Aksel!
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: George Frideric Handel, Nigel Short, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Sebastian Bach
Genre:
Vocal
Label: Signum
Magazine Review Date: 11/2016
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 58
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: SIGCD435

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Cantata No. 51, 'Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen!' |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Aksel Rykkvin, Treble/boy soprano Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer Nigel Short, Composer Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment |
Cantata No. 68, 'Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt' |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Aksel Rykkvin, Treble/boy soprano Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer Nigel Short, Composer Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment |
Joshua, Movement: Happy, Oh, trice happy we |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Aksel Rykkvin, Treble/boy soprano George Frideric Handel, Composer Nigel Short, Composer Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment |
Alcina, Movement: ~ |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Aksel Rykkvin, Treble/boy soprano George Frideric Handel, Composer Nigel Short, Composer Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment |
Rinaldo, Movement: ~ |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Aksel Rykkvin, Treble/boy soprano George Frideric Handel, Composer Nigel Short, Composer Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment |
St John Passion, Movement: Ich folge dir |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Aksel Rykkvin, Treble/boy soprano Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer Nigel Short, Composer Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment |
Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne, 'Eternal source of light divine' |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Aksel Rykkvin, Treble/boy soprano George Frideric Handel, Composer Nigel Short, Composer Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment |
Bist du bei mir |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Aksel Rykkvin, Treble/boy soprano Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer Nigel Short, Composer Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment |
Messiah, Movement: How beautiful are the feet |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Aksel Rykkvin, Treble/boy soprano George Frideric Handel, Composer Nigel Short, Composer Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment |
Messiah, Movement: Thou art gone up on high |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Aksel Rykkvin, Treble/boy soprano George Frideric Handel, Composer Nigel Short, Composer Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment |
Samson, Movement: Let the bright Seraphim |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Aksel Rykkvin, Treble/boy soprano George Frideric Handel, Composer Nigel Short, Composer Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment |
Magnificat, Movement: Quia respexit humilitatem |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Aksel Rykkvin, Treble/boy soprano Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer Nigel Short, Composer Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment |
Cantata No. 205, '(Der) Zufreidengestellte Äolus |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Aksel Rykkvin, Treble/boy soprano Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer Nigel Short, Composer Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment |
Joshua, Movement: O had I Jubal's lyre |
George Frideric Handel, Composer
Aksel Rykkvin, Treble/boy soprano George Frideric Handel, Composer Nigel Short, Composer Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment |
(Le) nozze di Figaro, '(The) Marriage of Figaro', Movement: Voi che sapete |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Aksel Rykkvin, Treble/boy soprano Nigel Short, Composer Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
(Le) nozze di Figaro, '(The) Marriage of Figaro', Movement: Non so più cosa son |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Aksel Rykkvin, Treble/boy soprano Nigel Short, Composer Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
Exsultate, jubilate |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Aksel Rykkvin, Treble/boy soprano Nigel Short, Composer Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
Author: Alexandra Coghlan
Ignore the exclamation mark of the title. It does Rykkvin an enormous disservice, reducing what is an accomplished and adult disc to a novelty nightmare. The music here is carefully chosen – not just textually but musically appropriate for so young a performer. There are no Queen of the Night arias nor twee arrangements of Puccini, just a solid mixture of Bach, Handel and Mozart. Some will balk at a treble singing Cherubino’s arias, but if the result isn’t exactly authentic it’s a fascinating and legitimate experiment, especially when performed as well as here, with Rykkvin living the breathless, desperate emotional confusion of ‘Non so più’.
Recordings of ‘Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen’ and ‘Ich folge dir gleichfalls’ make the most of this agile, accurate voice, while Eternal Source celebrates the easy grace of his upper register. But most interesting, perhaps, are Oberto’s two arias from Handel’s Alcina. Composed for the treble William Savage, these are nevertheless uncompromisingly virtuoso pieces, especially the dramatic ‘Barbara! Io ben lo so’ – a rare example of serious operatic repertoire for this voice. Rykkvin’s passagework is nimble, his phrasing instinctive, and if he doesn’t have quite the emotional maturity 12-year-old Tolzer Knabenchor treble Elias Madler recently displayed in Katie Mitchell’s staged production for the Aix festival, this might be explained by the lack of dramatic context.
The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and conductor Nigel Short are Rykkvin’s very classy colleagues, supporting the young soloist with some exquisite obbligato solos and consistently lively, generous tempi. All add up to a recording that’s much more than just the cute curiosity its cover suggests.
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