Small gifts

"Uniting their own particular talents, countertenor Andreas Scholl, voice fresh and unblemished as ever, and recorder player/director Dorothee Oberlinger are in their element ... Oberlinger's small, Cologne-based chamber ensemble plays with lithe precision, each musician a soloist. Quite large gifts, it turns out".

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"Two of JS Bach's most glorious cantatas find him at his vibrant best ... He's equally persuasive in two cantatas by Telemann. Though less consistently compelling musically than the Bach, these are still rewarding, and they come alive in the Freiburg Barockorchester's dramatically aware playing".

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"Hos ... kontratenor Philippe Jaroussky er repertoire, stemme, det hele, ren velsignelse. Meget få har den kontrol over deres falsetleje, han har. Med en klang, der på en gang er mørkcremet og svævende, og med noder af Bach spillet til perfektion af Freiburgs barokorkester, er det svært ikke at overgive sig ... Og hans Telemann er lethed og drama i ét. Bogstavelig talt så man får kuldegysninger. Og det, tror jeg, gælder, uanset hvilket køn man som lytter har".

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"Hvis du vil høre kirkekantater af Bach ... og hvis de skal synges af en mandealt, som Bach ville have anbefalet, så er det briten Iestyn Davies, du skal finde ... Stemmen er suveræn. Ubesværet, kernerig og klangligt modulerbar ... Triller og koloratur er intet problem, optagelsen ... er teknisk suveræn, og ensemblet Arcangelo sætter standarden med udtryksfulde solospillere".

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"Fans af kontratenoren Philippe Jaroussky behøver ikke betænke sig. For også på dette album er Jarousskys usædvanlige stemme i centrum, og det er en lyd, man kan blive meget forfalden til".

"Philippe Jaroussky brings expressive tenderness and eloquent phraseology to the music, both in this mainly elegiac masterpiece [Bach: Ich habe genug] and in the cantata Vergnügte Ruh ... The two Telemann cantatas are slighter works but skilfully craftet and with a melodic charm ... and throughout Jaroussky proves an alluring advocate ... Altogether, this is accomplished music-making with characteristically stylish playing by the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra".

"Ungeachtet des spezifischen klanglichen Zauber der Stimme bereitet die Aufnahme eine milde Enttäuschung, weil Jaroussky den Rezitativen die deklamatorische Energie schuldig bleibt, dies auch wegen etlicher Probleme mit der Lautung der Vokale und der Formung der Konsonanten".

"Iestyn Davies [gives a] poised, sober performance ... Arcangelo's strings have a beautifully firm sound, with plenty of bow and intelligent details from the lute, while oboist Katharina Spreckelsen plays elegantly ... The Sinfonias from BWV 52 and BWV 174 are pleasingly earthy, with rustic horns".

"'Ich habe genug' ... test almost all facets of a singer's technical and expressive abilities. It goes without saying that Davies passes with flying colours, bringing ... a sensuous glow to the famous central, lullaby-like 'Schlummert ein' ... A great treat for us all; snap [it] up without hesitation".