AKSEL! Arias by Bach, Handel & Mozart w Let the bright Seraphim in burning row George Frideric Handel [5.11] from Samson, HWV 57 e Quia respexit Johann Sebastian Bach [2.44] 1 Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51 Johann Sebastian Bach [4.14] from Magnificat in D Major, BWV 243 David Blackadder trumpet solo r Angenehmer Zephyrus Johann Sebastian Bach [4.12] 2 Mein gläubiges Herze, BWV 68 Johann Sebastian Bach [3.44] from Zerreißet, zersprenget, zertrümmert die Gruft, BWV 205 3 Happy, oh thrice happy we George Frideric Handel [3.00] t Oh! Had I Jubal’s lyre George Frideric Handel [2.44] from Joshua, HWV 64 from Joshua, HWV 64 4 Chi m’insegna il caro padre? George Frideric Handel [3.11] y Voi, che sapete che cosa e amor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [2.46] 5 Barbara! io ben lo so George Frideric Handel [3.01] u Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [2.40] from Alcina, HWV 34 from Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492 6 Lascia ch’io pianga George Frideric Handel [4.14] i Alleluia Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [2.27] from Rinaldo, HWV 7 from Exsultate jubilate, K. 165 7 Ich folge dir gleichfalls Johann Sebastian Bach [3.25] Total timings: [58.19] from St. John Passion, BWV 245 8 Eternal Source of Light Divine, HWV 74 George Frideric Handel [3.17] David Blackadder trumpet solo 9 Bist du bei mir, BWV 508 Johann Sebastian Bach [2.18] 0 How beautiful are the feet of Them George Frideric Handel [2.13] AKSEL RYKKVIN TREBLE q Thou art gone up on high George Frideric Handel [2.57] ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT from Messiah, HWV 56 NIGEL SHORT CONDUCTOR

www.signumrecords.com A NOTE FROM AKSEL special people that made this album possible. ARIAS BY BACH, We know that the cantata was written for What a job we did! Heartfelt thanks also to my HANDEL & MOZART Venunzio Rauzzini, who had himself been a boy The journey leading to this album started when I generous sponsors and crowdfunding backers. soprano in the Sistine Chapel, where two years was nine years old. Listening to famous soaring I really hope you will listen to this album and It is the fundamentally ephemeral nature of earlier Mozart had illegally downloaded Allegri’s trebles, I hoped that some day I would record think that it was worth it! music that fascinates. Much of the paradoxical Miserere to his own brain (and hand-printed songs to give the listeners the same uplifting delight of historically informed performance it, later, onto paper). Rauzzini performed the experience that I felt. And not least, a deep bow to conductor Nigel practice lies in the fact that we can never title role of Mozart’s Lucia Silla, and after Short and the Orchestra of the Age of re-capture original performances of Bach or hearing the premiere in Milan, the teenaged On this journey, I have so many people to thank. Enlightenment! It is definitely my greatest Handel; yet striving to understand what time composer was inspired to write Exsultate, My loving family, first of all. And I have two musical experience so far working with you all has taken away from us brings the music more Jubilate for him. We can never know how exceptionally skilful and inspiring voice coaches for a whole week in London. And with such and more alive. Written scores are the magic Rauzzini’s voice would have sounded, but a in Marianne Willumsen Lewis and Helene Haarr! magnificent music, I just wanted to go on and door into another world. mature treble can convey some of the ethereal on. Even now, the tea breaks in St. Augustine’s magic that a castrato must have had. Marianne, together with producer Sean Lewis, come to mind every time I have a cup of English Similarly, the boy soprano voice holds a unique with his immaculate ear for details and tea with lots of milk and sugar... enchantment, not least because it is such a At the age of 12, Aksel Rykkvin has no invaluable musical guidance, are the two Aksel Rykkvin, May 2016 transient phenomenon. So does the child prodigy; trouble recapturing both the young Mozart’s and nobody embodies all three more than the enthusiasm and the older Rauzzini’s technical young Mozart. accomplishment.

