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Editorial Reviews

Just as the cathedral architecture of the baroque turned toward the ornate and the boldly dramatic, so too did the sacred music of the era. Angelic and reverent choral harmonies were no longer the whole story, thanks in part to the new aesthetics of opera, which had an audible impact on the church. Antonio Vivaldi's motets and psalm settings for solo voice are magnificent evidence of the changing style. Serene worship still has a place -- but right alongside plaintively emotional supplications and ecstatic vocal passages that require virtuoso agility. Soloist Andreas Scholl simply shines here. The young countertenor's pure voice rings bright and clear over the period instruments of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra; he navigates tricky passages of dizzyingly quick notes with firm precision, and brings a warmly comforting tone to the more lyrical music. Between Scholl's performances of Vivaldi's "Nisi Dominus," "Salve regina," and two other motets, the orchestra gives him a rest with two of the composer's concertos for strings, played with the same verve as the dazzling vocal works. Not long ago, it would have been hard to imagine that we'd have a star countertenor of this quality, one whose talents could draw in more than a tiny niche audience. Any remaining doubters need to hear this album, for it plainly announces that this once esoteric voice type is here to stay. Scott Paulin, Barnes & Noble

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