La Serenissima/Adrian Chandler (violin)Avie AV 2201 *****

Does lightning strike twice? For La Serenissima playing Vivaldi, it certainly does. The ensemble’s director, Adrian Chandler, has a happy way with programme planning. The watchword on this new collection is diversity.

There’s an “amorous” violin concerto (in E, RV271, with Chandler himself as soloist), writing for bassoon (the Irish player, Peter Whelan) that combines jaw-dropping agility with the almost baleful tone of the baroque bassoon, and works for the piping tones of the sopranino recorder (Pamela Thorby).

The opening concerto (in B flat, RV163), was written in imitation of the sounds of a conch. Chandler and his players match the extremes of Vivaldi’s musical imagination with chutzpah of their own. A real pleasure. See avie-records.com