By the time he was 16 years old, Mozart had Fifty years earlier, Johann Sebastian Bach three mature operas to his name, and had was settling into his job as Cantor of St performed across Europe. He was nearing the Thomas’s Church in Leipzig, which entailed end of his Italian journeys and about to enter composing for services, teaching music, the employ of the Salzburg Archbishop’s court arranging the church’s musical life, and raising when he wrote Exsultate, Jubilate (K 165). his numerous children. That was obviously Though there is nothing overtly childish about not enough, because he accepted a commission the cantata, you can hear the pleasure that from the students of the university to write a Mozart took in the ebullient South German style cantata for the name day of their much-loved he had picked up in the course of his travels. law professor, August Friedrich Müller. The © Kaupo Kikkas

- 4 - - 5 - short secular cantata Der zufriedengestellte the youngster’s emotional range and virtuosity. was normally not interested in music, rewarded subsequent performances; How beautiful are Aeolus, to a libretto by Christian Friedrich Aksel, a veteran of the opera stage, clearly Handel with a generous annual pension of the feet of Him, sweet and direct, seems ideally Henrici, hinges on the quirkily anachronistic relishes the drama of Barbara! Io ben lo so. 200 pounds. suited to the treble voice. premise that the goddess Pallas Athene needs The sorceress Alcina is about to kill Oberto’s to dissuade the storm god Aeolus from ruining father, whom she has turned into a lion; Twelve years after Alcina, Handel had amassed Both Bach’s St John’s Passion (1724) and Professor Müller’s festivities. She enlists the furious, Oberto stops her. In Chi m’insegna il a great deal of experience with the difficulties his Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen (ca.1730) aid of Zephyrus. Bach must have liked the caro padre, William Savage had the chance of funding opera. His solution was to develop take us to the heart of the conundrum faced aria, since he recycled it four years later for a to display his talent for pathos and melancholy the genre of oratorio, which proved not only by today’s interpreters of Bach’s music. Bach sacred cantata. as his character, Oberto, searches in vain for far cheaper but also a great hit with the definitely wrote these arias for boy sopranos, his missing father. London public. Ever the pragmatist, Handel but very few boys today can cope with the In 1725, Bach also found the time to keep a tapped into the spirit of the time by taking demands of the writing. On the whole, this musical note-book together with his young It was not only musical skill that brought themes that were both militaristic and religious; is a good thing; better nutrition and living second wife, Anna Magdalena, herself an Handel to the point of penning popular operas Joshua deals with the destruction of Jericho. conditions mean that children today reach accomplished singer. Bist du bei mir has its for Covent Garden. He was also an assiduous It was Handel’s fourth oratorio in as many puberty far younger than they did in Bach’s own BWV number (508), but in fact the tune networker, with considerable charisma and a months, and he was less than thrilled with the time, when boys would often continue singing was composed seven years earlier by Gottfried talent for using it with the right people. One libretto. He kept it short, and cut and paste a treble until they were 16 or 17 years old. It is Heinrich Stölzel as part of his opera Diomedes, of those was Dr Arbuthnot, the private number of earlier hits into the score. Even so, very rare today for a younger treble to achieve oder die triumphierende Unschuld, and Anna physician of Queen Anne. it proved a triumph. Aksel sings two jubilant the technical assurance and musical maturity Magdalena might well have written a new arias - Happy, oh thrice happy we, in which that Bach demanded from his teenaged accompaniment for the note-book. That gave him the access he needed to Achsah, Daughter of Caleb, praises God for soloists. Aksel is one of the rare exceptions, with write the Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne keeping her betrothed safe in battle; and Oh! abilities far beyond his years. A decade later, on the other side of the in 1713. Since it was his first compositional Had I Jubal’s lyre, where she reaches for even English Channel, Bach’s compatriot Handel venture with the English language, he took greater superlatives. Lascia ch’io pianga, by contrast, was was penning what would become a major hit for Henry Purcell as his guide, penning a somewhat unquestionably composed for a woman. Covent Garden (Alcina, 1735). Just as Mozart old-fashioned combination of brilliant solo Joshua came five years after Handel’s Messiah, Handel first wrote the aria for his 1705 opera was inspired by Rauzzini, Handel was moved arias with trumpet and celebratory choruses. which had been only a modest success at Almira, recycling it two years later for his opera by the talents of boy soprano William Savage The opening aria, Eternal Source of Light Divine, its first airing in Dublin. Though the soprano Il triumph del tempo e del disinganno, again to include him as the young Oberto in his sets the tone by inviting the sun to warm the solo parts were performed by women in 1742, in London in 1711 for Rinaldo, and yet again in opera, penning three different arias to show Queen’s birthday. It worked. Queen Anne, who it is probable that Handel used boys in 1739 for Giove in Argo. Its deceptive simplicity

