Aco Biscevic, Michael Hofstetter, Barockorchester der Thuringen Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach
Description
Carl Heinrich Graun is known as Frederick the Great's court Kapellmeister, but less well known is the fact that Graun enjoyed an important reputation as a singer and that the king had originally engaged him as such at his court. In his obituary, the king characteristically honoured his court Kapellmeister with the words: "We will not hear such a singer again"!
Graun's voice is characterised as a "high tenor" with "great lightness" and, according to a contemporary, he sang the slow pieces in particular "very gently and touchingly".
Aco Biscevic probably corresponds exactly to this voice type: as a "haute-contre" (a tenor with a very high, light voice), his vocal range lies between tenor and the falsetto countertenor. After studying singing and the harpsichord at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Aco Bišcevic made his debut at La Scala in Milan, where he performed under the directon of Ingo Metzmacher. He also partcipated in the Young Singers Project programme at the renowned Salzburger Festspiele.
Graun composed the three secular cantatas presented on this recording as a world premiere for himself and his voice during his time in Wolfenbuttel. They are highly virtuosic!
Biscevic is accompanied by the baroque orchestra of the Thuringen Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach under the direction of Michael Hofstetter, an expert in the discovery of young voices.
Tracklisting
Marcel Ponseele, Il Gardellino
Margret Koell; Stefan Temmingh
Dorothee Mields, Lautten Compagney
Florian Deuter; Monica Waisman; Harmonie Universelle
Aco Biscevic, Michael Hofstetter, Barockorchester der Thuringen Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach
Soloists; Les Traversees Baroques; Meyer
Luigi De Donato; Collegium 1704; Vaclav Luks
Ars Antiqua Austria; Gunar Letzbor
