Customer Reviews

Wayfaring Stranger

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased this CD by chance. I was looking for something totlally different. I typically listen to rock and hip hop, but have always studied to classical. I was searching for something different and this was what I happened upon. I did not know what to expect, and was more then pleasantly surprised. This CD did exactly what I had hoped it would do. It helped me focus and concentrate on my work, and relax when I just needed to cool down a bit. If I hadn't seen his picture, I would have thought he was a child or woman. He has a marvelous voice, and these songs are a good match for it. From the sounds of it, this is not his typical album, and so some of the reviewers do not love it. But all of them do like it nonetheless. If this is your first purchase of his, you will not be dissapointed. If you already own some of his work, I think you will appreciate this nonetheless. Either way, you will not go wrong.

First, I have not always been the greatest admirer of Scholl. As a classical singer (a countertenor myself) with a VERY American sound, I had trouble swallowing the purity and glassiness that I sometimes hear in his tone. I was a MAJOR David Daniels and Bejun Mehta fan, and wasn't enamoured of the gentler side of the CT sound. HOWEVER, I have since given Scholl a second listen (and third and fourth) and decided that his artistry and control of the instrument are superb even if I would choose other timbres for my own vocal style. When I listen to Scholl, it is like an alto Flute, whereas Daniels or myself are more like some doublereed instrument.
The other reviews for this album insist on bashing the sometimes overly sentimental or "produced" quality of the music. What they ignore is the beauty of the songs, the treatment of the arrangements (which are a bit more lush than tradition might dictate, but the effect is none the less true to the meaning of the songs!) and the naturalness of the "fit" into Scholl's voice. I have zero complaints about this CD. Even his occasional less than perfect English diction is really more of an affect of the CT range than poor knowledge of the dialect. (English is my first language, and I occasionally have enunciation issues with the English song repertory, the vowels are simply murderous in some words!)

BUY THE CD... you won't regret it, even if it isn't Vivaldi and Handel on Theoboros and Viols, it IS good music and a damn fine recording.

Wow, this is beautifully played, recorded, and sung. But I withheld 1 star (maybe should be two) for the misjudgment shown here in using such a high, beautiful voice for this repertoire. I think this music needs a little touch of Tom Waits or Johnny Cash to be effective. A voice with a bit of world-weariness in it. Scholl's voice is too refined and pristine. Occasionally he switches to his baritone voice, and it might have been wise to use it more frequently, or transpose things down a key or two to force him to fight the break in his voice, giving it a touch more humanity. At any rate, if you love beautiful-sounding music there is certainly plenty here to enjoy. I'm not at all sorry I purchased this disc, but would have preferred a grittier approach. Fans of Scholl (as I am) should be pleased.

Is this a crossover CD? No. Is it borderline to crossing over? Yes. A fine line is tred on Andreas Scholl's new CD, between a pop sound and a traditional folk song setting. Craig Leon's accompaniment does stay faithful to the genre, no need to worry about a rock beat being added, and is quite beautiful, though it occasionally sounds more New-Age than some traditionalists may be comfortable with. Also, there are some inconsistancies of quality on the CD. Firstly, the sound engineering was not done very faithfully, on one of the tracks Andreas' mic is turned on after he starts singing. Secondly, there are times throughout the CD where the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra seems to be in danger of letting the tempo slip away from them, and other moments when they seem to ignore Andreas' use of rubato, perhaps because they are a conductorless group. All that aside, the singing is beautiful, even for the high standards of Scholl fans. Scholl works hard to bring a storytelling element to his singing, and does so successfully, using a wide range of vocal timbre, including some switches to his baritone chest-voice. Whether or not you buy this CD depends on if you can handle Leon's Neo-Orchestral treatments of traditional folk songs. If you are a fan of Andreas Scholl who is devoted to his Baroque works, this CD may not be the right one for you.

I love andreas scholl, he has a beautiful voice and he is very sexy in a delicat way..
but i didnt enjoy the style of this one. very commercial.
i like his harmonia mundi's "folksongs" album much more.
this one is so girly. reminded me the "sound of music"...yak!
an advice andreas, stop being a whore of the industry make true interesting early music we the fans deserve it.