- 6 - - 7 - masks a combination of desperation and picking up on the young soloist’s tone TEXTS TRANSLATIONS seductive appeal, and the notion of handing colour, nuance and phrasing to create a musical it to a treble to perform brings additional exchange of the most sophisticated nature. 1 Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51 layers of ambiguity. Aksel tackles them with Johann Sebastian Bach ingenuous sweetness. No repertoire on this recording is as rich in paradox as Cherubino’s two arias from Mozart’s Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen! Rejoice unto God in all lands! Handel wrote Samson immediately after The Marriage of Figaro. Cherubino is an adolescent Was der Himmel und die Welt Every creature, Messiah, and it proved the most successful boy, bursting with hormonal energy, enthusiastically An Geschöpfen in sich hält, in heaven and earth oratorio of his lifetime. It is less certain, but passionate about all the women in his life. The müssen dessen Ruhm erhöhen, must exalt His fame, still likely, that Let the Bright Seraphim role is always played by a woman, with layers und wir wollen unserm Gott and we would likewise bring was also conceived for a female voice; as of gender confusion rising as Cherubino is gleichfalls jetzt ein Opfer bringen, our God an offering now, with his Ode for Queen Anne, Handel used disguised as a girl in the middle of the opera. dass er uns in Kreuz und Not for that He has always stood beside us, a celebratory solo trumpet to echo the Thus Aksel plays a woman who plays a allezeit hat beigestanden. in affliction and distress. voice. Once again, Aksel finds a vocal timbre man who at one point plays a woman; whether that balances the sound of the natural he is adding to or stripping from layers of 2 Mein gläubiges Herze, BWV 68 trumpet so well that he makes his own complexity in doing so is open for debate. It is a Johann Sebastian Bach argument for his interpretation. take on the role that is at once guileless and provocative. Mein gläubiges Herze, My faithful heart, Bach’s cantata Also Gott hat die Welt so geliebt frohlocke, sing, scherze, rejoice, sing, be glad, (BWV 68), also penned in the busy year of Quia respexit from Bach’s 1723 Magnificat and dein Jesus ist da! your Jesus is here! 1725, uses different solo instruments to Thou art gone up on high from The Messiah Weg Jammer, weg Klagen, Hence, O sorrow, hence, complaining, entwine the joyous solo aria Mein gläubiges complete this compilation with two of the most ich will euch nur sagen: I will only say to you: Herze, most strikingly the seldom-heard piccolo poignant and touching melodic lines of the Mein Jesus ist nah. my Jesus is near. cello. Here, the influence of Aksel’s musical high baroque era. approach on the musicians of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment is clearly audible, © Shirley Apthorp as indeed it is throughout this recording; far more than being an accompaniment, the instrumental performances are a dialogue,

- 8 - - 9 - 3 Happy, oh thrice happy we Ma presto ti vedrò But I shall soon see you from Joshua, HWV 64 Errar per la foresta, wandering in the forest, George Frideric Handel Vinata, confusa, e mesta, overcome, confused and forlorn, E non più altera. and no longer haughty. Happy, Oh, thrice happy we, Who enjoy sweet liberty! 6 Lascia ch’io pianga To your sons this gem secure, from Rinaldo, HWV 7 As bright, as ample, and as pure. George Frideric Handel

