10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must-have CD for an outstanding price, August 4, 2001
This review is from: Daniel Taylor: Portrait (Audio CD)
I first read about Daniel Taylor on the SchollSociety messageboards and Amazon.com and I was intrigued. A Canadian countertenor with a voice comparable to Andreas Scholl's? ...I couldn't resist. I took it along on a three-hour bus ride to Tadoussac, Québec.
As the mournful opening strains of Erbarme Dich commenced, the haunting, sweeping violins and viol carried me along the winding roads through the mountains. The sky was overcast, and as I heard Taylor's voice for the first time the sun came out. I was in Heaven; beautiful vistas of mountains on one side, jagged cliffs plunging into the St. Laurent on the other and Daniel Taylor's voice in my ears. Erbarme Dich is deep, passionate, and so achingly beautiful. I am an avid lover of Bach but it was the first time I had heard anything from St. Matthew's Passion. I was more familiar with many of the other Dowland songs: Time Stands Still, Come Again, Flow My Tears, and I Saw My Lady Weep, all of which are present on Andreas Scholl's "English Folksongs and Lute Songs."
Daniel Taylor's voice is exquisite. Haunting. Ethereal. A creamy, lush, pure sound, more feminine than Scholl's tone, reminiscent of brilliant Japanese countertenor Yoshikazu Mera. As with Scholl, the effect sounds effortless and angelic. "Daniel Taylor: Portrait" is an excellent introduction to an amazing talent. Ten stars.
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