Freiburger Barockorchester / Gottfried von der Goltz W.A. MOZART Concertante alla Harpa e Flauto

With a few major exceptions, most of Mozart's works are tied to specific situations and locales. That being the case, it's surprising that more recordings haven't been devoted to works he wrote in a certain place and at a certain time. One learns a lot from hearing all his Masonic pieces at one time, for example. And this disc, which offers a slice of Mozart's music from his 1778 visit to Paris, makes a satisfying whole -- and along the way makes a strong case for Mozart's authorship of the disputed Symphonie concertante for flute, oboe, horn, bassoon, and orchestra, K. 297b, presented here in an adaptation by Robert D. Levin of a later and probably spurious version with a clarinet. The symphonie concertante was a genre of French origin, and the example here fits with the rest of the ingratiating, abundantly lyrical, slight but absolutely seductive music Mozart wrote in Paris. The Freiburg Barockorchester and leader Gottfried von der Goltz also offer the two versions of the middle movement of the Symphony No. 31, "Paris", the second provided by Mozart as a replacement after a concert series director protested that the original contained too many modulations. This offers an unusual insight into Mozart's creative processes as he worked to meet the needs of patrons who did not fully understand his music. Check out the delightful Concerto for flute, harp, and orchestra, K. 299, for an example of the basic approach of this period-instrument German group in this music: in place of the high spirits most performers infuse into this concerto, von der Goltz draws on the influence of ballet in Parisian musical life -- a field into which Mozart himself ventured with his curiously titled ballet Les petits riens (The Little Nothings). This is very graceful but rather restrained Mozart. Still, it avoids the cold quality that many Baroque-oriented groups have when performing Mozart, and the program is an unusually worthwhile one.

Philippe Jaroussky / Freiburger Barockorchester BACH - TELEMANN Sacred Cantatas

For his first album devoted entirely to works sung in German, star countertenor Philippe Jaroussky has chosen four religious cantatas: two by J.S. Bach (including the much-loved ‘Ich habe genug’) and two by Georg Philipp Telemann. Jaroussky is accompanied by the Freiburger Barockorchester, which also joined him for live performances at Berlin in 2015 as part of the singer’s season as artist-in-residence at the city’s historic Konzerthaus.

In late 2015 Jaroussky performed these works before a capacity audience at Berlin’s historic Konzerthaus, where he was artist-in-residence in the 2015-16 season; this concert marked the first time he had sung in German to a German audience. “The voice of an angel” were the words of the Berliner Tagesspiegel, which also made clear that Jaroussky had the vocal means to express the drama of Telemann’s ‘Mount of Olives’ cantata. The Berliner Morgenpost, meanwhile, highlighted the singer’s readiness to venture into new areas of repertoire, describing him as “perhaps the most adventurous of today’s countertenors”. The writer also praised Jaroussky’s “exquisitely fine legato” and evoked the way his “plaintive descant glowed over the inky-black accompaniment” in the Telemann. The instrumental ensemble in Berlin, as on this recording, was the Freiburger Barockorchester, which gave its first concert nearly 30 years ago and is established as one of the finest ensembles in the field of historically informed performance.