DAGOGO Music Review: First Impression Music The Four Seasons

It is hard to accept any other Four Seasons after having lived with Berlin Philharmonic’s
version with its massive string section. I, like any classical music admirer worth his salt,
bought my first copy of the quintessential piece the moment it was available on CD in
1984. The fact that I was fortunate enough to have gotten this hot copy that day did
not prepare me for a musical impression that I would stubbornly rely on as reference for
the work for the ensuing twenty years. That mindset of mine would change with the
arrival of First Impression Music’s Four Seasons.

Recorded in 1992 at Italy’s Chiesa di S. Vigilio church by Wolfram M. Burgert of
Appassionato AG of Switzerland, the master tape was remastered by Paul Stubblebine
in 2001 via the Sony DSD mastering system, as well as Pacific Microsonics' Super HDCD
24-Bit system. The disc’s booklet contains a line of recognition to David Kawakami and
Gus Skinas of the Sony SACD Project in the production of the hybrid SACD. This
review examines the disc via its CD layer.

The sound of this recording went through virtual metamorphoses, sounding spacious
and dimensional with the Audio Note AN-E SEC Silver speakers, and produced
mesmerizing energy in the hands of the Tannoy Churchill Wideband’s 15-inch Dual-
Concentric™. In addition, whether I was using the tubed, Audio Note DAC 5 Special or
the transistor-based Harmonix Reimyo DAP-7777 20bitK2, the overriding impression
has consistently been one of agility and resolution. Let me address the agile aspect
first.

The performing ensemble is the 8-person Sonatori De La Gioiosa Marca, a chamber
music group founded in Treviso, Italy, in 1983. The ensemble’s very size contributed to
my initial apprehension towards its small-scale methods. What Berlin Philharmonic
offered with its massive string section was the sonically luxurious and overwhelming
experience, one that is impossible to resist even to the most novice of listeners.
Yet, out of my reviewing the 8-person-ensemble’s performance, I began to understand
its legitimacy. Reviewing turned into an exploration of repeating playing and more
careful listening. Then, I got it.

At a little over a mere 36 minutes, the Italian ensemble’s version is among the fastest,
and suitably so. Sonatori De La Gioiosa Marca gave me a Spring that filled my listening
room with merriness, not massive scales of happiness, attaining a more real sense of
bustling business. Summer storms became an amazingly personal experience. When
Autumn came with a rich sense of festiveness and fruitfulness, it was finally contrasted
by the stern mood of Winter.

As I listened to each sub-section within the movements, I found the sound created by
the single instruments more and more involving and personable, with a sonority so
luscious that I couldn’t resist. So much so that in more than one session, I felt the
need for more, thus listened past The Four Seasons into the six movements of the two
remaining works, Concerto for 3 Violins, viola & Bass in F Minor, RV 551, and Concerto
for Strings in D Minor, RV 128. Tremendous fun that had been.

The real star of the ensemble was solo violinist Giuliano Carmignola and his 1722 Petro
Guarnei violin. While other members of the ensemble is equally indispensable, you have
not heard what today’s high-end digital can do for Carmignola’s Guarnei. The rendition
of the instrument was so resolute with a sound so sonorous, there were times during
frantic successions when I feared for the well-being of the violin.

By audiophile standard, the CD layer of this hybrid SACD sounds exceptionally well-
defined and opulent, with some of the most impressive dimensionality and tonality to
boast. The most popular classical music performed by the composer’s own countrymen
and produced with the most resolute of sound available: this is a most worthy
newcomer to the vast classical vaults, and every audiophile with a classical heart ought
to experience it.