4 Chi m’insegna il caro padre? Lascia ch’io pianga Allow that I weep over from Alcina, HWV 34 mia cruda sorte, my cruel fate, George Frideric Handel e che sospiri and that I may sigh la libertà. for the freedom Chi mi insegna il caro padre? Who will tell me where my dear father is? Chi mi rende il genitor, Who will restore him to me Il duolo infranga Let my sadness shatter per far lieto questo cor? So that my heart is happy again? queste ritorte these chains de’ miei martiri of my suffering, Mi abbandona la speranza; Hope deserts me; sol per pietà. if only out of pity. langue in me bella costanza; constancy falters in my breast; agitato è in me l’amor. and my love is troubled within me. 7 Ich folge Dir gleichfalls from St. John Passion, BWV 245 5 Barbara! io ben lo so Johann Sebastian Bach from Alcina, HWV 34 George Frideric Handel Ich folge dir gleichfalls mit freudigen Schritten I also follow you, my Saviour, with gladness, und lasse dich nicht, mein Leben, mein Licht. and will not forsake you, my life and light; Barbara! Io ben lo so, You barbarous woman! I know well Befördre den Lauf und höre nicht auf, let me not stray from your way, my God, È quello il genitor, that this is my father selbst an mir zu ziehen, zu schieben, zu bitten. should my life ever be encompassed with sadness. Che l’empio tuo furor who has been changed into a wild beast Cangiato ha in fera. by your base fury.

- 10 - - 11 - 8 Eternal Source of Light Divine, HWV 74 q Thou art gone up on high George Frideric Handel from Messiah, HWV 56 George Frideric Handel Eternal source of light divine With double warmth thy beams display, Thou art gone up on high, And with distinguish’d glory shine, Thou hast led captivity captive, To add a lustre to this day. and received gifts for men, yea, even for Thine enemies, 9 Bist du bei mir, BWV 508 that the Lord God might dwell among them. Johann Sebastian Bach w Let the bright Seraphim in burning row Bist du bei mir, geh ich mit Freuden If you are with me, then I will go gladly from Samson, HWV 57 zum Sterben und zu meiner Ruh. unto my death and to my rest. George Frideric Handel Ach, wie vergnügt wär so mein Ende, Ah, what a pleasant end for me, es drückten deine schönen Hände if your dear hands be the last I see, Let the bright Seraphim in burning row mir die getreuen Augen zu! closing shut my faithful eyes to rest! their loud uplifted angel-trumpets blow.

0 How beautiful are the feet of Them Let the cherubic host, in tuneful choir, from Messiah, HWV 56 touch their immortal harps with golden wire. George Frideric Handel e Quia respexit How beautiful are the feet of them from Magnificat in D Major, BWV 243 that preach the gospel of peace, Johann Sebastian Bach and bring glad tidings of good things. Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae: For He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaiden: Ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent. Behold, from henceforth, I will be called blessed.

