Franz Vitzthum; Capricornus Consort Basel; Les Escapades
Release Date: 24 February 2023
Label: Christophorus
Packaging Type: Brilliant Case (Jewel Case size, Holds 2 CDs)
No of Units: 2
Barcode: 4010072774682
Genres: Classical
Description
The countertenor Franz Vitzthum is praised by the international press for his clear, light voice, with its pleasant timbre and balanced tone, as well as for his good text interpretation. As a soloist, the singer is much in demand and can be heard on countless recordings - his solo recitals have all been released by Christophorus.
His vocal qualities come into their own particularly well in German baroque song, which is why his first two (and most successful) solo CDs are devoted to sacred song at the time of the Thirty Years' War: "Ich will in Friede fahren" with the viol consort Les Escapades, (released in 2009) and the "Himmels-Lieder" with the Capricornus Consort Basel (released in 2012).
Under the new title "Kommt ihr Stunden, macht mich frei", these two wonderful recordings are now finally available again as a double CD.
Franz Vitzthum studtied at the Cologne University of Music, under Kai Wessel, receiving his degree in 2007. While there, he already won numerous prizes and earned scholarships. The critics praise Franz Vitzthum's counter-tenor voice for its precision in intonation and flexibility. It effortlessly reaches up into the mezzo range, and delights with an extraordinary beauty.
He has been invited to give recitals at the Rheingau Musik Festival, at the Handel Festivals in Halle, Karlsruhe and Göttingen, at La Folle Journée de Nantes, and at the Bach Festival of Philadelphia. He has worked with the conductors Nicolas McGegan, Andrew Parrot, Hermann Max, Peter Neumann, and Christoph Poppen, among others.
He has also taken part in various operas and oratorio productions, for example, in Scherz, Satire, Ironie und tiefere Bedeutung (Glanert), Jephtha and Solomon (Handel), Orfeo (Gluck), Orlando generoso (Steffani), and most recently in Spartaco (Porsile) at Winter in Schwetzingen. Chamber music is also one of Franz Vitzthum's passions.
He regularly gives concerts with the lutist Julian Behr and the Ensemble Capricornus from Basel, as well as with his own vocal ensemble Stimmwerck, which he founded.
Tracklisting
Rebeka Ruso; Sebastian Wienand
Kurt Meier; Howard Griffith; Royal Northern Sinfonia
Francesca Venturi Ferriolo; Salon Violet
Luca Cervoni; Concerto Romano
Max Hattwich; Johannes Wieners; Jonathan Boudevin
La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kuijken
Miriam Feuersinger; Klaus Mertens
Sebastian Mirow; Les Escapades
Ensemble La Francais
Kenneth Hamilton
Christoph Croise; Andrey Baranov; Alexander Panfilov
Trio Parnassus
Katharina Kammerloher (mezzo-soprano), Arttu Kataja (baritone), Eric Schneider (piano)
BachWerkVokal, Gordon Safari
Ostrava New Orchestra, Owen Underhill, Ostravska Banda, Petr Kotik, Elision Ensemble, Arditti Quartet, Switch~ Ensemble, Jason Thorpe Buchanan
Kilian Herold, Barbara Buntrock, Florian Donderer, Tanja Tetzlaff
