Album: Apollo's Fire, Vivaldi & Friends: La Folia & Other Concertos (Avie)

Under the inspired direction of Jeanette Sorrell, Apollo's Fire has become one of the pre-eminent period-instrument ensembles, causing one to hear familiar baroque material anew – as in the arrangement here of "Summer" from "The Four Seasons" for solo harpsichord with string ensemble.

It's a noble tradition, as illustrated by the inclusion of both Bach's "Concerto in A minor for Four Harpsichords", and Vivaldi's "Concerto in B minor for Four Violins" on which it was based. But the showstopper is the vivid "La Folia": I love the strings' halting introductory bars and the way the ensemble picks up speed, building to dizzying whirls evocative of the Moorish dance it's named after.

DOWNLOAD THIS La Folia; Summer; Concerto in A minor for Four Harpsichords