How to decide what to review next? This morning it was tripping down memory lane, to when the 12-year-old me would visit the local “hi-fi” shop and spend 7 weeks’ worth of precious pocket money allowance to buy a pre-recorded reel-to-reel album release to fuel my enthusiasm for my shiny new tape machine.
Those were the days, I thought to myself. “I wonder if anyone still does reel-to-reel?” And of course, they do. I found my way to AudioNautes Recordings, where you can buy select OG classical and jazz re-issues on tape, for a mere 1.220,00 € or so each (call it $2,000 CAD). Yipes! They also do limited edition vinyl and hi-rez digital discs.
Not my cup of tea any more, as I’m (nearly) all in on streaming these days. I’m certainly not going to spend a couple grand on open reel, “original master” designation notwhithstanding. But it got me thinking about the releases these folks would chase for such lavish effort and expense. That turns out to be very interesting. For example:
This is an album released in 1994, with Giuliano Carmignola leading his Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca ensemble. Carmignola was a pioneer of the Italian version of the authentic instruments and performance practice movement of the 80’s and 90’s. Also a Vivaldi specialist. This album has been re-issued for us normal folk, never mind the deluxe LP’s and the original masters on tape from AudioNautes.
This wouldn’t be my first choice for a Four Seasons nowadays, but it’s still a good listen. It stands up well to the better known Pinnocks, Parrotts and Harnoncourts, and it gives us a reminder of the distinctive way the Italian string tradition influenced historically-informed performance. There are some strikingly romantic turns of phrase that will surprise you, such as Carmignola’s occasional dramatic slide up to pitch at a key moment.
For comparison, here is Harnoncourt (1977) with wife Alice Harnoncourt on cello:
But in the end, what I really got out of my little saunter down memory lane was a reminder to check out what Giuliano Carmignola has been up to in recent years. And there’s a lot! Check out the Apple Music player on the right for a taste of his new release on Arcana (in Atmos surround where available): Vivaldi 100. 13 Violin Concertos, performed with Daniele Orlando and I Solisti Aquilani. This one is a real winner, review should be coming soon.
P.S. as a bonus, the second Apple player is his 2023 Arcana release, cheekily titled The Three Seasons of Antonio Vivaldi, with Accademia dell’Annunciata.
