COLLEGIUM MUSICUM 90 MARCELLO STANDAGE - LA CETRA CONCERTOS CD

SKU/Barcode: 095115074428

Alessandro Marcello was one of a pair of noble Venetian brothers who were active as composers (and in other fields) a short generation after Vivaldi's dominance of instrumental music in the already fading city of canals. In the seven concertos recorded here, he shows Vivaldi's influence heavily, but it is more in manner than in inspiration. This program contains a set of six concertos, published in 1738 and subtitled "La cetra" (the lyre), a name Vivaldi had already used for one of his publications. Marcello's deepest understanding of Vivaldi came in the area of how shifting instrumental textures could be exploited. The six La cetra concertos and an added Concerto in B flat major from a different group all feature a uniquely flexible orchestra of 15 players, with pairs of solo oboes (or flutes; both are used here) and violins that can be deployed in quite a variety of ways. The concertos are all in three movements, and, like Vivaldi's, they fall into various tempo patterns and push against the ritornello convention as much as they accept it. Harmonically, Marcello apes Vivaldi more than being inspired by him. All the Vivaldian trademarks are there: echo effects (often in the parallel minor key), limpid slow movements, and buildups of energy through the application of motion to chromatic progressions. This last is intensified in Marcello's hands, with a few really striking passages of dissonance. But the aim of Vivaldi's movement structures was to break up the homogeneous Baroque texture, a tendency that often made his music astonishingly progressive. Marcello's concertos, despite their shock effects, stylistically take a step backward. They are beautifully played here by violinist and conductor Simon Standage, leading his veteran Collegium Musicum 90 historical-performance ensemble; their approach is quiet, subtle, and extremely gentle in the slow movements, all of which is to the good in this music. Not an essential disc, but a pleasant hour of Baroque music especially of interest to passionate lovers of Vivaldi and the Italian High Baroque.

1 I. Allegro Assai
2 Ii. Larghetto
3 Iii. Vivace
4 I. Allegro Assai
5 Ii. Moderato
6 Iii. Spiritoso, Ma Non Presto
7 I. Andante Larghetto
8 Ii. Adagio
9 Iii. Presto
10 I. Moderato
11 Ii. Largo Appogiato
12 Iii. Allegro
13 I. Moderato
14 Ii. Larghetto Staccato
15 Iii. Presto, Ma Non Molto
16 I. Allegro
17 Ii. Larghetto
18 Iii. Vivace
19 I. Andante
20 Ii. Larghetto
21 Iii. Spiritoso