This disproves the accusation that Vivaldi wrote the same concerto hundreds of times: even though strings are the only sonority (enlivened here by varied continuo), the combinations of one, two, and four violin soloists provide endlessly different colours which Brecon Baroque fully exploit. The pulsating energy of No 10, the organ-like sonority of the middle movement of No 9, the gradual acceleration of the opening of No 11 and above all the electrifying drive of the famous No 8 leave one breathless with admiration. There are added ornaments and flourishes (rather naughtily at the end of No 8), and Rachel Podger’s crack team deliver miracles of virtuosity; it is presumably her plangent solo in No 11 that is so spine-tingling, though the booklet should list who plays which part.
