COMPOSERS: Finger & Zelenka,JS Bach,Krieger,Rosenmáller
LABELS: Phoenix
WORKS: Cantatas for Soprano and Trumpe
PERFORMER: Ruth Ziesak (soprano), Reinhold Friedrich (trumpet); Berliner Barock Compagney
CATALOGUE NO: 102 (hybrid CD/SACD)
Ruth Ziesak is, at the moment, one of the most accomplished Bach singers among us. Her clear-toned voice, full of fragrant expressive nuance affords constant pleasure as indeed does her attention to textual content. These virtues among others bode well for a satisfying performance of Bach’s virtuoso soprano cantata, Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen; and readers are unlikely to be disappointed, for not only is Ziesak on cracking form but also she is supported by Reinhold Friedrich’s sensitively complementary trumpet partnership and the constantly alert string playing of the Berliner Barock Compagney. The remaining items in a pleasingly varied programme include instrumental pieces by Johann Philipp Krieger and Gottfried Finger and vocal ones by Rosenmüller and Bach’s Dresden contemporary, Zelenka. The two Sonatas, one for strings, the other by Finger with trumpet, are played with elegance and dynamism providing effective punctuation between the vocal works. The two Rosenmüller Sacred Concertos contain a blend of Italian and German styles. Ziesak sings them with admirable fluidity and rhythmic verve. Zelenka’s small-scale setting for soprano, trumpet and strings of the Vespers psalm Laudate Pueri concludes an excellent recital. Nicholas Anderson