Concerti Virtuosi.

Concerti Virtuosi. Jeanne Lamon, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. Analekta AN 2 9815.

The Canadian period-instruments Tafelmusik is one of today's leading Baroque orchestras, the group as refined yet as exciting playing period instruments as, say, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields is playing modern instruments. The only trouble is finding enough good Baroque music to make the ensemble worth hearing.

I know that might sound a bit harsh, and it probably says more about me and my attitudes toward Baroque music than anything else. The fact is, music of the Baroque and early Classical periods make up the majority of air time on most classical radio stations; it's that popular. Apparently, radio listeners love it as a sort of background to whatever else they're doing during the day or night Perhaps I'm being unfair suggesting that Baroque music takes less concentration to enjoy than other types of music, but there is a fairly static quality about most of it that makes it akin to radio's "easy listening."

In any case, the Baroque music on this latest disc from Tafelmusik consists of various concerti, which the booklet note explains got its meaning in part from the Latin word concertare, meaning "to contend, dispute, debate," and from the Italian, meaning "to agree, arrange, get together." The definitions would seem to be contradictory, and in a way so is the music, with the trio sections contending with and blending with the rest of the orchestra.

All of the works on the disc come from the early seventeenth century, the composers being the ever-popular Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach, and George Friedrich Handel, of course; the lesser-known Pietro Locatelli and Johann Friedrich Fasch; and least-known Leonardo Leo. What they all have in common is that their concerti sound pretty much alike to the uninformed ear. Count me among those; I doubt that I could identify any single snippet of music from any of these works two minutes after listening to them. Barbarian, I know.

What's on the disc? Vivaldi's Concerto in A Minor for Two Oboes and Strings and his Concerto in E Minor for Four Violins; Leo's Concerto in D Minor for Violoncello; Bach's Concerto for Oboe D'amore in G Major; Locatelli's Concerto Grosso in D Major; Fasch's Concerto in C Minor for Bassoon, Two Oboes, and Strings; and Handel's Concerto Grosso in A Minor. Whew!

The sound is typical of what Analekta has been producing for Tafelmusik since the group switched to the label several years ago. It is smooth, wide ranging, vivid, and alive, without being in any way spectacular or hi-fi sounding. The sonics are not bright, hard, or edgy as so many period-instruments bands can sound; nor are the sonics as clear, open, and transparent as a few audiophile discs can be. The sound is simply natural and pleasant, never drawing attention to itself. The recording puts the music above all, which is as it should be. Now, if only I appreciated the music more.