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Consider, My Soul: Sacred AriasDresden Staatskapelle Orchestra, Thomas Quasthoff Bass-baritone
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The recital of sacred arias is rarer than the disc devoted to operatic or art song selections, and it carries its own special challenge: in sacred material, the singer can't get away with relying on sheer vocal beauty to the detriment of communication of the text. This selection of arias from larger works by Bach, Handel, Haydn, and Mendelssohn thus is ideally suited to the talents of bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff, who combines smooth, perfectly controlled technique with a broad, instantly attractive Germanic warmth. "Music is my religion," Quasthoff said, and indeed he includes a pair of selections from Haydn's Die Jahreszeiten (The Seasons), not conventionally considered a sacred work (for pagans, it works perfectly well as one). But listen to Quasthoff's rendition of "Mache dich, mein Herze, rein" (Make yourself pure, my heart) from Bach's St. Matthew Passion (track 6), which seems to proceed from a feeling of absolute conviction in its quiet mix of determination and sweetness, and from a basis of rock-solid technique in its gentle procession from note to note. All the Bach arias, which open the disc, are gorgeous, and listeners who have immersed themselves in historical Bach performances may wish to pause and hear what a modern operatic singer can do with Bach's vocal lines that run rapidly upwards and leave the singer perched over a cliff. Quasthoff does well with the English-language works on the disc, including "The trumpet shall sound," from Handel's Messiah—he doesn't exactly sound like a native, but he obscures his German accent into something of indeterminate origin. This is true even in the bonus track (classical albums never used to have bonus tracks, but perhaps silly marketing devices are an inevitable result of multinational corporate control of the big labels), the African-American spiritual Swing Low, Sweet Chariot; the listener is advised to avoid performances of spirituals by all-German ensembles, but Quasthoff's sense of conviction helps him bring this one off. Quasthoff shifts gears effectively from Bach into the humor of Die Jahreszeiten and the more relaxed religion of Mendelssohn. The Staatskapelle Dresden (and occasionally the Staatsopernchor Dresden) under Sebastian Weigle provides sensitive and restrained support. In all, if you've heard about Quasthoff and are looking for a good introduction to his talents, this disc provides a fine one. © 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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Johann Sebastian Bach ComposerChristmas Oratorio (6 Cantatas, from Christmas to Epiphany), BWV248...Oratorio 1: Jauchzet, frohlocket! Auf, preiset die Tage (Christmas Day), BWV248, No.1 Work
Matathiasa Brauer Chorus/Choir Director,
Staatsopernchor Dresden Chorus/Choir,
Thomas Quasthoff Bass-baritone,
Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra,
Markus Schmutzler Trumpet,
Sebastian Weigle Conductor
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| 1 | 8.Aria (Bass): Großer Herr, O starker König | 4:44 |
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Johann Sebastian Bach ComposerChristmas Oratorio (6 Cantatas, from Christmas to Epiphany), BWV248...Oratorio 3: Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen (Dec. 27), BWV248, No.3 Work
Sibylla Rubens Soprano,
Andreas Lorenz Oboe d'amore,
Matathiasa Brauer Chorus/Choir Director,
Staatsopernchor Dresden Chorus/Choir,
Thomas Quasthoff Bass-baritone,
Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra,
Bernhard Muhlbach Oboe d'amore,
Sebastian Weigle Conductor
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| 2 | 6.Duet (Soprano, Bass): Herr, dein Mitleid, dein Erbarmen | 7:34 |
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6:39
Matathiasa Brauer Chorus/Choir Director,
Staatsopernchor Dresden Chorus/Choir,
Thomas Quasthoff Bass-baritone,
Ulrike Scobel Viola d'amore,
Stefan Maass Lute,
Jörg Kettmann Viola d'amore,
Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra,
Sebastian Weigle Conductor
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| 3 | 19.Arioso (Bass): Betrachte, meine Seel | 2:31 |
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| 4 | 32.Aria (Bass) and Chorale: Mein teurer Heiland, laß dich fragen—Jesu, der du warest tot | 4:08 |
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Matathiasa Brauer Chorus/Choir Director,
Staatsopernchor Dresden Chorus/Choir,
Thomas Quasthoff Bass-baritone,
Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra,
Sebastian Weigle Conductor
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| 5 | 65.Aria (Bass): Mache dich, mein Herze, rein | 6:19 |
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Matathiasa Brauer Chorus/Choir Director,
Staatsopernchor Dresden Chorus/Choir,
Thomas Quasthoff Bass-baritone,
Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra,
Markus Schmutzler Trumpet,
Sebastian Weigle Conductor
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| 6 | 50.Recitative (Bass): Behold, I tell you a mystery; 51.Aria (Bass): The trumpet shall sound | 9:17 |
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(Franz) Joseph Haydn ComposerDie Jahreszeiten ('The Seasons'), Hob.XXI:3...Der Fruhling (Spring) Work
Matathiasa Brauer Chorus/Choir Director,
Staatsopernchor Dresden Chorus/Choir,
Thomas Quasthoff Bass-baritone,
Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra,
Sebastian Weigle Conductor
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| 7 | 3.Recitative: Vom Widder strahlet jetzt; 4.Aria: Schon eilet froh der Ackersmann | 4:24 |
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(Franz) Joseph Haydn ComposerDie Jahreszeiten ('The Seasons'), Hob.XXI:3...Der Winter (Winter) Work
Matathiasa Brauer Chorus/Choir Director,
Staatsopernchor Dresden Chorus/Choir,
Thomas Quasthoff Bass-baritone,
Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra,
Sebastian Weigle Conductor
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| 8 | 42.Aria: Erblicke hier, bethörter Mensch; 43.Recitative: Die bleibt allein und leitet uns | 4:41 |
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Matathiasa Brauer Chorus/Choir Director,
Staatsopernchor Dresden Chorus/Choir,
Thomas Quasthoff Bass-baritone,
Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra,
Sebastian Weigle Conductor
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| 9 | 6.Recitative: Und Gott sprach: Es sammle sich das Wasser; 7.Aria: Rollend in schäumenden Wellen | 4:50 |
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Matathiasa Brauer Chorus/Choir Director,
Staatsopernchor Dresden Chorus/Choir,
Thomas Quasthoff Bass-baritone,
Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra,
Sebastian Weigle Conductor
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| 10 | 16.Herr Gott Abrahams | 3:28 |
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Matathiasa Brauer Chorus/Choir Director,
Staatsopernchor Dresden Chorus/Choir,
Thomas Quasthoff Bass-baritone,
Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra,
Sebastian Weigle Conductor
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| 11 | 26.Es ist genug ; 27.Siehe, er schläft | 5:15 |
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Matathiasa Brauer Chorus/Choir Director,
Staatsopernchor Dresden Chorus/Choir,
Thomas Quasthoff Bass-baritone,
Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra,
Sebastian Weigle Conductor
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| 12 | 18.Aria (Paul): Gott, sei mir gnädig (O God, have mercy upon me) | 5:38 |
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Spiritual Traditional ComposerSwing Low, Sweet Chariot Work
Matathiasa Brauer Chorus/Choir Director,
Staatsopernchor Dresden Chorus/Choir,
Thomas Quasthoff Bass-baritone,
Dresden Staatskapelle Orchestra,
Sebastian Weigle Conductor
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| 13 | Swing Low, Sweet Chariot | 3:07 |
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