Search - John Dowland, Giulio Caccini, Andreas Scholl :: Andreas Scholl - A Musicall Banquet

Absolute Scholl

J. R. Gunsell | Cambridge, UK | 02/26/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These lovely songs are full of period metaphor, subtle music and complexity despite the deceptive simplicity of the presentation. They challenge the listener unused to the poetry of the period but more than repay a little concentration. If you like melancholy, you'll love it. Scholl himself described this genre of English song as `incredibly melancholy' - but not everything on this CD is, and not all the songs are English: there is lyrical Italian and French material, as well as fiery Spanish music. These are not easy songs for a singer to do well but Andreas Scholl is ready for them, now: his voice bigger, deeper and more resonant than formerly. His thoughtful approach to text shines, as usual. His ornamentation in all the songs is just ... so. Not too much, and nothing is wanting.He imbues In Darkness Let Me Dwell with an incredibly dark sound and a powerful intensity that I don't think he could have executed as well in earlier years. The final bars of To Plead My Faith are wrenchingly sad. The Spanish songs are spectacular in his live performance, especially Vuestros Ojos, which, live, he takes at one hell of a lick, to the immense pleasure of the audience; a fraction slower on the recording, but still very exciting. The coloratura tour de force of Sta Notte Mi Sognava is accomplished with almost throw-way ease. The genteel innuendo of Lady If You So Spite Me is done with sardonic humour and energy alternating with pathos - quite a combination. In Go My Flock, Go Get You Hence, he sounds about seventeen and full of teenage desperation: at `No, she hates me!' you can imagine the infatuated teenager flinging his arms about. The final track, O Bella Piu, is a little miracle of interpretation. Apart from the sheer perfection of voice and delivery, he does `pining' so well! He begins with quiet adoration; `non piu dolore!' is a gnat's whisker from a sob but without any loss of control or musicality - no extraneous funny business - moving into pleading in the first `Pieta!', and sheer desperation in the second. A heart-stopper.The accompanying instrumentalists are all first rate. Christophe Coin's bass viol solo in O, Dear Life When Shall It Be is fascinating. Edin Karamazov - a star in his own right if ever there was - is a perfect match for Scholl and he also gets a short, beautiful lute solo. All the performers are on top form, as are the recording engineers. The whole CD is distilled pleasure from start to finish: each song is fully revealed and brought to vibrant life. Andreas Scholl's singing on this recording is peerless - but `Lieber erstmal Lieder', as he would say (he puts the music he sings before what he calls, self-deprecatingly, the present cult of his stardom) and on this CD he certainly lives up to his motto."

SUPERB

MOVIE MAVEN | New York, NY USA | 04/29/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Andreas Scholl, arguably, the finest countertenor singing today, has released this new, superb album. It consists of a collection of songs accompanied by lute put together by Robert Dowland, a minor composer (1591-1641) under the title A MUSCALL BANQUET (no, I didn't misspell it). It is a fine cross-section of songs in English, Spanish, Italian and French.Scholl has many "hit" CD's to his credit, including a beautiful collection of Vivaldi songs, an album called "Heroes" in which he sings some gorgeous Handel & Gluck opera arias and he is the male soloist on a new recording of Pergolisi's "Stabat Mater." His voice is absolutely pure and beautiful.Three fine musicians accompany him on lute, guitar, harpsichord. etc. Recommended."

A voice teacher and early music fan

George Peabody | Planet Earth | 02/09/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"THIS ALBUM COULD WELL BE TITLED: THE GREATEST HITS OF 1610.



Robert Dowland,the son of John Dowland, is really only remembered today for the two collections he published in 1610:'Varieties of Lute Lessons' and 'A Musicall Banquet'-the subject of this recording. In both cases,however, there are grounds for suspecting that the prime mover behind the collections was John Dowland rather than Robert, and that he put Robert's name on the title-pages as a way of launching his son's musical career.



'A Musicall Banquet'is the first lute song collection to include material drawn from continental collections, and marked the beginning of a more eclectic phase in the history of the English song. The songs herein are some of the most well-known melodies of the late Renaissance.



This album was somewhat of a disappointment to me. Oh, the voice is excellent as usual, but the repertoire chosen for this recording lacked variety as well as performing aptitude on the part of Scholl. Indeed, this disc falls short of his earlier recordings with Harmonia Mundi.



The problem is no doubt the selection of the material and Scholl's disjointed interactions with his accompanists. Seems like he entertained one idea about the expression, often sounding improvisatory, and his partners just didn't 'tap' into it. It's also unfortunate that he chose the heavy-spirited and slow tempo song of Holborne's "My Heavy Sprite" to begin the program. Thus the listener is 'dragged' into the program instead of being gently led or charmngly 'whisked'. Scholl is at his best in songs with more regularly flowing meters and long limber lines such as Caccini's 'Amarilli mia Bella' or Dowland's 'Far From Triumphing Court'. Actually, I would rather hear him in Handel, where he captivates, or in the German cantatas that he performed two years prior from Harmonia Mundi. Singing English lute songs as if they were arias from an opera by Handel just doesn't ring true. And his English diction is very difficult to understand even with songs that are known. On the other hand there were a few renditions of Spanish and Italian as well as French songs that were very well done.



The sound here is warm and intimate, and the varied accompaniments- using different kinds of lutes, opharian, guitar, harpsichord and viols -makes for ear-pleasing and expressive effects. So if you are a Scholl fan, go for it!(The liner notes include pertinent information and the text all in English.)"