Vivaldi - Concerto for Recorder and Strings in F Major, RV 442

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) Concerto for Recorder and Strings in F Major, RV 442 Composed in the 1720s Performed by Il Giardino Armonico Recorded November 1990 at Studio 1 of RTSI (Radiotelevisione svizzera), Lugano, Switzerland 0:00 I. Allegro ma non molto 3:00 II. Largo e cantabile 5:56 III. Allegro Composed in the 1720s and preserved in Vivaldi’s autograph manuscript collection in Turin, the Concerto in F major, RV 442, is written specifically for recorder and strings. The work instructs every instrument in the accompanying string section to use mutes, wrapping the voice of the recorder in a hushed atmospheric texture. Vivaldi later reworked this original conception into his published transverse flute concerto, Op. 10, No. 5 (RV 434), but the earlier RV 442 remains celebrated for its structural charm and delicate, muted sonority.