Ronn recently collaborated with The Bach Sinfonia for an album of compositions by Vivaldi. The CD album is currently available from Sono Luminus, while digital downloads are available through iTunes. The CD is also available for preorder at Amazon.com. Links are included at the bottom of the article.
From the Sono Luminus website:
One of the United States best period instrument ensembles teams up with one of the worlds best lutenists to perform the music of one of the most beloved composers of all time for this exciting new release from Sono Luminus. The Bach Sinfonia, under the direction Daniel Abraham performs the lute works of Vivaldi with GRAMMY® Nominated lutenist Ronn McFarlane delivering one of the years most exciting concerto albums.
The Baroque concerto owes much of its development and advancement to Vivaldi. At the essence of the genre’s structure is idea of the ritornello. In the Baroque concerto, these reoccurring statements each alternate with modulating episodes with freer character in which the soloist(s) dominate the overall texture. Treatment of the ritornello within the works varies greatly among composers: whereas Bach and other Germans often integrated the ideas of the refrain, either complete or in part, as accompaniment to the episodes, Vivaldi relies heavily on exploring only specific ideas of the complete refrain and regularly ignores or alters other elements of the ritornello during repetitions. In addition, Vivaldi’s works advance the standard Italianate concerto scheme of three movements in a fast-slow-fast pattern.
The Art of Vivaldi's Lute is available from the following:
Sono Luminus (CD)
Amazon (CD)
