Andreas Scholl

"Superb, richly detailed performances set in a sumptuous acoustic." Performance ****/***** BBC Music Magazine

“A handsome package matched by a lively interpretation” BBC Music Magazine, October 2005

“Caldara was the most prolific and famous oratorio composer of his day and this one, written around 1700, is wonderfully rich in fresh and attractive invention.
Practically devoid of external action, it's dramatically tense and concentrates on the struggle between the forces of good and evil, the sinner Magdalen being urged towards penitence by her sister Martha; the roles of Christ and a Pharisee are considerably smaller.
The work opens arrestingly, with an agitated sinfonia followed by the hypnotic aria 'Dormi, o cara': then come another 27 brief da capo arias with their associated recitatives – ensembles scarcely exist. But there's no lack of variety: some arias, flanked by an orchestral ritornello, are accompanied only by a continuo instrument; others are furnished with different usages of the five-part strings.
René Jacobs furthers the dramatic impact by his pacing; and his casting is flawless. He has the highly effective idea of differentiating the parts of Earthly and Celestial Love by allocating the former to a mezzo and the latter to a countertenor.
Both are excellent, but so are all the participants.
It seems invidious to single out highlights but outstanding are the aria 'Diletti' for Magdalen (Kiehr) and the succeeding ornate 'Vattene' for Martha (Dominguez) and, even more, two florid arias from Scholl rejoicing in the eventual triumph of good, and two passionately delivered by Fink, of fury by evil at its overthrow.
You're urged to acquire this disc.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Scholl at his inimitable best: superbly accomplished and fully inside each character in turn.” BBC Music Magazine

“Scholl is pre-eminent among today's countertenors for the fine quality, roundness and power of his voice as well as for the artistry of its usage. In this new recital, the sheer opulence of tone impresses afresh, and its firmness make the more dramatic vibrancy of Daniel's seem somewhat loosely focused... the recitative in Admento shudders with the hopelessness of 'omai tornate', and, in the solo from Rodelinda, Bertardio confronts his own epitaph with convincing emotion.” Gramophone Magazine

“The highlights are the Serse, Alcina and Cesare arias: Handel doesn't come lovelier than this.” Sunday Times

“Here is another guaranteed hit for this justifiably acclaimed German countertenor.” The Observer

“Handel recitals do not come much better than this... Glorious music, superlative singing.” The Telegraph

“Here's a very attractively prepared menu whose main course is the Stabatmater for countertenor and strings.
Hors-d'oeuvres and side-dishes consist of a ripieno concerto (RV114), a chamber cantata for countertenor and strings (RV684), a string sonata in E flat (RV130) and an introductory motet to a lost Miserere (RV638). Taken together, the pieces demonstrate something of Vivaldi's diverse style as a composer.
The chamber cantata, if closely related to the two sacred vocal items on the disc in respect of tonal colour, differs from them in character.
Conforming with the standard Italian cantata pattern at the time of two pairs of alternating recitative and da capo aria Vivaldi enlivens his pastoral idyll with two particularly affecting arias, the first with a palpitating pizzicato violin, the second a virtuoso vocal tour de force illustrating the plight of the forsaken lover. Andreas Scholl brings the whole thing off superbly with only a moment's faulty intonation at the close of the first aria. Unlike settings of the Stabat mater by Pergolesi and others, Vivaldi used only the first 10 of the 20 stanzas of the poem. His deeply expressive setting of the poem will be familiar to many readers, but few will have heard such an affecting performance as Scholl achieves here.
The lyrical prayer of human yearning for faith contained in the 'Fac ut ardeat' movement is tenderly sung and here, as throughout the programme, sympathetically supported by Ensemble 415 under Chiara Banchini's experienced direction.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Jacobs draws a vibrant and flamboyant sound from [the Netherlands Chamber Choir], in which lyrical expression is never forgotten...There is also a lovely and unhurried 'Pulchra es' from Maria Cristina Kiehr and Barbara Boden.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2010