Andreas Scholl
Jan. 30th, 2014 09:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smallhobbitFor SM's Christmas present I bought him tickets to a concert of Andreas Scholl and the Academy of Ancient Music at Birmingham Town Hall, which is where we went yesterday.
I first heard a counter-tenor when I was in my teens and a school friend dragged me along to a performance of The Messiah at the parish church. I had to keep looking at the singer to convince myself that it was indeed a man singing, not a woman. Since then my musical education has increased somewhat. My first encounter with Andreas Scholl was when![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fengirl88 mentioned seeing him, probably eighteen months ago. After which I've kept an eye on where he's been performing and learning he was singing in Birmingham seemed the ideal Christmas present. The same programme is being performed at the Barbican in London this Saturday.
When Scholl walked on stage he seemed completely unassuming, no mean feat considering he must have been the draw for practically the whole of the audience (it looked like a sell-out performance). The first piece was Vivaldi's Stabat Mater, which was incredibly beautiful. Scholl's voice is so clear and pure I found it a pleasure to listen to, even though this wouldn't generally be my choice of music. The Academy of Ancient Music played the first of two Concerto Armonico by Wassenaer, really well played, not my sort of music, but good for sorting out the next part of my big bang plot. After that the Swedish soprano Klara Ek sang Vivaldi's Salve Regina, which again was good, if not stunning. After the interval there was another Concerto Armonica and the programme finished with Scholl and Ek singing Pergolesi's Stabat Mater. I preferred the Vivaldi, which I found more varied (and half the length), but Scholl once again was stunning. It wouldn't be the sort of concert I would generally go to, but it was a present. However, the opportunity to hear such awesome singing was one I was glad to have had.
I first heard a counter-tenor when I was in my teens and a school friend dragged me along to a performance of The Messiah at the parish church. I had to keep looking at the singer to convince myself that it was indeed a man singing, not a woman. Since then my musical education has increased somewhat. My first encounter with Andreas Scholl was when
fengirl88 mentioned seeing him, probably eighteen months ago. After which I've kept an eye on where he's been performing and learning he was singing in Birmingham seemed the ideal Christmas present. The same programme is being performed at the Barbican in London this Saturday.When Scholl walked on stage he seemed completely unassuming, no mean feat considering he must have been the draw for practically the whole of the audience (it looked like a sell-out performance). The first piece was Vivaldi's Stabat Mater, which was incredibly beautiful. Scholl's voice is so clear and pure I found it a pleasure to listen to, even though this wouldn't generally be my choice of music. The Academy of Ancient Music played the first of two Concerto Armonico by Wassenaer, really well played, not my sort of music, but good for sorting out the next part of my big bang plot. After that the Swedish soprano Klara Ek sang Vivaldi's Salve Regina, which again was good, if not stunning. After the interval there was another Concerto Armonica and the programme finished with Scholl and Ek singing Pergolesi's Stabat Mater. I preferred the Vivaldi, which I found more varied (and half the length), but Scholl once again was stunning. It wouldn't be the sort of concert I would generally go to, but it was a present. However, the opportunity to hear such awesome singing was one I was glad to have had.
