Concerti for Violin, Strings & Basso Continuo RV320, RV378, RV745 [HL:50601045]

Among the hundreds of violin concertos written by Vivaldi, which stand at the centre of his activity as a virtuoso, there are three that are in part incomplete: RV 370, RV 378 and RV 745. While only a portion of the first movement has survived in the case of RV 378, RV 320 lacks only a few bars at the end of its third movement, and only the last movement of RV 745 is extant. Incompleteness of this nature does, however, result in performable and perfectly enjoyable texts. The manuscripts of these three concertos are all autograph and datable to Vivaldi's last creative period (c. 1730-1741), years in which the Red Priest mixes his various musical experiences to create a language that is increasingly disparate and introspective. With the major-minor chiaroscuro of the first movement of the concerto RV 320, the spirited virtuosity of the RV 378 and the more mechanical virtuosity of RV 745, these three concertos offer a cross-section of the imagination and complexity that Vivaldi brings to the treatment of the violin in his late maturity.