Michael Hofstetter - Graun: A Gentle Tenor - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Carl Heinrich Graun is known as Frederick the Great's court Kapellmeister, but less well known is the fact that Graun enjoyed an important reputation as a singer and that the king had originally engaged him as such at his court. In his obituary, the king characteristically honoured his court Kapellmeister with the words InchWe will not hear such a singer againInch! Graun's voice is characterised as a Inchhigh tenorInch with Inchgreat lightnessInch and, according to a contemporary, he sang the slow pieces in particular Inchvery gently and touchinglyInch. Aco Biscevic probably corresponds exactly to this voice type as a Inchhaute-contreInch (a tenor with a very high, light voice), his vocal range lies between tenor and the falsetto countertenor. Graun composed the three secular cantatas presented on this recording as a world premiere for himself and his voice during his time in Wolfenbuttel. Biscevic is accompanied by the baroque orchestra of the Thuringen Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach under the direction of Michael Hofstetter, an expert in the discovery of young voices (think of Valer Sabadus or Samuel Marino).