J.S. Bach: Cantatas for alto solo

It is always a pleasure to recommend a new recording featuring 31-year-old German countertenor Andreas Scholl. His previous album, German Baroque Songs (HMC 901505), remains one of the most ravishing early music recordings of all time and since then he has gone from strength to strength. Now he offers three of Bach’s four cantatas for solo alto (probably written for an exceptional boy soprano). The liner notes tell us that the soaring alto voice in 18th century German church music represented the Holy Ghost. In these cantatas the ecclesiastical message is of the dreary Protestant sort -- sinfulness, guilt, damnation -- but the music is fascinating and dramatic, running the gamut from simple recitative to ravishing lullaby ("VergnŸgte Ruh’!" BWV 170) to coloratura arias ("Mir ekelt mehr zu leben" BWV 170, "Ich wŸnsche nur bei Gott zu leben" BWV 35) that are quite at odds with the prudish texts. Herreweghe’s leadership is spirited, the Collegium Vocale orchestra plays impeccably, and the organ and harpsichord continuo is a delight. A free 35-minute Portrait of Andreas Scholl CD with highlights from his previous harmonia mundi recordings completes this irresistible offering. Published in Vol. 3 No. 7 of La Scena Musicale