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Barnaby Smith is best known as the leader of the small ensemble Voces8, but he is also an accomplished countertenor who, in 2021, released a popular album of arias simply titled Handel. That whetted listener's appetites for more, and this 2023 release, similarly titled Bach, delivers. Smith's voice is perhaps even stronger than it was on the earlier release, though it's impressively creamy and sweet at the top, it isn't terribly powerful in the middle ranges. In Bach, power across the board matters less than in Handel, and Smith is beautifully suited to the warmth of the music. The program loosely traces the liturgical year in a way that allows Smith to feature a number of Bach's greatest hits, and this works well. The match between Smith and the Illyria Consort under leader and violinist Bojan Čičić is ideal; Čičić's is a small ensemble, and it fits the dimensions of Smith's voice perfectly. There are two complete cantatas, plus some well-known arias from the Mass in B minor, BWV 232, the Passion settings, and the Easter and Christmas oratorios. The version of the Cantata No. 82, BWV 82 ("Ich habe genug"), is the one for alto made by Bach himself in the 1730s, and Smith is memorable indeed. Smith is a student of Andreas Scholl and has the same orientation toward vocal beauty, even if not quite (yet) the blooming power. The future of countertenor singing is in good hands here in a Bach album of great general appeal.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Barnaby Smith, MainArtist - The Illyria Consort, MainArtist - Leo Duarte, MainArtist - CPDL, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 VOCES8 Records (P) 2023 VOCES8 Records
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Barnaby Smith, MainArtist - The Illyria Consort, MainArtist - CPDL, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 VOCES8 Records (P) 2023 VOCES8 Records
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Barnaby Smith, MainArtist - The Illyria Consort, MainArtist - Leo Duarte, MainArtist - CPDL, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 VOCES8 Records (P) 2023 VOCES8 Records
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Barnaby Smith, MainArtist - The Illyria Consort, MainArtist - CPDL, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 VOCES8 Records (P) 2023 VOCES8 Records
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Barnaby Smith, MainArtist - The Illyria Consort, MainArtist - Leo Duarte, MainArtist - CPDL, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 VOCES8 Records (P) 2023 VOCES8 Records
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Barnaby Smith, MainArtist - Bojan Čičić, MainArtist - The Illyria Consort, MainArtist - CPDL, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 VOCES8 Records (P) 2023 VOCES8 Records
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Barnaby Smith, MainArtist - The Illyria Consort, MainArtist - Katie Jeffries-Harris, MainArtist - CPDL, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 VOCES8 Records (P) 2023 VOCES8 Records
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Reiko Ichise, MainArtist - Barnaby Smith, MainArtist - The Illyria Consort, MainArtist - CPDL, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 VOCES8 Records (P) 2023 VOCES8 Records
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Barnaby Smith, MainArtist - The Illyria Consort, MainArtist - Leo Duarte, MainArtist - CPDL, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 VOCES8 Records (P) 2023 VOCES8 Records
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Barnaby Smith, MainArtist - The Illyria Consort, MainArtist - CPDL, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 VOCES8 Records (P) 2023 VOCES8 Records
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Barnaby Smith, MainArtist - Steven Devine, MainArtist - The Illyria Consort, MainArtist - CPDL, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 VOCES8 Records (P) 2023 VOCES8 Records
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Barnaby Smith, MainArtist - The Illyria Consort, MainArtist - CPDL, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 VOCES8 Records (P) 2023 VOCES8 Records
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Barnaby Smith, MainArtist - Steven Devine, MainArtist - The Illyria Consort, MainArtist - CPDL, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 VOCES8 Records (P) 2023 VOCES8 Records
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Barnaby Smith, MainArtist - The Illyria Consort, MainArtist - CPDL, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 VOCES8 Records (P) 2023 VOCES8 Records
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Barnaby Smith, MainArtist - The Illyria Consort, MainArtist - Leo Duarte, MainArtist - CPDL, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 VOCES8 Records (P) 2023 VOCES8 Records
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Barnaby Smith, MainArtist - The Illyria Consort, MainArtist - CPDL, MusicPublisher
(C) 2023 VOCES8 Records (P) 2023 VOCES8 Records
Album review
Barnaby Smith is best known as the leader of the small ensemble Voces8, but he is also an accomplished countertenor who, in 2021, released a popular album of arias simply titled Handel. That whetted listener's appetites for more, and this 2023 release, similarly titled Bach, delivers. Smith's voice is perhaps even stronger than it was on the earlier release, though it's impressively creamy and sweet at the top, it isn't terribly powerful in the middle ranges. In Bach, power across the board matters less than in Handel, and Smith is beautifully suited to the warmth of the music. The program loosely traces the liturgical year in a way that allows Smith to feature a number of Bach's greatest hits, and this works well. The match between Smith and the Illyria Consort under leader and violinist Bojan Čičić is ideal; Čičić's is a small ensemble, and it fits the dimensions of Smith's voice perfectly. There are two complete cantatas, plus some well-known arias from the Mass in B minor, BWV 232, the Passion settings, and the Easter and Christmas oratorios. The version of the Cantata No. 82, BWV 82 ("Ich habe genug"), is the one for alto made by Bach himself in the 1730s, and Smith is memorable indeed. Smith is a student of Andreas Scholl and has the same orientation toward vocal beauty, even if not quite (yet) the blooming power. The future of countertenor singing is in good hands here in a Bach album of great general appeal.
© James Manheim /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 16 track(s)
- Total length: 01:21:48
- Main artists: Barnaby Smith The Illyria Consort
- Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
- Label: VOCES8 Records
- Genre: Classical
(C) 2023 VOCES8 Records (P) 2023 VOCES8 Records
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