Customer Reviews

Angelika Kirchschlager: Bach Arias

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kirchschlager's voice is as smooth and creamy as butter, but this recording is not just about pretty sounds: Kirchschlager's singing is informed by a deep understanding of the music and the (predominantly German) text. Her phrasing and sense of musical line are impeccable. Although she's not a "baroque" singer, she blends rather well with the spiky instrumentalists of the Venice Baroque Orchestra and their soloist Carmignola, and nothing she does is stylistically inappropriate.

I don't think I've ever heard a more affecting version of the "Laudamus te" from the B-Minor Mass. I also have a recording of the full B-Minor Mass with Kirchschlager and Seiji Ozawa (which I had to order from Europe, as it's not available in the U.S.), but the "Laudamus te" is far better here on this album of arias -- probably because Kirchschlager was able to pick the tempo and make her own interpretive decisions.

This is a serious recording, and most of the selections are on the slow side, but it is one that rewards repeated listening.

Bach's arias have seldom sounded more cogent than in the lushly beautiful voice of Angelika Kirschlager. She manages to sing thses various arias with all the informed discipline of a baroque specialist but her talent takes the music much further. Without stepping out of the period she infuses these pieces with deeply felt emotional qualities. Listen to the "Erbarme dich" ("Have pity, God") and feel all the dramatic tension in this St Matthew Passion excerpt. In sensitive concert with the Venice Baroque Orchestra the "Laudamus te" from the B Minor Mass becomes as glorifying and lyrical as could be imagined. Kirschlager's ornamentation is subtle and never over-pushed. All of these attributes of this very fine recording are well demonstrated in the perfectly balanced "Vergnugte Ruh, Beliebte Seelenlust" ('Contented rest, beloved soul's desire'). Bach just doesn't get much better that the glories contained in this superb disc. Highly recommended - even if you don't like baroque music!

I really love Kirchschlager's singing here. This is a wonderful collection of
Bach arias from his cantatas. The fact that "Schlumert Ein" was really written
for Bass/Baritone doesn't diminish my enthusiasm. Kirchschlager simply sings it
two octaves higher. And this collection contains one of the most beautiful arias
from a cantata: Widerstehe Doch der Sunde (from cantata No. 54). The CD is really
worth it's purchase price just to hear these two selections.

But this CD does include Mr. Carmignolas' name (as violin obligato), on the cover.
Trouble is, that I mostly don't hear him (on this recording). Either the engineer
did not have him miked correctly, or else, perhaps Carmignola should have put a
steel E string on his fiddle?

But if you love the arias in Bach cantatas, or just love Bach. Then do give this CD
a listen. It is very, very good.

Angelika's voice is perfection; a true inspiration! Beautiful! Bach would be so proud and honored to hear his music sung by her.

There's a question in my mind why anyone who loves Bach would buy a whole album of excerpts, arias out of their meaningful cantata contexts, like a whole dinner of brussel sprouts, and all sung by the same voice in rather the same affective style. Such an album would need to be spectacularly performed, and this one isn't. The amazon editorial review speaks of "transparency", but you'll need X-ray ears to hear it. The Venice Baroque Orchestra proves again and again that using "original" instruments is no guarantee of getting Bach right; this performance is as heavy on the downbeat as a polka band in a resonant grange hall. Angelika Kirchschlager is not a Baroque singer, and it's obvious. She sounds quite a lot like the contralto in the Lutheran church choir I sang in as a teenager in Sweden. If I were feeling mean, I'd offer a translation of her surname from German.
Skip this one if you have any impression that I know what I'm talking about.