The seductively charming sound of the Baroque-era viola d’amore takes centre stage in this new, all-Vivaldi recording with Billboard classical chart-topping violinist Rachel Barton Pine and the veteran Chicago-based period instrument ensemble Ars Antigua, making its Cedille label debut.

Pine, Cedille’s all-time best-selling artist, and Ars Antigua perform all eight of Vivaldi’s virtuosic concertos for viola d’amore, an unusual instrument of the violin family with 14 strings: seven played with the bow, the others resonating passively for a sweet, silvery tone.

Pine is “one of the rare mainstream performers with a total grasp of Baroque style and embellishment” (Fanfare) and “a most accomplished Baroque violinist, fully the equal of the foremost specialists” (Gramophone).

Founded in the early 2000s by double-bass virtuoso Jerry Fuller, Ars Antigua ('ancient art' in Medieval Latin) comprises seasoned early music veterans from the Chicago area.

Pine’s period-instrument discography on Cedille Records includes six acclaimed albums with her ensemble Trio Settecento. She has performed with her trio colleagues (cellist/gambist John Mark Rozendaal and harpsichordist David Schrader) at New York’s Frick Collection, the Boston Early Music Festival, the Indianapolis Early Music Festival, Dumbarton Oaks in Washington DC, Houston Early Music, and elsewhere.