“Fortuna Sherzosa” = Works of PHILIPP HEINRICH ERLEBACH, JOHANN ULICH, JOHANN PHILIPP FRIEGER & TELEMANN – Ina Siedlaczek, sop./ Hamburger Ratsmusik – Audite

by | Mar 24, 2014 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

Fortuna Sherzosa = PHILIPP HEINRICH ERLEBACH: Des Gluckes Spiele, betrugen viele; Geduld kann uberwinden, will sich das Ungluck finden; Mein Sehnen ist geststillt, und mein Wunsch nun  erfullt; JOHANN ULICH: Ihr hellen Sterne des Glucks; JOHANN PHILIPP KREIGER: An die Einsamkeit; TELEMANN: Fortuna scherzosa; Amor heist mich freudig lachen; Hoffnung – Ina Siedlaczek, soprano/ Hamburger Ratsmusik – Audite multichannel SACD 92.703, 61:39 [Distr. by Naxos] *****:

The goddess Fortune makes her appearance in the musical world hundreds of years ago; but she was especially prevalent in the Baroque age, where, despite the plethora of religious compositions the fascination with fate and with something out-of-control favoring mere chance and luck, often bewailing the lack of favor on the one hand and indiscriminately praising the stars when good will was shown, appealed to the populace at large.

This disc, led by the ravishing, petite-voiced, and Emma Kirkby-like tone of the new soprano Ina Siedlaczek (in great demand among consorts and Baroque recitals) is a fine tribute to four composers who wrote about Fortune, even though only one of them—Telemann—has been continually blessed by her favors, the others having large parts of their work destroyed in various circumstance, or simply unknown with the exception of a few works. Each of these pieces is a smashing delight—no need to quibble about quality here or fear of a lesser type of music when compared with the Baroque big boys. This is good stuff, adventurous, vocally opulent, and stylistically exciting, and Siedlaczek’s careful characterizations make for some enthralling and radiantly rewarding listening. All this captured of course in Audite’s splendid surround sound, despite the fact that they still refuse to give English translations of their German texts.

— Steven Ritter

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