Buxtehude, Bruhns, Pachelbel…
Ensemble Les Surprise, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas
58:22
Ambronay AMY051
THERE ARE FOUR vocal works in this programme and the same number of instrumental. The soprano Mailys de Villoutreys sings Buxtehude’s Klag Lied (“Muss der Tod denn auch entbinden?”) and the beautiful “Herr, wenn ich nur dich habe” on a ground bass with wonderful control – she has a rich, warm vibrato which she deploys as an ornament, just as it should be. Her partner in Christoph Bernhard’s “Wohl dem, der den Herren fürchtet”, baritone Etienne Bazola, is the perfect match; his rendition of Bruhns’ “De profundis” is as dramatic as one could hope for – his ability to master the wide leaps (especially in the amazing final Alleluia section!) is remarkable. The success of the whole recording, however, is in no large part down to the instrumentalists – perfectly matched violins, sympathetically supported by a continuo line-up of theorbo and claviorganum. The director’s arrangement of the Ciaccona by Pachelbel which opens the disc is very convincing, as is the similarly doctored Passacaglia in D minor by Buxtehude (BuxWV 161). He plays a Praeambulum in D minor by Scheidemann (WV34), using both sounds offered by his instrument, which was built for him in 2000.
Brian Clark