Search - Bach, Scholl, Collegium Vocale :: Cantatas for Alto

Bach's "Counter-tenor" Cantatas

Joseph A. Newsome | Burlington, NC United States | 03/15/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bach's so-called alto cantatas have found many attractive interpreters in modern musical history--Dame Janet Baker, recently Monica Groop, counter-tenor Rene Jacobs, and now German counter-tenor Andreas Scholl. Like most new classical artists, Scholl is hyped by the record companies in the grand tradition of rock stars--see his Decca release "Heroes," with its sprawling, cliched photographs (the artistry is sound, however). In this recording of Bach's alto cantatas, Scholl proves himself a worthy exponent of the counter-tenor revolution. With a voice of both lyricism and stylish sensibility (not quite Derek Lee Ragin, but who could be?), Scholl excells in Bach's beautifully constructed cantatas. The coloratura is well-executed and rendered with appropriate insight into Baroque practice, although the all-too-common aspirate delivery is not altogether avoided. In general, this is an important release from an increasingly important artist--one can only dream of Scholl's reading of the Vienna "Orfeo ed Euridice.""