One of the greatest composers of the Baroque period, Antonio\nVivaldi was also a priest and virtuoso violinist. Although he was\nequally famous for his notorious vanity as for his music, his\nimaginative compositional style soon became world-renowned, and\nJ.S. Bach gave new vitality to Vivaldi’s works, citing the composer\namong his most important influences.

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This collection comprises several of Vivaldi’s chamber\nconcertos, which he is likely to have composed for the year-long\nstay of the crown prince of Saxony-Poland in Venice in 1716. The\nprince brought with him several musicians to whom Antonio became\nclose, and for whom the concertos were written to be performed in\nthe prince’s private apartments. The chamber concertos, showcasing\na variety of instruments, each include three movements, with the\nfast movements containing ritornello-form passages that alternate\nwith free instrumental solo sections. The concertos RV84 in D, for\nviolin, flute and basso continuo, and RV103 in G minor, for\nrecorder, oboe and basso continuo, are homotonal, a characteristic\nwhich pertains particularly to the works of Vivaldi and immediately\ndistinguishes his style from that of other composers of the\nera.

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