Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto in G Major for 2 Mandolins, RV 532
Antonio Vivaldi: Mandolin Concerto in C Major, RV 425
Johann Nepomuk Hummel: Mandolin Concerto in G Major, S. 28
Giovanni Hoffmann: Mandolin Concerto in D Major - Rondo
Fabrizzio Caroso: Andantino
Vincenzo Galilei: Allegro marcato
Antonio Vivaldi: Trio Sonata in G Minor, RV 85
Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto for Lute and 2 Violins in D Major, RV 93

If you're a classical music enthusiast and of a certain age, it's very likely that you have fond memories of the Vox/Turnabout record label. If you still have an extensive vinyl collection, there may be a handful of Turnabout recordings within this collection. Back in the 1960s and early 70s, Turnabout which was the budget label of the day, held its own within the classical music market, and had a reputation for releasing very good recordings of Baroque music in particular. Alto Records, which specializes in the remastering and redistribution of older and yet noteworthy recordings mostly from defunct labels of the past, have assembled together on one CD, the best performances of Lute & Mandolin Concertos available within Turnabout's catalogue. It features artists of the day like Paul Grund, Artur Rumetsch, Edith Bauer-Slais, Elfriede Kunscha and Vinzenz Hladky on mandolin, and Anton Stingl on lute.

The remastering process by Paul Arden-Taylor does full justice to the rich analogue audio quality of the day, and doesn't overly anesthetize what was already present. And unlike some of today's latest interpretations which seem obsessed with velocity, everything here is performed at a leisurely pace, allowing the music to flow to an unexaggerated and natural cadence.

If you are already familiar with these recordings, they are well worth revisiting, even if only for the nostalgia factor. And if you aren't, you may well be surprised to find out how good things were, musically speaking, over 60 years ago, long before the digital and disposable age.