Nigel Kennedy - Vivaldi - The New Four Seasons on CD

Description

Nigel Kennedy's breakthrough recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons (1989) earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the best-selling classical work of all time. It sold in excess of 2 million copies and the album remained top of the UK classical charts for almost two years. Now, in 2015, Kennedy returns with a completely fresh take on The Four Seasons, but while the music sounds hugely different, his creative attitude is the same. Once again he has set out to prove that The Four Seasons can be music for all time, and in his opinion there's no reason why Vivaldi's masterpiece shouldn't be opened up to embrace developments in musical instrument technology, or even new musical styles undreamt of in Vivaldi's 18th century world. Kennedy recorded this new Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with his Orchestra of Life, young musicians who are equally at home performing classical repertoire, jazz and improvisation. Integral to the Kennedy approach is the drum programming of Massive Attack's Damon Reece, which adds a mesmerizing rhythmic pulse underneath the crisply-articulated playing of Kennedy's Orchestra of Life. So it's Vivaldi's Four Seasons, but not as we've known them. The rhythms, the tonal palette and the instrumentation are different, and the introduction of voices and electricity clearly move the piece into a different dimension. But creativity means change, and the last thing Nigel Kennedy will ever do is stand still. ----------------------------------------------- “What strikes me most about “The Four Seasons” is how Vivaldi evokes such strong images in such a direct way. The fast passages bristle with energy, the melodies communicate with beauty and simplicity; and the huge contrasts in the music enhance the effect of this on the listener….” - Nigel Kennedy "Kennedy’s magical sound from 1989 is still there." - Die Welt "Nigel Kennedy... turned Vivaldi’s Four Seasons into a groovy magical mystery tour." - The Telegraph “Kennedy is an unstoppable force of joy and his playing gladdens the heart of any with swing in their soul.” - The Independent

TRACKS

1. Spring : 1 Melodious Incantation
2. 2 Transitoire #
3. 3 The Goatherd Sleeps With His Trusty Dog Beside Him
4. 4 Transitoire ##
5. 5 Nymphs And Shepherds Dance
6. Summer : 6 Destiny
7. 7 Transitoire #
8. 8 Fear
9. 9 Transitoire ##
10. 10 His Fears Are Only Too True
11. Autumn : 11 The Peasant Celebrates the Rich Harvest
12. 12 Transitoire #
13. 13 Pleasure of Sweetest Slumber
14. 14 Transitoire ##
15. 15 Horns, Guns, and Dogs
16. Winter : 16 Prolitoire #
17. 17 To Shiver, Frozen
18. 18 The Rain Outside
19. 19 Transitoire #
20. 20 Walk on the Ice
21. 21 The End