Customer Reviews

Vivaldi: Stabat Mater, Nisi Dominus, Longe Mala

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

 

 

David Daniels is really a wonder! While the voice of counter tenors is by its nature rather androgynous, there is something both alluring and masculine in Daniels's tone. The so-called "counter-tenor hoot" is largely absent and his sizable voice is vibrant and evenly produced throughout a considerable
range. Daniels is also sensitive towards the words and any variation in musical dynamics and he is willing (and able) to vary the colour of his voice to suit the different musical and textual needs (quite difficult for a falsettist). This makes his interpretation of the 3 sacred works included in this CD both vivid and heart-felt. I would also mention that his breath control is excellent and his coloratura facility quite astounding. (The florid runs in some of the sections would probably tax even the most accomplished of mezzo-sopranos, and yet Daniels is able to toss them off fluently and with great elan.) What charismatic singing!

Fabio Biondi's playing of the violin and viola d'amore and the accompaniment of the Europa Biondi are delightful! Not only are they most musical and alert, they and Daniels work as close partners, each echoing the other's musical inflections. Their embellishments are both interesting and stylish. The music sounds freshly-minted under their combined hands (voices), and there is also a sense of grace and nobility in the performances, which is appropriate for this type of music. The good recording quality further enhances the effect of their fruitful collaboration.

This reviewer does not profess to know much about baroque performance practices, and therefore he cannot say whether the interpretations here are correct or not from an academic perspective. Nevertheless, this release has given me huge pleasure. Do check it out!

Countertenor David Daniels has no problem showcasing his versatility, as he joins forces this time with the seven-man ensemble Europa Galante, led by violinist Fabio Biondi, to provide a wonderfully satisfying performance of these three works by Vivaldi. Like most people who are not well versed in classical music, my only familiarity with Vivaldi prior to this recording was the omnipresent "The Four Seasons", even though he wrote over 500 concertos. That's why this disc is an important addition to any classical music library, as it represents a composer who displayed a strong sense of instruments producing sound color and musical effects of great beauty. When you add the incomparable Daniels to the mix, then the beauty of these works becomes enhanced exponentially.

The disc has the intimate feel of a chamber music recital, and the result is nothing short of a revelation. It paints a broad landscape of moods and textures ranging from the deeply melancholy and religious "Stabat Mater" to the nearly operatic "Longe mala". With the "Stabat Mater", one can almost see the Virgin Mary sitting at the base of the cross. My personal favorite is "Nisi Dominus", which Vivaldi wrote for an especially talented orphan girl to sing on the anniversary of the conservatory at which he taught, the Ospedale della Pietà. This piece allows Daniels to show his dramatic flair in a heartfelt expression of emotions - vigorous awe, sorrow and joy. His uncanny combination of a rich coloratura and a warm, honey-toned timbre allows him to stand head and shoulders above his countertenor brethren. What Daniels does so well is make an otherwise unearthly sound completely natural, and his incredibly flexible legato never feels out of control. Simply compare the ending "Amen" and "Alleluia" arias of the three pieces to gain a full appreciation of what this astounding singer can do with just one word.

To say that Europa Galante simply accompanies Daniels would be a complete understatement, as their instruments appear to be full-fledged partners to his vocals. The coupling works beautifully, especially the string section, which appears to match his vocal intensity note for note. The collaboration makes for a breathtaking recording and yet another impressive milestone in the career of David Daniels.

Having purchased the Scholl version when it was released I must admit to having been a little disappointed. Then came the Daniels' rendition and I realized that, when this particular singer sings, there is little one can do but sit back and let the wonderful, unearthly quality of his voice wash over you. Daniels is an exexceptional singer and this is a wonderful recording. He is admirably accompanied by Fabio Biondi.

IMAGINATION REIGNS BUT LYRICISM WANES.

The combination of Priest and Musician was not uncommon in Vivaldi's day and he was both, although due to poor health he was not able to function as a priest, which left him plenty of time for composing music. He turned the exuberance of his instrumental music to good account in his sacred vocal works, laying the foundation for the symphonic style in the music of Mozart and Haydn.

Of his fifty-odd surviving vocal compositions the 'Stabat Mater' is the earliest to which we can assign a date. It was written as a hymn for the Feast of he Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1712. Although the music remains morose throughout following the sorrowful spirit of the text, the radiant major chord ending the 'Amen' offers us a consolatory glimpse of Paradise.

Common belief is that Vivaldi composed most of his sacred works for female singers. Yet nothing with Vivaldi is ever uncomplicated: 'Nisi Dominus' was no doubt composed for one of his female students at a girl's orphanage in Venice, but some musicologists suggest that 'Salve Regina' and 'Longe mala, umbrae, terrores' were first performed by castratos or falsettists.

Given the fact that this music has been much recorded by countertenors such as Chance, Scholl, Taylor etc., it is not surprising that Virgin Classics has paired two of its biggest Baroque music stars, David Daniels and Fabio Biondi, to get this work in their catalog.

David Daniels can get around notes very well, but that fact doesn't insure that this version deserves to be acclaimed as 'better' than the best of existing versions. However, be that as it may, Daniels is marvellous in his singing ability: his runs are melliflous, his intonation spotless and his declamation of the text is beyond reproach.

The problems that exist with this recital center around Fabio Biondi's always imaginative, but seldom lyrical approach. And, in addition, Europa Galante does not sound more authentically 'Italianate' than the English Concert or even the Kings Consort. On this recording, the policy of using one instrumentalist per part, fails to satisfy even though the playing is never less than admirable. However, it comes across as being fussy and far too deliberate, somewhat quirky.

