Paul Esswood, Kurt Equiluz, Bach: Was Gott tut

[@talvela100]

Un duetto meraviglioso!!!! Grandissimi e irraggiungibili interpreti

[@acanthe83]

quelle musicalité, c'est magnifique

[@lalagonegaga]

Truely beautiful. This is the way to do Bach...

[@essenciademusica]

amazing voices!

[@luciangabrielpopescu]

Kurt Equiluz is unarguably the greatest Bach tenor who ever lived. His involvement into the texts, his gorgeous voice, his perfect diction make him by far the recommended choice in every single Bach recitative/aria. Unlike Equiluz, like all countertenors, Esswood forces his voice into an unnatural range. What I like about him is the richness and power of his voice, his involvement into what he sings. What I dislike is the constant quivering, which makes him unique as well.

[@serenaluce]

So beautiful! I agree Paul Esswood is one of the very best countertenors of all time! Tastes differ but it's difficult to find somebody better than Esswood, though possible too:-). Also Chance and Scholl are great!... Thanks for posting.

[@treblechoir99]

Wonderful moment. Thank you Sfkcbf

[@Eudora74]

Strident?. This man sing with a so sweet voice.

[@sfkcbf]

Ture, but I never have heard a "perfect" countertenor, although I highly appreciate the very best ones; and Esswood was the best available at that time. That is why the directors chose him for so many cantatas. I also like the richness of his voice, a sound easily identifiable to him. As you know, singing countertenor well is very difficult. Most likely it would take a "Senesino" to do better.

[@sfkcbf]

@luciangabrielpopescu At least Esswood's "quivering" is limited, not warbling like many singers, and is focused around the correct pitch rather than off-pitch. The warmth of his voice is suitable for particular types of vocal music, such as the Bach cantate, melodic opera arias, and some oratorio airs. The clarity of Andreas Scholl's voice is good for faster tempo, brighter vocal works, such as the Mitridate aria which I have posted.

[@howardchasnoff208]

Kurt Equiluz is on a par --- equal in vocal beauty to the great Helmut Krebs. Listen to his aria from BWV 105.

[@firebreathone3]

@sfkcbf I think Scholl is a better countertenor and I agree with Oilato's critique.

[@olialto7]

Yes, you are right. And at least Esswood was preferable to Rene Jacobs or James Bowman also around at the same sort of time (though you may feel differently!). Personally I'd like a set of the complete Bach cantatas with Michael Chance singing all the alto solos as he was in the late '80s and early '90s, although Andreas Scholl would be no terrible replacement.

[@olialto7]

This is lovely, although Esswood is a bit strident on his high notes and quivery elsewhere.

[@luciangabrielpopescu]

@sfkcbf Which is why I prefer Esswood to Scholl in Bach's works. Even though Scholl is technically better, he doesn't feel very much at home with Bach. You can compare Esswood to Scholl in cantata BWV 54: IMHO, Esswood is better simply because he seems to relate to what he sings. Today, the trend among countertenors is to favor weak pleasant voices that do not quiver and produce a literal boring rendition (Ex: Suzuki/Koopman/Gardiner's countertenors) with glitzy super-perfect instrumentation.

[@mariacristinagarulli4831]

Purtroppo ci sono i contro tenori...