Vivaldi: "Il Mondo al rovescio" - Concerti con molti istromenti

Vivaldi’s exuberant invention marks him out as the finest Venetian composer of the 18th century, as is evidenced by this invigorating collection of eight concertos from no-holds-barred period-instrument band Gli Incogniti, directed by Amandine Beyer. The album borrows its title from a concerto for multiple players called Il Mondo al rovescio (“The World Turned Upside Down”), in which the lowest instruments can freely become the highest and vice versa, and so nothing can be taken for granted. Take the ear-tweaking spatial effects of Concerto for Violin and Oboe in G Minor, RV 576 (Tracks 12-14), or the uproarious hunting calls and onomatopoeic birdsong of the Concerto in F Major, RV 572 (Tracks 21-23) or even the Flute Concerto in E Minor, RV 432 (Tracks 4-5), in which the orchestra falls away entirely, leaving the flute soloist to improvise the second movement over a bassline. Gli Incogniti relish every minute, hurling themselves into the fray with gleeful abandon and scintillating bravado.