American-German bass Joel Frederiksen, one of an impressive parade of American-born early music performers who have moved to Europe in order to realize their talents fully, here takes on repertory that is usually associated with a specific sound -- with an English countertenor, accompanied by a gently brushed lute, aimed at a refined sort of melancholy. It takes a certain kind of drive to think through a whole new interpretation and to sound relaxed delivering it, and Frederiksen succeeds on both counts. For one thing, he's ...
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American-German bass Joel Frederiksen, one of an impressive parade of American-born early music performers who have moved to Europe in order to realize their talents fully, here takes on repertory that is usually associated with a specific sound -- with an English countertenor, accompanied by a gently brushed lute, aimed at a refined sort of melancholy. It takes a certain kind of drive to think through a whole new interpretation and to sound relaxed delivering it, and Frederiksen succeeds on both counts. For one thing, he's a bass, with a relaxed, sonorously rounded tone. In the matter of accompaniment he directs his Ensemble Phoenix Munich toward rhythmically active interpretations, oriented toward percussion, that reflect the freer approach Jordi Savall has brought to a range of Renaissance repertory but that few have tried with English music. The selections mix semi-popular repertory, some of it quite familiar, with instrumental pieces and a few lute songs by Dowland and Ravenscroft. Two songs are...
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