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CD recording of Vivaldi -Sacred works for soprano and Concertos

The aim of this recording was to present the newly discovered Vivaldi flute concerto Il Gran Mogol (RV431a), together with rarely recorded instrumental concertos and two sacred works for soprano and ensemble.

A score of a flute concerto by Vivaldi was discovered by Andrew Woolley among the Marquess of Lothian family papers in the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh in 2010. Thought to have been collected by the amateur flautist Lord Robert Kerr during a grand tour of continental Europe in the 1730s, it is likely that Kerr heard the concerto performed at the Ospedale della Pieta in Venice. Il Gran Mogol, referring to India or the Mogul empire, is believed to have been written in the late 1720s as part of a quartet of short national concertos.

Il Gran Mogol (RV431a) survives in a set of incomplete parts but is very similar to RV431, an incomplete concerto for flute and strings in a different key. At the end of the first movement of RV431 Vivaldi suggests that the performer might want to look at another manuscript (Grave Sopra il Libro come sta), for the missing slow movement, and the suggested movement is likely to have been the Larghetto from Il Gran Mogol. Recognising the similarities between these two works made the reconstruction of a second violin part for Il Gran Mogol a relatively straightforward process.

The Concerto Madrigalesco (RV129), unusual for its four movements, was probably composed for a performance in Rome, where the more sacred style was particularly esteemed. The double concerto for violin, cello and strings is only one of three works composed by Vivaldi for this combination.

The CD is distributed worldwide on the Channel Classics label and shortly after its launch was awarded BBC Radio 3 CD Review “Disc of the Week”.