La Serenissima - Chandler - Lawson, Snape Maltings, August 5A PROGRAMME of music by Vilvadi still seldom fails to attract an audience and Wednesdays' Snape Prom given by La Serenissima led from the violin by Adrian Chandler was no exception, with scarcely an empty seat in the house.

La Serenissima - Chandler - Lawson, Snape Maltings, August 5

A PROGRAMME of music by Vilvadi still seldom fails to attract an audience and Wednesdays' Snape Prom given by La Serenissima led from the violin by Adrian Chandler was no exception, with scarcely an empty seat in the house.

Bringing previously unknown works to the concert platform is the speciality of this ensemble and the opportunity to hear some less familiar operatic arias and string concertos made this a rewarding evening.

Although the music of Vilvadi's La Constanza trianfonte of 1716 is largely lost, three arias from the opera demonstrated the brilliance of his vocal writing. They were superbly done by the soprano Mhari Lawson with every syllable of the often virtuosic writing crystal clear.

In the lovely dolce fiamma from La fida Ninfa, she demonstrated a beautiful cantabile and superb virtuosity in the brilliant colaratura of Alma oppressa, from the same opera.

The string concertos were equally rewarding, sometimes breaking from the accepted Vivaldi norm, as in the opening fugato of the E minor concerto RV134, which emancipates each of the string sections, all in the conventional melodies concerto in C for violin and two cellos RV561.

The final concerto demonstrated the superb virtuosity of Adrian Chandler, who draws great musical performances from his players, and in violin concertos such as the B flat RV370 and the concerto in D senza cantin, where Vivaldi instructs the soloist to dispense with the E string, showed that the master's writing is never a sinecure.

Frank Cliff