The Concerti for strings take you on a journey of feelings, diverse landscapes, and histories. Here we have thirteen musical miniatures in which emerge the influence of neigh-bouring and distant lands, and of the sea surrounding Ven-ice. This is clear in concerto RV 163, entitled Conca, inspired by the sound of the conch shell (or Wettertrompete), which Vivaldi had the chance to hear in Bohemia, and to which sailors at tributed the power to appease or unleash the storms. The Concerti for viola d'amore are of a more mysterious character. Notably because this fascinating instrument has strings which vibrate independently when the melodic strings are rubbed. Vivaldi, like some of his students - and like Alessandro Tampieri! - was a great virtuoso of the instrument, which has incidentally only been used on and off since the 19th century. The soft, evocative sounds of the viola d'amore, reminiscent of Oriental worlds, here reach their climax in the poignant Largo of concerto RV 393, the lively finale of concerto RV 394 and the delicate Andante in D minor of concerto RV 395.