Invocazioni Mariane in Bloomington, MN

Countertenor
Andreas Scholl
's days of singing big opera seria arias may (or may not) be behind him, but on this 2024
Harmonia Mundi
release, which made classical best-seller charts early that year, this great singer reveals new sides to his vocal personality. These
Invocazioni Mariane
("
Marian invocations
") of a specific sort, from Naples, with a specific kind of tunefulness associated with that city. The
Stabat Mater in F minor, RV 621
, of
Vivaldi
, which
Scholl
has recorded before, is the centerpiece of the program and comes last. Listeners can decide whether they prefer the quieter version here, where
's voice is a bit overwhelmed by the tumultuous strings of the
Accademia Bizantina
under
Alessandro Tampieri
. Before this on the program come works from, mostly, the middle of the 18th century, by composers --
Haydn
's teacher
Nicola Porpora
,
Leonardo Vinci
, and
Pasquale Anfossi
-- who were hardly known a generation ago. They are light, tuneful works, almost singsong in the case of the
Salve Regina
by
Anfossi
, and these fit
's voice beautifully at this point in his career. The short dramatic pieces by
Porpora
and
Vinci
have more heft, but one wouldn't mistake them for
, and they don't disturb the pleasantly contemplative mood. A
violin concerto
Pergolesi
provides an effective entr'acte between these works and the
. Some may like
's boomy sound here, for which no location is given other than Auhausen in Germany; to these ears, it works at cross purposes with
's carefully controlled singing, but
fans will rejoice at this new development in his career, and almost everyone will hear interesting and worthwhile music on this release, music that most will not have known before. ~ James Manheim