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CD Feature/ Lucia Popp sings Cantatas and Arias with Trumpet

  Tobias

With dozens of new Classical releases coming out each week, with many more being prepared for a Super Audio Re-Release and with an industry back catalogue the size of New York’s phone book, not just overly critical listeners may be tempted to ask: Do we really need an Archive-CD of a 1982 recording of some Bach, Händel and Telemann by this Czech Soprano?

Well, it depends on your point of view. As a cynic, yes, you’re probably right. But then again, you probably wouldn’t read this article anyway. And then there are some serious clarifications to be given. Because, firstly, this is not just any recording but one taken from the golden Dutch decade, the 80s, when the Netherlands were one of the umbillical points of musical Europe. Then, secondly, these are not just any old tunes by some composers, but in fact truly brilliant works by the greatest Baroque masters of all times – the uplifting “Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen”, the warm and emboldening “Großer Herr und starker König”, the concise “Ich danke dem Herrn von ganzem Herzen” and the powerful and hymnical “Sie schallt die Posaune”. And finally, it’s not just any soprano, but the wonderful Lucia Popp, who, more than ten years after her death in 1993 is still revered worldwide and missed by many. Her elegant and shining voice fills all of these tracks with optimism and soul.

It’s nothing short of a great disc, which is even more sympathetic because of its ideal length of about three quarters of an hour, which allows you to listen to this without breaks or falling asleep. A great thank you must go out to ARTS who dug up this little treasure, which is set to make this year’s christmas so much more enjoyable. Do you need this? Consider yourself lucky, if you don’t.

Homepage: ARTS Music
Homepage: Lucia Popp Fan Page