Michi Marin Nude

In the depth of its expression and richness of form Johann Sebastian Bach's music has no equal. This becomes especially clear in the famous cantatas for solo soprano, as can be heard in this recording, featuring Ich bin in mir vergnügt BWV 204 and Mein Herze schwimmt in Blut BWV 199 (Weimar version, 1714). The recording is rounded off by a performance of the famous soprano aria Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn BWV 1127. Once again Dorothee Mields shows that she is one of the leading interpreters of our time for the music of the 17th and 18th centuries. Performed with LOrfeo Barockorchester, under the direction of Michi Gaigg, this is an exemplary interpretation of these seldom heard solo cantatas.

In the Baroque and Classical periods, it seems like anyone who was famous in the world of opera did something with the story of Orpheus. Retrospectively, it is sometimes really hard to see why this appealed to so many. To be sure, the symbolism of the power of music, not to mention the tragic story of love lost, won again through hardship and devotion, and finally and irrevocably lost, seems ready-made for opera. Moreover, any composer would love to set the scenes of Orpheus in Hades. But the plot really seems to need something, like a happy ending, extra characters, or lots and lots of dances to pass the time. Georg Philipp Telemann’s excursion into this story certainly has its share of things.

Called 'Salve regina', this revealing new disc takes us back to Christian's early Italian period (1754-62). All three pieces are recorded here for the first time and testify to the composer's pragmatic conversion to the Catholic faith and his ability to transfer the extravagant vocal style of the opera house (where he was principally engaged) to the church. What would his father have said? The vocal duties here are fairly evenly shared between Emma Kirkby, who sings the Salve regina, and tenor Markus Schäfer, who takes the exuberant motet Si nocte tenebrosa; they share the limelight in the almost frivolous setting of Psalm 113, Laudate pueri Dominum. Kirkby is supremely secure in the high-wire acrobatics required in the Salve regina: there's a superbly controlled 11-second messa di voce at the very outset and she manages to make real music out of the outrageous vocal contortions demanded by the aria 'Ad te clamamus'.