Aco Bišćević, Barockorchester der Thüringen Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach & Michael Hofstetter - Carl Heinrich Graun: A Gentle Tenor - Italian Cantatas (2024) [Hi-Res]

Carl Heinrich Graun is known as Frederick the Great's court Kapellmeister, but less well known is the fact that Graun enjoyed an important reputation as a singer and that the king had originally engaged him as such at his court. In his obituary, the king characteristically honoured his court Kapellmeister with the words: "We will not hear such a singer again"!

Graun's voice is characterised as a "high tenor" with "great lightness" and, according to a contemporary, he sang the slow pieces in particular "very gently and touchingly".

Aco Biscevic probably corresponds exactly to this voice type: as a "haute-contre" (a tenor with a very high, light voice), his vocal range lies between tenor and the falsetto countertenor. After studying singing and the harpsichord at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Aco Bi?cevic made his debut at La Scala in Milan, where he performed under the directon of Ingo Metzmacher. He also partcipated in the Young Singers Project programme at the renowned Salzburger Festspiele.

Graun composed the three secular cantatas presented on this recording as a world premiere for himself and his voice during his time in Wolfenbuttel. They are highly virtuosic!

Biscevic is accompanied by the baroque orchestra of the Thuringen Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach under the direction of Michael Hofstetter, an expert in the discovery of young voices.