It was with this high expectation that I approached the Red Priest recording. Previously, I would have cited Il Giardino Armonico's Teldec performance as the most envelope-pushing interpretation.? This performance was per Hoyle as compared to Piers Adams' arrangement of the work.? However, the Il Giardino Armonico version was performed with a period instrument harshness that I found profoundly refreshing.
As a sub-collection, these concertos are known collectively as Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons). Most famous of all was the Italian Carlo Broschi, known as Farinelli (1705-1782).Red Priest is a group of very intelligent period instrument specialists with a red-hot wicked sense of humor.? After the release of the group's two previous recordings, Priest on the Run and Nightmare in Venice, the group went on tour with what was touted as their highly controversial interpretation of Vivaldi's first four concertos from his Il Cimento dell' Armenia e dell'invenzione (The trial of harmony and invention), opus 8. The castrati were the superstars of 18th century opera. Why this inhumane practice? Because in the 16th century, women were banned from the stage: men had to perform the parts intended for women. But because men usually have larger bodies and greater lung capacity than women, the voices of the grown-up castrati would combine extraordinary range and flexibility with great power. Castrated (removal of testes) before puberty, the voice of a castrato would remain high like that of a choir boy. Vivaldi also composed for the superstars of the Baroque: the castrati, male sopranos (highest vocal range) or contraltos (second highest range). Under Vivaldi, the Pietà’s orchestra became a sensation and the composer wrote some of his famous violin concertos for students of the Pietà. The Pietà’s female wards received musical training. In 1703, “the red priest” was appointed violin master of Venice’s Ospedale della Pietà, a home for abandoned and orphaned children.
Contrary to his parents’ wishes, Antonio made his name as a composer, and not as a priest.
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