Search - Reinhard Keiser, Capella Orlandi Bremen, Susanne Ryden :: Reinhard Keiser: La Bella Cantatrice

Aptly named - La Bella Cantatrice, indeed

Ingrid Heyn | Melbourne, Australia | 05/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Those who are early music lovers may have heard Susanne Rydén before. I had done so, and been impressed by her singing.



But this CD is beyond "impressive". It's simply... unutterably... ravishing.



There are moments on this recording when I literally froze in my tracks, saying to myself, "Oh dear God, how is it possible for anyone to make such a beautiful sound?" It's so affecting to the heart that I felt as though the universe itself was exulting in this beauty.



It's a pure sound - occasionally Ms Rydén reminds me of Suzie LeBlanc. But the purity has a lovely warmth to it, and there are no distractions to the sheer loveliness of this extraordinarily well-placed voice which makes of everything on this recording a thing of equally extraordinary beauty.



I simply cannot recommend this highly enough. What a gorgeous find! (And the music by Reinhard Keiser is as delicious as I'd expected - I already own the extremely beautiful recording of his opera "Croesus". This is a composer who deserves to be much better known.)"