- 12 - - 13 - r Angenehmer Zephyrus y Voi, che sapete che cosa e amor from Zerreißet, zersprenget, zertrümmert from Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492 die Gruft, BWV 205 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Johann Sebastian Bach Voi che sapete che cosa è amor, Ladies, you who know what love is, Angenehmer Zephyrus, Charming Zephyrus, donne, vedete s’io l’ho nel cor! look to see if it is in my heart! Dein von Bisam reicher Kuss your kiss rich in musk Quello ch’io provo vi ridirò, Let me tell you how I feel, Und dein lauschend Kühlen and your listening coolness è per me nuovo, capir nol so. it’s so new to me; I don’t understand it. Soll auf meinen Höhen spielen. should play on my mountain heights. Sento un affetto pien di desir I feel so full of desire Großer König Aeolus, Great and good King Aeolus, ch’ora è diletto, that sometimes it is a pleasure, Sage doch dem Zephyrus, Say then, please, to Zephyrus ch’ora è martir. then it is agony. Dass sein bisamreicher Kuss That his kiss rich in musk Gelo e poi sento l’alma avvampar, I’m freezing cold, then on fire; Und sein lauschend Kühlen and his listening coolness e in un momento torno a gelar. then in a moment freeze again Soll auf meinen Höhen spielen. should play on my mountain heights. Ricerco un bene fuori di me, I seek something beautiful outside myself, t Oh! Had I Jubal’s lyre non so chi ’l tiene, I don’t know who has it, from Joshua, HWV 64 non so cos’è. I don’t know what it is. George Frideric Handel Sospiro e gemo, senza voler, I sigh and I groan without control, Oh! had I Jubal’s lyre, palpito e tremor, senza saper. I quiver and tremble without control. Or Miriam’s tuneful voice! To sounds like his I would aspire, Non trovo pace notte né dì, I cannot find any peace night or day, In songs like her’s rejoice; ma pur mi piace languir così and yet, I like this strange new pain! My humble strains but faintly show, How much to heav’n and thee I owe. Voi che sapete che cosa è amor, You, ladies, who know what love is, donne, vedete s’io l’ho nel cor. look to see if it is in my heart!

- 14 - - 15 - u Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio AKSEL RYKKVIN from Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Aksel Rykkvin (b. 11.04.2003) is a classically trained treble from the Children’s Chorus of Non so piu cosa son, I don’t know any more what I am, the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet and Oslo cosa faccio, what I’m doing, Cathedral Boys’ Choir. He is in high demand as Or di foco, ora sono di ghiaccio, Now I’m fire, now I’m ice, a soloist in operas, concerts and music festivals Ogni donna cangiar di colore, Any woman makes me change color, all across Norway. In March 2016 he received Ogni donna mi fa palpitar. Any woman makes me quiver. international acclaim for his role as ‘the boy’ in Rolf Wallin’s new opera Elysium. The Financial Solo ai nomi d’amor, di diletto, At just the names of love, of pleasure, Times wrote that Aksel was “freakishly good, Mi si turba, mi s’altera il petto, My breast is stirred up and changed, with a musical assurance and richness of tone E a parlare mi sforza d’amore And a desire I can’t explain that are almost superhuman”, and Frankfürter Un desio ch’io non posso spiegar. Forces me to speak of love. Allgemeine called him an «outstanding, Parlo d’amore vegliando, I speak of love while awake, fabulously confident boy soprano». Parlo d’amor sognando, I speak of love while dreaming, All’acqua, all’ombra, ai monti, To the water, the shade, the hills, Aksel has held three very well attended solo Ai fiori, all’erbe, ai fonti, The flowers, the grass, the fountains, concerts in the largest Norwegian cathedrals. All’eco, all’aria, ai venti, The echo, the air, and the winds At the televised July 22th Memorial service Che il suon de’vani accenti Which carry away with them 2015, he sang as a soloist for HRH Crown Portano via con se. The sound of my vain words. Princess of Norway, the Prime Minister of Norway and the Secretary General of NATO. In November E se non ho chi m’oda, And if there’s nobody to hear me, 2015 he sang with the Oslo Philharmonic Parlo d’amor con me! I speak of love to myself! Orchestra for a full Oslo Concert Hall. For summer 2016, he was booked for multiple performances i Alleluia at the chamber music festivals in Risør and from Exsultate jubilate, K. 165 Oslo. In June 2015 he was invited by assistant Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Director of Music Ben Parry to sing a solo