Hopefully, the brilliant talent of Daniels comes through and that will surely suffice for many people.

Two caveats: 1) I like Fabio Biondi and David Daniels and collect their CDs. 2) I am not wild about Vivaldi's Stabat Mater.

I agree both with laudatory comments to this CD and with its detractors. From the one hand, this CD features two extraordinary artists of our time, Biondi and Daniels, in good studio sound. From the other hand, only staunch advocates of these two artists can claim that this CD sweeps out other performances. (It is of course a matter of your taste, whether you really need many versions of Vivaldi's Stabat Mater or Longe mala). This CD fluctuates somewhere between genuine operatic and devotional styles. The editorial review correctly states that the three Vivaldi's works presented here are completely different in character, mood and feeling: that's true, but David Daniels's manner, alas, does not differ that much.

I have two other CDs/CD-sets with Biondi and Vivaldi's vocal music - a CD with Vivaldi's motets for a high voice (brilliantly sung by Italian coloratura soprano Patricia Ciofi) and Vivaldi's opera pasticcio Bajzet (with Daniels, Genaux, Garanca, Ciofi, Mijanovic and d'Arcangelo). In my opinion, Daniels's singing on this CD lacks both a histrionic delight he reveals in the airs from Bajazet, and Ciofi's impetus and warmth. Anyway, Daniels sounds less inspired on this CD and for the most part does not provide a deep impression, though his voice is gorgeous. I think that this might be due both to the singer's temperament and to the nature of his vocal gift. Despite the fact that Daniels's style is less authentic and more `romantic' than by any of his fellow counter-tenors (on other CDs Daniels even tackles Berlioz, Gounod, Ravel and Schubert's Lieder and sings Handel with more vibrato and a larger sound than most counter-tenors), he is a rather cold interpreter who seeks inspiration either from the text of airs/Lieder, or from operatic scenes. What is equally important, Daniels is no standard counter-tenor at all: to judge upon his tembre and his range, he is a male mezzo-soprano or a male alto who feels more secure in the lower part of his range. Though he is able to sing the standard panis contra-tenorum, fast coloratura in the high register loudly, this is not his forte: here his voice occasionaly becomes less focused and clear. He is in his element in long cantilena phrases and in pieces with changing rhythm and marked dynamic accents, where more thin voices with less breath support are struggling for life. Such a voice begs a comparison with mezzo-sopranos or contraltos, and Daniels is indeed regularily competing with ladies, when he takes over some parts originally written for a chest voice. Vivaldi wrote his Nisi Dominus for a contralto, and it is likely that his Longe mala RV 629 was performed by a contralto, too. I have an LP with great Spanish mezzo Teresa Berganza singing Vivaldi's Longe mala and her version touches me more than this one - not because I think Berganza is better than Daniels, but because I think that Berganza's natural chest voice fits the score better than Daniels's emulated head voice. On the contrary, I prefer Biondi/Daniels in Nisi Dominus RV 608 to Robert King/Nathalie Stutzmann's version on Hyperion - not as much because I want a counter-tenor in this motet, but because Stutzmann's raw contralto is not in Berganza's class and is no match for Daniels's smooth cantilena.

Despite the programme of this CD does gives David Daniels few chances to show his trumps, there is one absolutely ravishing track - Cum dederis from Nisi dominus. It is the best and least trivial music in this motet - a strange cantilena over floating chromatic sonorities. Daniels's voice really soars here, but I think that the laurels belong to Biondi who did a most effective arrangement of that piece and chose the right tempo and phrasing: he is not just accompanying his stellar singer - he is a maestro who added one more precious instrument - Daniels's voice - to his band. Bravi!

I think that this CD is worth buying for this track alone. Listening to it is a real joy - you simply don't need to keep in mind how good other performances of Cum dederis are. Other items are less captivating, and you get an opportunity to think of your collection.

While I have enjoyed David Daniels' previous works like the Handel operatic arias and his lieder album Serenade, I can't say the same for this Vivaldi release. Having owned Andreas Scholl's Harmonia Mundi recording of the Stabat Mater for several years (and dozens of listening, literally), Daniels' interpretation falls horribly flat to my ear. His voice is not as ethereal or light in the "female" register as you'd expect from a countertenor. His voice is indeed too heavy and unfocused, especially if you're familiar with Scholl's clarity and soaring high notes. The Nisi Dominus and Longe Mala are worthy performances, but I have to give this 3 stars not 4 or 5. If you're looking for the most "authentic" countertenor performance of the Stabat Mater, seek out Andreas Scholl's which features two other cantatas as well.

David Daniels' singing on this disc ranges from the spectacular to the sublime, particularly in "Longe mala." This great singer continues to make extraordinary recordings-- more can't come too soon.

In the past I owned a version of this that was stunningly beautiful, but accidently mixed it in with a batch of CDs to be sold..., so I assumed this full priced version would be wonderful. I found that the pacing dragged badly and that Daniels voice (which others rave about) was such a grotesque parody of the female voice that I couldn't stay in the room with it. If you like Vogueing you might like this. Listen carefully to make sure you really like this everpresent voice. I love contertenor singing, but I could not abide this. I would prefer something like Rutter did in his fabulous Requiem instead. I realize this might be a matter of individual taste, but to me this is one of the most unlistenable classical albums I have ever bought.