Vivaldi: Concerti per l'Orchestra di Dresda Les Ambassadeurs & Alexis Kossenko

• Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741): Concerto en Fa Majeur RV 569:
• 1 I. Allegro 04:45
• 2 II. Grave 02:33
• 3 III. Allegro 04:54
• Concerto en Fa Majeur RV 568:
• 4 I. Allegro assai 04:27
• 5 II. Grave 04:45
• 6 III. Allegro assai 04:05
• Concerto en Ré Majeur RV 562 per la Solennità di S.Lorenzo:
• 7 I. Andante Allegro 05:19
• 8 II. Grave (Adagio) 03:51
• 9 III. Allegro 07:25
• Concerto en Fa Majeur RV 571:
• 10 I. Allegro 04:08
• 11 II. Largo 02:27
• 12 III. Allegro 03:26
• Concerto en Fa Majeur RV 574:
• 13 I. Allegro 04:18
• 14 II. Grave 03:38
• 15 III. Allegro 04:02
• Concerto en Fa Majeur RV 568 - mouvement lent alternatif:
• 16 Concerto in F Major, RV 568: II. Grave 01:56
• Total Runtime 01:05:59

Info for Vivaldi: Concerti per l'Orchestra di Dresda

Les Ambassadeurs launch a series of recordings devoted to the repertory of the Dresdner Hofkapelle at the time of Bach, with the aim of rediscovering the splendid sound of an ensemble then regarded as the orchestral ideal. The ties of friendship between Johann Georg Pisendel – who led the orchestra – and Antonio Vivaldi held firm for life. Between their first meeting in Venice in 1716 and the death of the Prete Rosso in 1741, Pisendel continually enriched his collection of Vivaldi concertos, a certain number of which were manifestly tailor-made for his outstanding technique and equally exceptional delicacy of expression. This explains why Dresden holds so many Vivaldian treasures, sometimes autograph, sometimes copied in Pisendel’s own hand.

Although the concertos assembled by Les Ambassadeurs bear no explicit dedication, there can be little doubt that they were expressly written for the Dresden orchestra: they feature the instrumentation typical of the court Kapelle, with its horns and oboes vying for prominence with the violin.

Les Ambassadeurs
Alexis Kossenko, Dirigent

Les Ambassadeurs & Alexis Kossenko
realize a dream of a European orchestra reconciling the performance on period instruments with a wide repertoire hitherto fragmented by specialization. At once sincere messengers, passionate performers and inspired creators, their mission is to share with as wide a public as possible the infinite range of emotions conveyed by the experience of music.

Tracing their path away from dogmas, fashions and schools, Les Ambassadeurs pursue an ideal of eloquence – where the grammar of period instruments, the art of rhetoric and musical instinct do not exclude each other.

Among their various projects, which include Bach, Rameau, Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Stravinsky or Debussy, Les Ambassadeurs place a particular importance on the rediscovery of the Dresden Hofkapelle in the time of Bach, then described as “the most beautiful orchestra in the world” for its exemplary discipline, virtuosity of its musicians, its shimmering colors which made it the first “modern” orchestra. It was also an extraordinary initiative which brought together musicians from throughout Europe. It is indeed in Dresden that Italian, French and German styles unite and give birth to the “Goûts Réunis” treasured by Telemann.

After acclaimed concerts in Brussels (Bozar – Palais des Beaux-Arts) and Paris (Auditorium du Louvre), Les Ambassadeurs & Alexis Kossenko entered a rich concert season that took them to Germany (Potsdam/Sanssouci Festspiele), Austria (Trigonale Festival), Slovenia (Brezice Festival), Poland (Festivals in Poznan, Paradyz and Warsaw), Latvia (Riga Bach Festival), Bulgaria (Sofia Baroque Arts Festival) – where they performed large scale works such as secular and religious works from Dresden, Rameau’s Anacréon, Haendel’s oratorio Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno.

In 2012 Les Ambassadeurs will perform the opening concert of Bruges Festival (Mozart symphonies and concert arias with soprano Sabine Devieilhe) ; other plans include concerts in USA, France, Poland, Bulgaria, Germany, and discs of works by Vivaldi (Concerti per l’orchestra di Dresda) and Mozart (arias for Aloysia Weber & Linz symphony) in collaboration with Alpha records.

Booklet for Vivaldi: Concerti per l'Orchestra di Dresda