About this Artist

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• Interview

Editorial Reviews

Andreas Scholl may be the finest countertenor of our day. He has recorded widely with many of the leading names in early music -- William Christie, John Eliot Gardiner, Paul McCreesh, and others -- and this recording compiles some of his best performances captured on disc. The selections span the spectrum of Baroque music: from old favorites like the well-known "But Who May Abide the Day of His Coming" from Handel's Messiah to arias by Bach and Vivaldi. Another Handel selection, "Ombra mai fù" from the opera Serse, will be familiar to many listeners. Here the composer's cantabile style is at its most beautiful -- slow, graceful, and lyrical -- and the relaxed tempo allows Scholl's glowing soprano range plenty of room to blossom. The closing aria, "Erbarme dich" from Bach's St. Matthew Passion, is another lyrical gem. This time accompanied by obbligato violin, Scholl's clear, agile falsetto gives us a brief glimpse into the past, a taste of what Bach himself might have heard. EJ Johnson, Barnes & Noble

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