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BAROQUE ARIAS Volume 2. Works by: Handel, Ahle, Schutz, Buxtehude and Bach. Yoshikazu Mera: counter-tenor. Bach Collegium Japan Masaaki Suzuki. BIS CD-1029 74m DDD.

 


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The silver smooth voice of Yoshikazu Mera is one of the wonders of today's baroque music stars in the firmament. His effortless projection and outstanding diction make this superbly recorded disc, a dreamworks of palpable emotional communication. I warmed immediately to his Handel which is both suitably stentorian and very powerful especially in 'He shall feed his flock', where the soprano voice is ideally mimicked. In fact, I was wont to think that a counter tenor is ideally suited to this music, after all most parts were written for the castrato in mind weren't they?

Mera's collaboration with Gerd Turk is also quite sublime, especially in the Magnificat a 7 by Ahle, an almost unknown composer who deserves wider currency on this evidence. Five arias by Buxtehude also warrant serious investigation, these short pieces find Mera in fabulous voice throughout. The remainder of the disc is handed over to Johann Sebastian Bach, and here Yoshikazu Mera shows off his credentials with superb vigour and the utmost panache. Out of the eight odd items selected from various cantatas, I would be plumped to choose 'Himmelskonig, sei wilkommen' for sheer panache and vocal fireworks.

In this eight-minute piece, Mera is quite inspired and handles Bach's extremely difficult vocal writing with relish, especially in the middle section of the work. It would be too finicky to list all the collaborators on this CD but John Elwes and Midori Suzuki must take pride of place for their excellent contributions. Masaaki Suzuki's Bach Collegium Japan is now rather legendary; they recently won a 'Soundings' award in Gramophone for their outstanding St John Passion, so this CD is obviously self-recommending. Watch out for Yoshikazu Mera, he will definitely be one of the finest counter tenors ever.

Reviewer

Gerald Fenech

Perfomance

recording


Visit the Bach Collegium Japan webpage for reviews of other releases in this series

Reviewer

Gerald Fenech

Perfomance

recording

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