In the crush of mezzo sopranos actively recording,
Angelika Kirchschlager's warm and direct voice stands somewhat apart from the perhaps overly subjective
Cecilia Bartoli and the possibly overly objective
Anne-Sofie von Otter. This combination has worked well in many, even most, of
Kirchschlager's recordings: her disc of
Korngold and
Mahler songs was affecting without being affected and her disc of lullabies was sentimental without succumbing to mawkishness. In many ways, this disc of Bach arias is quite as lovely as anything
Kirchschlager has done: her tone is beautifully rounded, her phrasing is alert to the meaning of the text and the music, and her sensitivity to the nuances of Bach's vocal writing makes her interpretation of each aria separate and special. But teaming
Kirchschlager with the Venice Baroque Ensemble, a period instrument ensemble directed by violinist
Giuliano Carmignola, does her no good. Against the dry sound of the Baroque violinist,
Kirchschlager's thoroughly modern vocal performance sounds overheated. And against the detached-to-the-point-of-reticence interpretations of
Carmignola,
Kirchschlager's straightforward interpretations sound almost affected. In such wonderful arias as Erbarme Dich from the St. Matthew Passion, for example,
Kirchschlager sings with passionate but controlled vibrato while the Venice Baroque Ensemble plays with a parched tone that verges on desiccation. Separately, either might have been wonderful, but they are almost oxymoronic in combination. This is worth getting to hear
Kirchschlager, but with reservations.