As collections of random concertos by
Vivaldi go, this one by the
Concerto Köln is as good as any and better than most. It includes 14 mostly relatively rarely recorded works, as well as a few well-known ones like La Notte and La Tempesta di Mare.
Concerto Köln, under the direction of concertmaster
Werner Ehrhardt, is a better group of period instrument musicians than most. Throughout this two-disc set, the Köln group plays with a light but warm tone, a tight but effortless ensemble, and a real feel for
Vivaldi's buoyant rhythms. The soloists, particularly flutist Eberhard Zummach, oboist
Michael Niesemann, bassoonist David Mings, and
Ehrhardt himself, are all first-rate. But perhaps the best aspect of this set is the quality of the sound: clear, clean, richly detailed, and very vivid. For listeners who've heard The Four Seasons a sufficient number of times, this set may provide a richer view of
Vivaldi's range as a composer.