Track Listing

1. Go crystal tears (John Dowland)
2. Fantasia # 4 (John Ward)
3. Now, O now, I needs must part (Dowland)
4. Go nightly cares (Dowland)
5. Fantasia # 5 (Ward)
6. Sorrow, come! (Dowland)
7. Semper Dowland semper dolens (Dowland)
8. The Lady Rich her galliard (Dowland)
9. Have you seen the bright lily grow? (Robert Johnson)
10. Though Amaryllis dance in green (William Byrd)
11. Venus' birds whose mournful tunes (John Bennet)
12. Full fathom five (Robert Johnson)
13. Care-charming sleep (Johnson)
14. Like as the day (Patrick Mando)
15. A Fancy (Dowland)
16. Time stands still (Dowland)
17. Four-note pavan (Alfonso Ferrabosco II)
18. From silent night (Dowland)
19. O death, rock me asleep (Dowland)
20. Fantasia # 13 (Richard Mico)
21. Come, heavy sleep (Dowland)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #87766 in Music
• Released on: 2008-06-10
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .30 pounds

Album Description
Andreas Scholl, Crystal Tears

Customer Reviews

A living angel
Like all Scholl's recordings, this a great musical treasure. No countertenor or female contralto has the purity, the clean and transparent tone of this living angel. This english renaissance music fits very well the soft and tender voice of Scholl and the flowing arrangements for lute an viola da gamba. There are some instrumental pieces of viol ensemble and lute that enrich this shining sun of sounds. Superb.

Excellent period recording by Scholl
This is an incredibly clean and well produced recording of music which is less often recorded fare for the countertenor aficionados. Certainly, those expecting dramatic vocal fire and page long melismas passing in and out of the extremes of the range will be sorely disappointed. But, listen for the sake of what this music really is. Presented here is a wide collection of renaissance music in our closest approximation to what we imagine such music sounded like in it's original form. Scholl is inimitable here. Never overreaching, always engaged in the stylistic and mood of the pieces. It's quite an interesting set of pieces both familiar and less well known, and as such should delight renaissance fans as well as countertenor fans who enjoy hearing the simplicity of the instrument in the period before it's heyday of the baroque. So, why only 4 stars? I enjoy Mr. Scholl's musicality quite a bit, but there are several times here that the voice seems somewhat closed off from his most brilliant recordings. As well, this period of music is not my personal favorite. It is however exceptionally well played, carefully mixed (with the exception that the vocal part is a bit TOO present occasionally) and recorded to preserve the intimacy of the setting. All in all, a good collection for fans, and not a bad choice for the casual listener who doesn't know this rep well.

verging on the mediocre
Perhaps not my style, or maybe I was expecting too much. But on the disappointing side.