vivaldi is in the pile of stuff that i generally write off as robotic and trite, but this is a surprisingly dynamic, if somewhat fruity and bourgeois, little piece that i probably would have enjoyed, in the right context.

i don't want to let him off the hook entirely. it toys with you - being that it was written when it was, it's neither the gutwrenching renaissance piece that it hints at, nor is it the proto-romantic romp that it perhaps should be. it is, in a real sense, exactly what's wrong with the "classical" period, which i use here in the strict technical sense.

but, it's also particularly good, for what it is; i don't expect to hear pieces this interesting from this period, and would be curious about exploring pieces similar to this one. maybe there's some music from the classical era (strictly speaking) that's worth holding on to, after all...