2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Life-enhancing music, that ranks with J S Bach and the greatest of Telemann, April 29, 2009
This review is from: Christmas Oratorio / Cantatas 6-10 (Audio CD)
I have previously reviewed Volume 1 of these Christmas Oratorios. Volume 2 ranks with Volume 1 in terms of the quality of the music and performance. This is marvelous, life-enhancing music. Stolzel was as famous as J S Bach during his lifetime, and these oratorios show why. The voices and the musical accompaniment are stunning. The music on this disc is perhaps more intimate than Volume 1. The arias are shorter than Bach, and in many ways more beguiling. Unfortunately most of Stolzel's music has been lost, so we do not know just how great his achievement was. Ludger Remy's performances of Stolzel - I have all of them - are impeccable. He extracts every nuance, the music sings. He does for Stolzel what William Christie did for Charpentier and other composers of the French baroque a couple of decades ago. I've heard some other performances of Stolzel that are more conventional and distant. So get Remy's performances of Stolzel if possible. Whenever I play Stolzel to friends, the reaction is one of amazement - that he could have been forgotten for so long
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