Alleluja, alleluja! program in King’s College Chapel, Cambridge. © Kaupo Kikkas

- 16 - - 17 - Aksel’s career accelerated from November 2014, National Opera & Ballet, lead by Edle Stray- ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT when he won the class for singers aged 10 – 15 Pedersen. Recently he played the title role in Kurt years in the Norwegian Music Competition for Weill’s learning opera “Der Jasager”. Violin Viola Flute Horn Youth, achieving the maximum score. The jury Alison Bury (leader) Nicholas Logie Lisa Beznosiuk Roger Montgomery (Elisabeth Norberg-Schulz, Ingebjørg Kosmo Aksel has received singing lessons since he Emilia Benjamin Marina Ascherson Neil McLaren Martin Lawrence and Ståle Ytterli) wrote that Aksel was “a rare was eight years old from voice teacher Helene George Clifford Kate Heller Oboe Trumpet musical talent” and that he “gives the audience Haarr. From 2014 onwards, Marianne Willumsen Deborah Diamond Martin Kelly Katharina Spreckelsen David Blackadder goosebumps when he sings”. Lewis has been his main voice teacher, also Alice Earll Cello Richard Earle in the preparation of the repertoire for this Margaret Faultless Theorbo Persephone Gibbs Luise Buchberger In addition to the Orchestra of the Age of album. In 2015, Aksel was accepted into Andrew Skidmore Clarinet David Miller Enlightenment and conductor Nigel Short for “Musikk på Majorstuen”, an audition-based program Claire Holden Antony Pay Elizabeth Kenny this recording, Aksel has had the pleasure for classical music talents that Majorstuen Julia Kuhn Double Bass Katherine Spencer Harpsichord of performing as a soloist with many of the school in Oslo offers with the Barratt Due Andrew Roberts Kate Aldridge Stephen Rouse Bassoon Robert Howarth most prominent musicians and conductors in Institute of Music. Claire Sansom Andrew Watts James Johnstone Norway, including Kåre Nordstoga, Arve Tellefsen, Rebecca Hammond Pawel Siwczak (+organ) Håvard Gimse, Henning Kraggerud, Sigmund Aksel has performed as a soloist on national Zoe Shevlin Groven, Magne H. Draagen, Stephen Hicks, Terje television and radio in “NRK TV Hovedscenen”, Kvam, Vivianne Sydnes, Vegar Sandholt, Tore “TV2s Artistgalla” and “NRK P2 Spillerom”, on Erik Mohn, Håkon Nystedt, Tore Dingstad, Lars national evening news and Christmas specials, Just under three decades ago, a group of And as this distinctive ensemble playing on Notto Birkeland, David Maiwald, Ivar Anton and in live broadcasts from church mass. NRK2 inquisitive London musicians took a long hard period-specific instruments began to get a Waagard and Joachim Knoph; and ensembles broadcast a 20-minute TV feature covering the look at that curious institution we call the foothold, it made a promise to itself. It vowed such as the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, recording of this album. Orchestra, and decided to start again from to keep questioning and inventing as long Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Oslofjord Chamber scratch. They began by throwing out the as it lived. Residencies at the Southbank Philharmonic Orchestra, Oslo Cathedral Choir, Aksel has a strong presence online, with his own rulebook. Put a single conductor in charge? Centre and the Glyndebourne Festival didn’t Nidaros Cathedral Choir, Kristiansund Chamber English-language website www.ajsrykkvin.no, No way. Specialise in repertoire of a particular numb its experimentalist bent. A major record Choir, Røros Oratorio Choir and Cantate Domino. Facebook page www.facebook.com/ajsrykkvin era? Too restricting. Perfect a work and then deal didn’t iron out its quirks. Instead, the and a very popular YouTube channel reaching move on? Too lazy. The Orchestra of the Age OAE examined musical notes with ever more Aksel has received excellent reviews for soloist an international audience. of Enlightenment was born. freedom and resolve. parts with the Children’s Chorus of the Norwegian

