I have a hard time applying my typical keeper/blue bin dichotomy to this particular record. On one side, the functionally-named Vivaldi Ensemble, Tokyo plays what they presumably know best - Vivaldi. I have admitted in past posts on this blog that my understanding of how to critique and compare jazz albums is minimal, at least compared to my knowledge of rock. And if anything, my understanding of how to critique and compare classical music is even weaker, especially with regards to differentiating between two performances of the same piece. So while I do find this particular concerto to be an excellent one, I have no real sense of how much credit to assign this particular Vivaldi Ensemble for the performance without closely listening to other performances of the same work.
The second side I certainly can critique as the ensemble takes on a medley of Beatles songs - "Yesterday," "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" and "Michelle." I don't find classical takes on these songs to be particularly revelatory, unfortunately. I'd like to say that McCartney's more sophisticated harmonic palate would lend itself well to classical, and his songs do make more sense in a classical environment than Lennon's. But somehow "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," easily the worst of the three songs when performed by the Beatles, sounds the best here. The cover of "Yesterday" is in particular a disappointment, plodding along at a turgid pace and losing the yearning of the original. Considering the original "Yesterday" is well known for having string accompaniment, I have to think that the failure here to bring it into a classical music context has to be placed squarely on the shoulders of this Vivaldi Ensemble of Tokyo.
So is this a record I keep or throw away? On a pure level of artistic merit, I would say blue bin. But I don't have any other recordings of this particular Vivaldi concerto, and for that reason, I do imagine I'll return to this record. Keeper!
No comments:
Post a Comment