Vivaldi's Cello (2LP/180g Transparent Vinyl)

• 限量發行 750 套兩片裝透明膠唱片
• 採用 180 克高音質黑膠壓製
• 繼『繁花似錦巴洛克』和『城市樂章巴洛克』暢銷專輯，馬友友再現巴洛克音樂璀璨的景象。
• 選用製琴大師史特拉第瓦里1712年製造之三百年名琴，忠實拉奏出韋瓦第時代的大提琴聲音。
• 邀請荷蘭古樂指揮家湯庫普曼共同參與，形成了這張華麗且動聽的韋瓦第演奏專輯。

繼『繁花似錦巴洛克』和『城市樂章巴洛克』全球暢銷專輯後，馬友友2004年之專輯『美麗藝術巴洛克』，再度邀請荷蘭古樂指揮家湯庫普曼與他合作，這次馬友友來到巴洛克時代的歐洲商業重鎮─威尼斯，將當時最受富商名門喜愛的韋瓦第音樂，重現在我們面前。

為了忠實呈現韋瓦第時代音樂的原貌，馬友友找到了製琴大師史特拉第瓦里，在1712年於義大利所打造的三百年名琴，忠實拉奏出韋瓦第時代的大提琴聲音。暗沉、柔弱而細膩的大提琴音色，搭配起湯庫普曼的古樂團採用的古樂風格，就形成了這張華麗且動聽的韋瓦第演奏專輯。

韋瓦第的協奏曲作品，多半是為小提琴所譜寫的，其中最為人所知的就是『四季』；在『美麗藝術巴洛克』中，馬友友選用了三首原本就是為大提琴所譜寫的作品，其中還有一首是為雙大提琴所寫的協奏曲。除此之外，馬友友與庫普曼則刻意避開韋瓦第的大提琴作品，而選用音域較接近大提琴的樂曲來改編，包括『四季』中的「冬」慢板樂章，以及動聽的「魯特琴協奏曲」，另外還改編了三首歌劇以及詠嘆調。

★★★★★ ☆☆☆☆☆ ★★★★★

Vivaldi's Cello gives listeners a chance to hear a different kind of Vivaldi. Some of the music on this vinyl set was written by the composer to feature the cello of his day, but that's only half the story. Vivaldi's Cello couples those scores with music that Vivaldi originally intended for the violin, the viola d'amore or the human voice. Music that's now been transcribed for the cello.

On this album, Yo-Yo Ma plays the 1712 Stradivarius cello that he had already appropriately altered for the two Simply Baroque recordings he made with Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. Ma also uses a Baroque bow, and he adopted the relative tuning (in which instruments are tuned only in relation to each other) employed by the orchestra. The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra performs on period instruments and uses Baroque performance practices.

Koopman says Vivaldi's scores were only slightly altered to give voice to the cello. "Vivaldi didn't write differently for a singer than instrumentally," says Koopman, "I maybe changed the ornamentation to make it more instrumental. I also looked for pieces for lower voices, so we could leave them in the same key."

Of course, any notion of this album ignoring what is now Vivaldi's most famous piece was out of the question. And so in a brief nod to the enduring popularity of The Four Seasons, Ma and Koopman play an arrangement of the throbbing Largo from the work's "Winter" Concerto. "In Vivaldi's slow movements, you can play with your heart," says Koopman. "The music feels at home."

Vivaldi's Cello is available as a limited edition of 750 copies on transparent vinyl and includes an insert.

[Track Listings]
- LP 1, SIDE A -
1. Concerto In G Minor For Two Cellos, Strings And Basso Continuo, RV 531, I. Allegro
2. Concerto In G Minor For Two Cellos, Strings And Basso Continuo, RV 531, II. Largo
3. Concerto In G Minor For Two Cellos, Strings And Basso Continuo, RV 531, III. Allegro
4. The Four Sesons - Violin Concerto In F Minor, RV 297, "Winter": II. Largo
5. Concerto In B-Flat Major For Cello, Strings And Basso Continuo, RV 423, I. Allegro
6. Concerto In B-Flat Major For Cello, Strings And Basso Continuo, RV 423, II. Largo
7. Concerto In B-Flat Major For Cello, Strings And Basso Continuo, RV 423, III. Allegro

- LP 1, SIDE B -
1. "Così Sugl' Occhi Miei" From La Fida Ninfa, RV 714
2. Concerto For Viola D'Amore, Lute And Orchestra, RV 540, I. Allegro
3. Concerto For Viola D'Amore, Lute And Orchestra, RV 540, II. Largo
4. Concerto For Viola D'Amore, Lute And Orchestra, RV 540, III. Allegro

- LP 2, SIDE A -
1. "La Gloria Del Mio Sangue" From Giustino, RV 717
2. Concerto In C Minor For Cello, Strings And Basso Continuo, RV 401, I. Allegro Non Molto
3. Concerto In C Minor For Cello, Strings And Basso Continuo, RV 401, II. Adagio
4. Concerto In C Minor For Cello, Strings And Basso Continuo, RV 401, III. Allegro Ma Non Molto
5. "Noli, Ò Cara, Te Adorantis" From Juditha Triumphans, RV 644

- LP 2, SIDE B -
1. "Laudamus Te" From Gloria, RV 589
2. "Quanto Magis Generosa" From Juditha Triumphans, RV 644
3. "Dite Oihmè" From La Fida Ninfa, RV 714