Customer Reviews

Andreas Scholl - German Baroque Songs

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SCHOLL IS IN HIS ELEMENT WHEN HE SINGS THESE SONGS!
The earliest examples of the German Baroque solo song are to be found in a collection by Johann Nauwach as early as l627. Nauwach was the first to venture into the continuo accompanied solo song. It seems perfectly natural for a German singer to put out a recording of some of these songs. And it is a great disc!

I think Scholl is in his element when he sings these German songs for it should be a person who knows every meaning of every word he sings so that every nuance is automatically built into each word. They include all the human emotions that one experiences in a lifetime. I particularly enjoyed : "The Rhenish Wine dances so merrily" and "The Art of Kissing".

The accompanying booklet includes all the translations and once you have followed them you need not look again for Scholl's interpretations will cue you into the correct understanding.

The tracks on this CD convey many different moods, from the passionate young suitor to the old, melancholy man; from a drinking song to a cheeky treatise on kissing; from the mournful to the magical. Some of the composers and most of the songs were unknown to most people until Scholl recorded this CD and he has done Baroque music excellent service by doing so. The recording quality is typically Harmonia Mundi, excellent throughout: expertly close-miked to convey the Scholl voice without being too close. Andreas Scholl's tone is as pure as ever on every track, his diction famously clear and his expression excellent. The lute song An der Eisamkeit (Solitude) is particularly affecting and reminiscent of Dowland's sad songs. For Scholl fans, even those whose German is shaky or non-existent, this is a must - Scholl full-on. For countertenor fans, a revelation of some delightful elements of the early German CT repertoire - a significant discovery. One of my very favourite Scholl CDs.

Andreas Scholl never fails to please. His creamy tone and acute articulation seem to work quite well in any situation for him.

This recording is a wonderful way to introduce some SEVERELY under-recognized musical treasures. Although the German Lieder didn't really 'take-off' in our classically-trained minds until the time of composers like Schubert, there are some definite gems available out there. Particularly well-represented on this disc, Krieger seems to be a font of German composition that even Handel (that ingenious musical thief) drew from on occasion.

This recording is a wonderful recital with interesting diversity of musical mood and ensemble textures. The players present well, and Scholl is, as usual, far above par. I especially enjoyed hearing the bits of German folk-isms and musical figures that brought to mind all the Classical and Romantic German Lieder I am more accustomed to hearing. It made me want to go to the library to dig out some of these composers' works for myself!

Overall, a wonderfully mature, educational, yet light performance that stands up well for being more than 15 years old!

Andreas Scholl is really inimitable - in a very peculiar way. To my ears, his pure voice is so perfect that it is faceless. Nobody else is like that. Scholl's hallmark is lack of any hallmarks. Scholl sounds technically superb, but somehow I can never finish the entire disc in one sitting: my mind drifts off. Maybe it's I who's peculiar, although I can think of a good half dozen countertenors who don't put me to sleep. But I won't bore you with their names.