Il Giardino Armonico, Giovanni Antonini - Telemann (2016)

Giovanni Antonini's 2016 release with Il Giardino Armonico on Alpha Classics is a polished album of Baroque chamber music for recorder, alto and tenor chalumeaux (predecessors of the modern clarinet), solo violin, strings, and continuo. While the program opens with Jacques-Martin Hotteterre's brief Prélude for solo recorder, the rest of the program consists of four works by the prolific Georg Philipp Telemann, which show diversity of instrumentation and a mix of Baroque forms. The two works featuring a recorder soloist, the Suite in A minor and the Concerto in C major, are bright, attractive vehicles that shine a spotlight on Antonini for his virtuosity and controlled tone. In the Sonata in F major for two chalumeaux, violin, and continuo, Antonini plays tenor chalumeau and is joined by Tindaro Capuano on alto chalumeau and Liana Mosca on violin, and the rich sonorities of the two chalumeaux bring warmth to the performance. The Concerto di Camera in G minor for recorder, two violins, and continuo returns Antonini to his principal instrument and to the vigorous displays of the first half of the program. The church acoustics of San Marco, Milan provide a bit too much resonance for a true chamber feeling, though the musicians are closely recorded, and all of the solo parts are front and center.