- 18 - - 19 - That creative thirst remains unquenched. NIGEL SHORT at St. Paul’s Cathedral as part of the City of Informal night-time performances are redefining London Festival. Other orchestral recordings concert formats. Searching approaches to Award-winning conductor Nigel Short has built include Mozart’s Requiem and Ave Verum Corpus varied repertoire see the OAE working frequently up an enviable reputation for his recording with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and two with symphony and opera orchestras. New and live performance work with leading discs of music by Will Todd with the English generations of exploratory musicians are orchestras and ensembles across the world. Chamber Orchestra. encouraged into its ranks. Great performances now become recordings on the orchestra’s A singer of great acclaim, Nigel was a member Nigel has vast recording experience having own CD label. It thrives internationally: New of the renowned vocal ensemble The King’s conducted for many of the world’s major record York and Amsterdam court it; Oxford and Singers from 1994–2000. Upon leaving the labels including Decca Classics, Deutsche Bristol cherish it. group, he formed Tenebrae, a virtuosic choir Grammophon, EMI Classics, LSO Live, Signum that embraced his dedication for passion and and Warner Classics. As a Gramophone award- In its 30th year, the OAE is part of our musical precision. Under his direction, Tenebrae has winning producer, Nigel works with many of furniture. It has even graced the outstanding collaborated with internationally acclaimed the UK’s leading professional choirs and vocal conducting talents of Elder, Rattle, Jurowski orchestras and instrumentalists and now ensembles including Alamire, Ex Cathedra, and Fischer with a joint title. But don’t ever enjoys a reputation as one of the world’s finest Gallicantus and The King’s Singers. think the ensemble has lost sight of its founding vocal ensembles. vow. Not all orchestras are the same. And there’s nothing quite like this one. To date, Nigel has conducted the Aurora Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, English oae.co.uk | @theoae Chamber Orchestra, English Concert, London facebook.com/orchestraoftheageofenlightenment Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Ensemble and, for Baroque repertoire, The English Concert. He has directed the London Symphony Orchestra alongside Tenebrae in a live recording of Fauré’s Requiem, which was nominated for the Gramophone Awards (2013) and since then, he has conducted the orchestra

- 20 - - 21 - CROWDFUNDING BACKERS Donald Coudert Pittsfield, United States This recording would not have been made possible without the generous support of the following Walker Robinson Durham, United States sponsors and crowdfunding backers. Cecilie og Peter C. Solberg Oslo, Norway Per-Arno Hansen Bekkestua, Norway Gerd Rykkvin Oslo, Norway Inger Kristin Bildsten Bekkestua, Norway Diane & Arild Skramstad Oslo, Norway Joseph Cowden New Freedom, United States Inger-Johanne & Helge Rykkvin Trondheim, Norway Adrian Chapman Gravesend, United Kingdom SPONSORS Jac Backus Limburg, Netherlands John Boak Rothesay, Canada Michael Lauriston Elgin, Canada Einar E. Kjesbu Oslo, Norway Sine Butenschøns fond Unni og Halgrim Thon Nina Kvien Gulbrandsen & Harald Rykkvin Oslo, Norway Vegar Sandholt Eidsvoll, Norway Winfried Deijmann Røyken, Norway Kari Lene Selvaag Kjell Hillveg Hui Chen Guangdong, China Jan Magnus & Marianne Grundetjern Rykkvin Stavanger, Norway Ian Thompson St. Austell, United Kingdom Norske Selskab Aud Mørck Luis David Mexico Antonio Alba Dinhard, Switzerland Oslo domkirke Mark Warren Southampton, United Kingdom Ragnar Nordlie Oslo, Norway Erik Anker Thomas Savary and Christian Sevin Christina Hoerner Spokane, United States (Canticum Novum project) France Hervé Maingot Angers, France Pascal Moré Germany Biljana Stangeland Oslo, Norway Christopher Morris Paoli, United States Liv Marie Hofseth Oslo, Norway Knut Moe Oslo, Norway Hanyu Zhang China Asgeir Lysdahl Oslo, Norway Tianqin Ge China Anne Jorunn Kydland Jar, Norway Kent Ringler Canada Morgan Rousseaux France Georgy Shcherbakov Russian Federation Recorded in St Augustines Church, Kilburn, London from 17th to 22nd January 2016. Robin Helliwell United Kingdom Producer & Editor – Sean Lewis Bård Myhre Oslo, Norway Jonathan Triffitt United Kingdom Recording Engineer – Mike Hatch Maria Alnæs Svartskog, Norway Bjarne Neerland Oslo, Norway Martin Enevoldsen Denmark Cover Image – © Kaupo Kikkas Boy Choir & Soloist Directory Germany David Shepherd United Kingdom Design and Artwork – Woven Design www.wovendesign.co.uk Synne Sandbu Norway Oddmund Måseide Norway Martin Hough Grundisburgh, United Kingdom P 2016 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by Signum Records Ltd Hallvord Reiar M. Steen Norway Lawrence Will United Kingdom © 2016 The copyright in this CD booklet, notes and design is owned by Signum Records Ltd Andrew Marr Three Rivers, United States Ståle Ølberg Oslo, Norway Andrew Simpson United Kingdom Any unauthorised broadcasting, public performance, copying or re-recording of Signum Compact Discs constitutes an infringement of copyright and will render the infringer liable to an action Katrine & Aslak Fyhri Oslo, Norway Marte Spurkland Norway by law. Licences for public performances or broadcasting may be obtained from Phonographic Performance Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this booklet may be reproduced, stored Paul H Deal United States in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from Signum Records Ltd. Helga Lofstad Tårnåsen, Norway Arne Haarr Norway Astri Grundetjern Norway SignumClassics, Signum Records Ltd., Suite 14, 21 Wadsworth Road, Perivale, Middx UB6 7JD, UK. Gry S. Wille & Ian Moulson Oslo, Norway Terje Spurkland Norway +44 (0) 20 8997 4000 E-mail: [email protected] Malcolm Houston Barnsley, United Kingdom Nils Olav Hermansen Norway www.signumrecords.com Anita Øyen Haugen Oslo, Norway Ola Raftevold Norway Tim Winters Monroe, United States David Straube United States

