the other not nearly so often performed – what is sometimes overlooked is that it was one of a threesome. Would that it might turn up.
What makes the Gloria in D shine out is its sheer exuberance and sense of the unique. It really is a work full of character, which, from its opening rush, never stops.
Recommended Recording
Concerto Italiano; Roberto Alessandrini (conductor). Naïve: OP30485.
Illustration: Mark Millington