Accompanied by the Italian period ensemble Accademia Bizantina, German countertenor Andreas Scholl sings arias and songs by Henry Purcell, the English baroque era composer. Conductor: Stefano Montanari. Directed by Olivier Simonnet and Broadcast by ARTE, 2009.
Programme
With start times in the video:
- 00:00:56 – The gordian knot unty’d, Z. 597
- 00:12:54 – If music be the food of love, Z. 379
- 00:15:27 – Sweeter than roses, Z. 585
- 00:19:32 – Now that the sun hath veil’d its light, Z. 193
- 00:25:18 – Chaconne – King Arthur, Z. 628
- 00:29:53 – When I am laid in earth – Dido and Aeneas, Z. 193
- 00:35:26 – Cold song – King Arthur, Z. 628
- 00:39:41 – Pavan in G minor, Z. 752
- 00:50:15 – Here the deities approve, Z. 339
- 00:55:02 – O solitude, my sweetest choice, Z. 406
- 01:02:22 – Music for while, Z. 583
- 01:07:16 – Sonata of three parts in G major, Z. 797
- 01:14:25 – Fairest isle, all isles excelling, Z. 628
- 01:22:30 – One charming night – The fairy Queen, Z. 629
- 01:27:06 – Encore: Man is for the woman made, Z. 605
Andreas Scholl
Andreas Scholl (born 10 November 1967) is a German countertenor.
His early musical training was with the Kiedricher Chorbuben choir. He later studied under Richard Levitt and René Jacobs at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. He has won numerous awards and prizes, including the prestigious ECHO Award for his composition for Deutsche Grammophon’s audio book of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes and The Nightingale.
Andreas has released a series of extraordinary solo recordings: the most recent being Wanderer – a disc of German Lied in partnership with pianist Tamar Halperin. Other notable releases include Bach cantatas with kammerorchesterbasel; O Solitude – an all-Purcell album with Accademia Bizantina, which won the 2012 BBC Music Magazine award; Arias for Senesino, Heroes – a disc of arias by Handel, Mozart, Hasse and Gluck; Robert Dowland’s A Musicall Banquet; Vivaldi Motets with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra; and Arcadia – a collection of rare and unpublished cantatas by composers from Rome’s Arcadian Circle. All of these recordings are released on Decca.
Andreas’ recorded work also includes Handel’s Solomon and Saul with Paul McCreesh for Deutsche Grammophon, and for Harmonia Mundi, Vivaldi Stabat Mater; Caldara’s Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo, and Crystal Tears – lute and consort songs by John Dowland. Andreas’ DVD releases include productions of Giulio Cesare (for both Decca and Harmonia Mundi), Rodelinda (Warner), and Partenope (Decca).
Operatic roles include the title role in Giulio Cesare at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and the 2012 Salzburger Festspiele (opposite Cecilia Bartoli) and Bertarido (Rodelinda) at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and the Metropolitan Opera (opposite Renée Fleming).
His concert performances have included appearances with Berliner Philharmoniker, New York Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Dresdner Philharmonie, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Freiburger Barockorchester, the Academy of Ancient Music and at the 2005 Last Night of the Proms – the first counter-tenor ever to have been invited.
Accademia Bizantina
The Accademia Bizantina, founded in 1983 in Ravenna, is today acknowledged as one of the world’s best period performance ensembles focussing on the interpretation of Italian music from the 17th and 18th centuries. The ensemble’s historically informed performances are particularly noted for their rigorous style and colorful interpretation.
Since January 1996 the ensemble has been conducted by Ottavio Dantone, the group’s harpsichordist since 1989. Under the direction of both Dantone and lead violin Stefano Montanari, the Accademia Bizantina has established itself as an orchestra of incredible vitality and energy, whose repertoire ranges from Monteverdi to Spontini.
Their recordings have been awarded prizes including the Diapason d’Or (2005), and their Decca recording of Arias for Senesino with Andreas Scholl was received with great acclaim. The Accademia Bizantina is regularly invited to prestigious international festivals including the Salzburg, Lucerne, Ravenna, Holstein, and Cervantino festivals. They have performed throughout Europe, Israel, Mexico, the United States, and Japan.
Sources
- Accademia Bizantina on the Decca Classics website
- Andreas Scholl on Wikipedia
- Andreas Scholl official website
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