- 22 - - 23 - ALSO AVAILABLE on signumclassics

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- 20 - CTP Template: CD_INL1 COLOURS Compact Disc Back Inlay CYAN MAGENTA Customer SignumClassics YELLOW Catalogue No.SIGCD435 BLACK Job Title: AKSEL!

SIGNUM CLASSICS SIGCD435

AKSEL!

Arias by Bach, Handel & Mozart AKSEL! BACH, HANDEL & MOZART MOZART & HANDEL BACH, AKSEL!

1 Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen Johann Sebastian Bach [4.14] 2 Mein gläubiges Herze Johann Sebastian Bach [3.44] 3 Happy, oh thrice happy we George Frideric Handel [3.00] 4 Chi m’insegna il caro padre? George Frideric Handel [3.11] 5 Barbara! io ben lo so George Frideric Handel [3.01] 6 Lascia ch’io pianga George Frideric Handel [4.14] 7 Ich folge dir gleichfalls Johann Sebastian Bach [3.25] 8 Eternal Source of Light Divine George Frideric Handel [3.17]

RYKKVIN / OAE / SHORT 9 Bist du bei mir Johann Sebastian Bach [2.18]

0 How beautiful are the feet of Them George Frideric Handel [2.13] q Thou art gone up on high George Frideric Handel [2.57] w Let the bright Seraphim in burning row George Frideric Handel [5.11] e Quia respexit Johann Sebastian Bach [2.44] r Angenehmer Zephyrus Johann Sebastian Bach [4.12] t

Oh! Had I Jubal’s lyre George Frideric Handel [2.44] SHORT / OAE / RYKKVIN y Voi, che sapete che cosa e amor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [2.46] u Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [2.40] i Alleluia Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [2.27]

Total timings: [58.19]

AKSEL RYKKVIN TREBLE AKSEL! BACH, HANDEL & MOZART ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

NIGEL SHORT CONDUCTOR LC15723

Signum Records Ltd, Suite 14, 21 Wadsworth SIGCD435

CLASSICS Road, Perivale, Middx UB6 7JD, United Kingdom. P 2016 Signum Records DDD SIGCD435 © 2016 Signum Records www.signumrecords.com 24 bit digital recording 6 35212 04352 3 SIGNUM