Antonio Vivaldi: Vivaldi in Bohemia

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Antonio Vivaldi had a fairly extensive relationship with the Czech Lands, which is why the title of this CD can be understood in many different ways. It is almost certain that he did visit Bohemia; admittedly, there is no solid proof of this, but musicologists agree that Prague was one of the stops on Antonio´s and his father´s tour in late 1729 and early 1730. The key to the programme of our recording should be looked for elsewhere, however, namely in the part of Vivaldi´s output – his church music. The compositions on this CD have one thing in common; to this day their sources have remained preserved in Czech collections of sheet music. The case of Vivaldi´s Magnificat RV 610b gives a good idea of how early and immediate the arrival and influence of Italian repertoire must have been in Bohemia. Today, we know of three sources of this composition preserved in the Czech Lands, and of the previous existence of others, now lost. Apart from a few subsequent adjustments such as the addition of two trumpets, the three preserved Czech sources represent the earliest version of the work. Vivaldi´s Salve Regina RV 617 is also known only thanks to a unique Czech source, preserved this time in Brno, in a collection of sheet music in the monastery of the Brethren of Mercy (Society of the Misericordia). Intended for soprano and strings, it is characteristic mainly in its use of solo violin in a number of roles.