Andreas Scholl Goes Pop

Entschuldigen Sie, dass ich in Englisch schreiben muss!

Andreas Scholl can almost do no wrong in my opinion but I admit to being pretty dubious about the oft-mentioned pop songs, having heard a few snippets here and there of his pop efforts. It's something he's been interested in his entire life but of course is a genre far removed from his other fifty-odd CDs - and there's the problem. I would never normally buy a CD of pop music (and whether it is actually pop music at all I discuss below) but I'm buying it because it's Andreas Scholl and I love his CDs. Probably most of the people looking to buy this CD are Scholl fans, not pop fans; we're probably not the people he wants to buy this CD, we're the wrong market, and reviews like this from lovers-of-baroque may not serve him well. Still, this is a foray into reviewing a genre in which I don't usually review and a CD that's not going on any of my current Scholl playlists, mainly because it doesn't fit. He's an utter master at baroque singing but I'm afraid for me he doesn't work as a pop singer, although the quality of the singing, instrumentation and some of the songwriting means I give it four stars.

Firstly I think the title of this CD is a misnomer. This isn't pop as I know it - I would place it much more in the 'Easy Listening' genre. It is easy to listen to, it works well as background music but it isn't the full, brash, in-yer-face type of bouncy music that I think of when I hear 'pop'. Perhaps this is because pop is more of a British thing and few Germans seem to have been able to crack it (or at least crack the British and American pop charts) and I'm a Brit so coloured by this, but for me this would be better titled "Scholl Goes Easy Listening" - but it'd probably find itself stuck in the discount bins of music shops almost immediately if it were.

Anyway, the album is a live recording from a concert including a large orchestra (the Nürnberger Symphoniker) and Orlando (Roland Kunz), another baroque countertenor who also releases music with his band Die Unerlösten. Scholl has worked with them before on a DVD and many of the songs that featured on that DVD have already been available elsewhere with slightly different arrangements. There's no doubt that all the contributors are excellent musicians/singers but somehow the overall feel is slightly disengaged - the rawness that I expect in pop isn't there.

1. "Overture & Unredeemed" - the beginning sounds like a film soundtrack, then Orlando comes in singing with Andreas Scholl in the background, continuing the film soundtrack feel with some high whistling pipes.
2. "Beauty Pleasure" - Another song with Orlando (Roland Kunz) in the lead and Andreas Scholl singing harmonies. It's another smooth, inoffensive listen but doesn't stay in the memory very long.
3. "Never Again" - this song has appeared before in a few places and this version is more smooth and languid. It sounds a little like you'd hear as background live music in a restaurant. This is a song penned by Scholl (as are several others on the CD) and the lyrics tend to be rather clichéd and cheesy but I do like it!
4. "His Voice" - this song has both Andreas Scholl and Orlando singing and sometimes it's hard to distinguish which is singing. Initially it sounded like background music for a James Bond film but then became more lively before going back to James Bond backing music.
5. "All Beauty Must Die" - this is another song penned by Scholl. It starts off sounding more like classical music before a drum beat comes in and it becomes rather forgettable.
6. "Occhi Del Alma Mia" - this is more 'traditional' Andreas Scholl, making the most of his stunning voice with minimal instrumentation and with much more of a baroque flavour to it than the preceding songs. This is the one I like most so far through the CD.
7. "Everything" - another song penned by Scholl with rather cheesy lyrics (he sings "ain't" but with such good diction, as always, that it sounds rather comical). The tune isn't particularly memorable until the chorus which is much more lively and makes the most of Scholl's upper register when he sings.
8. "Blue Woman" - this song has Orlando as the lead and it's good! It has a slightly mysterious air about it which resolves into a major key for the chorus (where Andreas Scholl does backing vocals) and has a catchy tune thread running through it.
9. "Virtual Girl" - This one is a surprise to start with as Scholl sings the verse in his baritone voice and the chorus in his alto register. He composed the music and lyrics for this song and this song works better than some of the others with more simple arrangements at the beginning.
10. "Love Winged My Hopes" - another film soundtrack song at the beginning but then it livens up with lyrics written by Robert Jones in 1610. However the overall impression is rather 70s disco to me.
11. "Sunset Bossa Nova" - with lyrics and music by Andreas Scholl (who has said in an interview how much he likes the bossa nova beat) this song has a section when Andreas Scholl talks rather than sings and I wasn't sure how well that worked. Still the overall feel is cheerful and it would sound good as background music sitting on a balcony looking over the sea on holiday with a good drink in your hand...
12. "After Great Storms" - This is for me the highlight of the album. The music was written by Orlando to fit lyrics from Thomas Wyatt written in 1540 and it's an atmospheric song with Orlando singing baritone and Andreas Scholl singing alto.
13. "The Pearl" is another Orlando/Thomas Wyatt collaboration (spanning 4 centuries that's quite impressive) with the music rather higher up in the mix than some of the other songs. Andreas Scholl sings most of the song with Orlando providing some backing in the baritone range. This is another good song.
14. "Nives" - another good song to round off the CD with music by Orlando and lyrics by Horace (I presume, the CD inlay says "Horaz" which I assume is the German version of Horace, he of Odes fame).

In conclusion, probably a lot of the people buying this are fans of Andreas Scholl and who want to hear his pop as it's something he frequently talks about in interviews. It will probably be a disappointment to many but it does have its own charms. The "pop" label to my mind is a misnomer but it's not a bad CD for the Easy Listening genre and has a good variety of styles and singing. I hope that the people for whom this genre of music is their thing will find this CD and enjoy it and be introduced to this man's amazing voice; for the baroque Scholl fans it's probably one to miss unless you want a complete Scholl CD collection!

Zwei Countertenöre, eine Band und ein Orchester. Das ist mal was anderes und mehr als ungehwöhnlich. Zeigt aber auch, wie vielseitig gerade Andreas Scholl ist! Die Stimmen harmonieren und die Songs sind richtige Ohrwürmer. Allerdings gehen sie teilweise im doch etwas zu dick aufgetragenen Arrangement unter - da wäre weniger wirklich mehr gewesen.

Andreas Scholl zählt für mich zu den Stars aus der Klassikszene, die bei allem Erfolg überaus sympathisch und bodenständig geblieben sind. Und so großartig seine Auftritte und CDs mit Werken von Händel und Co. auch sind, so scheint er doch auch ganz gerne mit anderen Musikrichtungen zu liebäugeln. Als er vor ein paar Jahren seine CD Wayfaring Stranger" mit schlichten Folksongs herausbrachte, war dies sicherlich für viele eine Überraschung. Nachdem mich dieses Album schon begeisterte, habe ich mich jetzt umso mehr gefreut, dass Andreas Scholl noch mutiger geworden ist und sich in den Bereich der Popmusik gewagt hat. Das Ergebnis ist auch diesmal absolut überzeugend: Der einzigartige, überirdisch schöne Klang der Stimme verbindet sich bei diesen Neukompositionen auf perfekte Art und Weise mit dem Orchester und der Band und hat dabei oft etwas Mystisches, Geheimnisvolles. Manchmal weiß man kaum, ob man etwas ganz Altes, oder etwas ganz Modernes hört, und dann ist die Musik irgendwie fast schwerelos.