Heroes

t's tempting to describe Andreas Scholl's voice as one of the most sheer and beautiful around today. Certainly as far as countertenors go (of which we seem to have an epidemic at the moment) he's at the very top of the pile. But there's more to his art than simple beauty; it's the way he uses his voice, leaning on this word or that to indescribably plangent effect. In that respect he brings his great predecessor, Alfred Deller, to mind, though technically he's more assured than the older figure. The disc is titled Heroes; if you have to give it a name, it could just as easily have been called Greatest Baroque Hits for Countertenor because they're all here, from the melting "Ombra mai fu" from Handel's Serse to Gluck's "Che farò senza Euridice" from Orfeo ed Euridice. And among these heroes there are also plenty of men of action--sample Mozart's "Venga pur, minacci e frema" from Mitridate or "Vivi, tiranno" from Handel's Rodelinda. The accompaniments directed by Roger Norrington provide a perfect backdrop for the soloist and the recording is well up to Decca's usual high standards. Perhaps this is Scholl's best disc yet, which is high praise indeed--buy it and find out for yourself. --Harriet Smith