Album
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The Best of Andreas SchollAndreas Scholl Countertenor
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This disc collects a great variety of performances recorded for the Decca label by German-born countertenor Andreas Scholl, who says that the high male voice in which he sings is something he produces naturally, not something he specially cultivates. He makes you believe it. The diverse program is logically organized, with Baroque arias of various kinds surrounding a central core of quieter material, and sonically Decca has made a convincing whole out of material with various producers and recording locales. So listeners in search of a sampling of the work of one of the world's A-list countertenors can buy with confidence. If you're buying by the track online, start with track 8, the aria "Cara sposa" (Dear fiancée) from Handel's opera Rinaldo. It offers numerous examples of Scholl's awe-inspiring lower register, which seems to rise mysteriously out of nowhere and envelop you like one of those clouds of galactic matter into which the Starship Enterprise would wander from time to time. Nobody else can make a held note sparkle and gleam with shifting surfaces like Scholl can. For those who've heard Scholl in the past, the album likewise offers a worthwhile overview. Several observations may strike Scholl fans. Scholl is masterly in varying his style slightly to match the particular Baroque composer he is working with; for Gluck he cultivates a creamy smoothness, while for the castrato arias of Handel's time he's temperamental and a bit petulant—just right. He is very beautiful but just a little less entrancing in the traditional songs in the middle of the program—for all his emphasis on beauty of sound, there's also a dimension of acting, of an interior world being communicated and made to match the significance of a text, to what Scholl does, and where he doesn't have access to that theatrical quality he loses something. (The most successful of the traditional songs is also the oddest choice—the Korean song Ar ri rang, which like many other nationally emblematic songs has a quality of longing that gives Scholl what he needs.) The sacred arias by Vivaldi included here, on the other hand, are not exactly dramatic, but the fit between his voice and Vivaldi's vocal lines, which build up tension by covering a widening range, is something really rare and fine. It is also worth noting that Scholl is one of the few Germans who manages to sing English like a native. Strongly recommended to anyone who loves beautiful singing of any kind. © James Manheim, All Music Guide
Portions of Content Provided by All Music Guide.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.
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George Frideric Handel ComposerXerxes ('Serse'), HWV40 (opera)...Act 1 WorkRecorded 1998
Andreas Scholl Countertenor,
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment [members of] Orchestra,
Roger Norrington Conductor
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| 1 | 3.Arioso: Ombra mai fu | 3:03 |
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Christoph Willibald von Gluck ComposerOrfeo ed Euridice, Wq.30 (opera in 3 acts, Italian version)...Act 3 WorkRecorded 1998
Andreas Scholl Countertenor,
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment [members of] Orchestra,
Roger Norrington Conductor
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| 2 | 6.Aria: Che farò senza Euridice? | 3:44 |
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Antonio Vivaldi ComposerSalve Regina in C-, RV616 WorkRecorded 2000 |
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| 3 | 2.Ad te clamamus | 1:32 |
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George Frideric Handel ComposerRodelinda, regina de' Longobardi, HWV19 (opera)...Act 1 WorkRecorded 2004 |
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| 4 | 14.Sc.6, Aria: Dove sei, amato bene? | 5:02 |
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Giovanni Battista Pergolesi ComposerStabat mater, for soprano, alto, and strings WorkRecorded 1999
Les Talens Lyriques Chamber Ensemble,
Christophe Rousset Conductor,
Andreas Scholl Countertenor,
Barbara Bonney Soprano
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| 5 | 1.Stabat mater dolorosa | 4:11 |
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Antonio Vivaldi ComposerNisi Dominus (Ps.126), RV608 WorkRecorded 2000 |
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| 6 | 4.Cum dederit | 5:08 |
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Francesco Gasparini ComposerDestati, Lidia mia, chamber cantata WorkRecorded 2003 |
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| 7 | 3.Aria: Lidia, il sonno sai cos'e? | 3:23 |
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George Frideric Handel ComposerRinaldo, HWV7 (opera)...Act 1 WorkRecorded 2004 |
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| 8 | 23.Sc.7, Aria: Cara sposa | 9:22 |
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English Traditional ComposerBlow the Wind Southerly (Northumbrian Folk Song) WorkRecorded 2001
Edin Karamazov Lute,
Andreas Scholl Countertenor,
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Orchestra,
Stacey Shames Harp
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| 9 | Blow the Wind Southerly (Northumbrian Folk Song) | 1:41 |
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English Traditional ComposerThe Salley Gardens (or Maids of Mourne Shore), traditional melody WorkRecorded 2001 |
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| 10 | The Salley Gardens (or Maids of Mourne Shore), traditional melody | 4:01 |
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Korean Traditional ComposerArirang WorkRecorded 2000 |
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| 11 | Arirang | 2:35 |
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Jocelyn Pook ComposerThe Merchant of Venice, film score WorkRecorded 2004
Baroque String Quartet String Quartet,
Harvey Brough Psaltery,
Andreas Scholl Countertenor,
Elizabeth Kenny Theorbo,
Siobhan Armstrong Harp
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| 12 | How sweet the moonlight | 4:19 |
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John Dowland ComposerIn darkness let me dwell WorkRecorded 1999 |
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| 13 | In darkness let me dwell | 4:17 |
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Giulio Romano Caccini ComposerAmarilli mia bella, for voice and continuo WorkRecorded 1999 |
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| 14 | Amarilli mia bella, for voice and continuo | 2:45 |
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Francesco Gasparini ComposerEcco, che alfin ritorno, chamber cantata WorkRecorded 2003 |
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| 15 | 2.Aria: La pietà che ancor non trova | 4:51 |
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Nicola Porpora ComposerIl trionfo di Camilla (opera) WorkRecorded 2004 |
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| 16 | Va per le vene il sangue | 8:00 |
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George Frideric Handel ComposerGiulio Cesare in Egitto, HWV17 (opera)...Act 3 WorkRecorded 2004 |
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| 17 | 8b.Sc.4, Aria: Aure, deh, per pietà spirate | 5:34 |
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George Frideric Handel ComposerGiulio Cesare in Egitto, HWV17 (opera)...Act 2 WorkRecorded 2004 |
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| 18 | 22.Sc.8, Aria: Al lampo dell'armi...Coro: Mora Cesare, mora! | 2:55 |
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