Our musical world is practically wallpapered with Vivaldi, but he had fallen into almost total obscurity until the past half century or so. An except from Joseph Braunstein's liner notes:
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This state of affairs is a thing of the past. Vivaldi’s works enjoy now frequent readings and an astonishing popularity. They owe this remarkable turn chiefly to the enthusiasm of the performer and the phonograph record. Vivaldi’s works have become a pillar of the repertory of the chamber orchestras, and the record industry lost no time to tap his inexhaustible and artistically rewarding musical heritage. The fact that Schwann’s Long Playing Record Catalog lists more Vivaldi items than those of Handel is well worth mentioning.
Yet these happy developments would never have come to pass but for a lucky incident which sparked the revival of Vivaldi. Forty years ago it would have been impossible to play the pieces that were assembled for the present recording. Nobody knew of their existence. The amazing story of their discovery can be related in outline only. In the Fall of 1926 the National Library in Turin received a request from a boarding school in Piedmont for expert advice concerning a large amount [sic] of “old volumes” which the administrators wanted to sell to antique dealers. The institution was run by Salesian Fathers who wanted to know the fair price which the prospective dealers would have to pay for the material. The matter was turned over to Dr. Alberto Gentili, professor of music history at Turin University. He asked for a list and suggested that the material be sent to Turin so that he could inspect it carefully The Salesians obliged and several crates arrived. Dr. Gentili immediately went about the business of examining the contents. On opening the first crate “he found before him volume upon volume of Vivaldi autographs.”
Controlling his overwhelming emotions, he immediately realized that the matter required very delicate handling. Steps had to be undertaken to prevent the manuscripts from falling into the hands of professional dealers and forestall the eventual dispersion and sale abroad. Naturally Dr. Gentili and the library administration fervently wished to secure this treasure for Turin. Yet the library was without funds to acquire the collection from the Salesians and to approach the Government was very risky, for if the state were to become the owner of the collection the Government would have exercised the right of choosing the institution to which the manuscripts were to go. Proceeding with utmost secrecy, Dr. Gentili went begging and finally succeeded in finding a public spirited Turinese who would agree to purchase the collection and donate it to the Turin Library in memory of his deceased infant boy. The Government accepted the donation and the Turin Library took possession of 97 volumes containing rare printed music, manuscripts and autographs of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
Studying the individual volumes carefully, Dr. Gentili made a very intriguing discovery The last pages of some volumes failed to show the conclusion of the composition and a logical continuation could not be found in other volumes. It became evident that the material had been bound randomly and was a part of a larger collection which had to be split and distributed, presumably, among the heirs of the one-time owner. It transpired that the collection had been assembled by the Genoese Count Giacomo Durazzo (1717-1794), Austrian Ambassador in Venice and active patron of Gluck.
A great deal of searching and sleuthing had to be done to find members of the Durazzo family and potential owners of the remnants of the original collection. Luckily, one should say, this scion was finally discovered in Genoa. He happened to be a very difficult person and it required much tact, ingenuity and patience to persuade him to sell his share of the collection to the Turin Library. Yet where should the money come from for the purchase? History was repeating itself. Dr. Gentili had once more to go the via dolorosa of begging and after agonizing and fruitless attempts he reached his goal: a Turinese industrialist who had lost a small child provided the sum for the purchase of the manuscript and donated the collection to the Turin Library in the name of his son.
Thanks to the tireless efforts and ingenuity of Dr. Alberto Gentili the great collection of Vivaldiana (319 items) had been saved for posterity in bulk. The ramifications of this achievement in matters of research, publication of Vivaldi's music and, last but not least, for the musical practice and concert life cannot be overestimated, The establishment of the Turin collections led to the Vivaldi renaissance and the issuance of the Complete Works of the great Venetian master.
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Neither the jacket nor the label show a copyright date, but according to Discogs, this is a 1966 release. Cover art by John Trotta.
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