Der Countertenor Andreas Scholl, um den es in der letzten Zeit auf dem Plattenmarkt etwas still geworden war, hat sich nach einem zwar verkaufsträchtigen, aber künstlerisch banalen, sülzig orchestrierten Aufguß englischer Volkslieder wieder auf seine Wurzeln besonnen. Auf seiner neuen Einspielung präsentiert er Werke von Komponisten, die sich im Rom des 18. Jahrhundert zur "Arcadischen Akademie" zusammengeschlossen hatten. Arcadia erscheint bei der Decca als CD (470 296-2 5 DH) und SACD (470 630-2 5 DSA)

Die Musik entführt den Hörer in spätbarocke Phantasiewelten, in der schöne Nymphen und edle Hirten in idealistischen pastoralen Landschaften ihre Liebe besingen. Für Scholls ätherische Stimme dürfte diese Beschwörung eines mythischen "Goldenen Zeitalters" wohl ein ideales Repertoire sein.

Als Anhang ein Interview, das Michael Church mit Andreas Scholl führte im englischen Original:

MC: Is it significant that at a troubled time in the world, you choose to make a CD about a mythical golden age?
AS: Of course. Creativity is a gift from God, and we can use it as we wish, either to create nuclear bombs or Bach's B Minor Mass. It's important to show what good things our creativity can be used for. The sad thing about culture is that you only realise its importance when it's gone, when it's too late.

MC: And the music on this CD had virtually gone, hadn't it. Tell me how you discovered it.
AS: Well, it's a complicated story. I'd read a lot of books about the Knights Templar and the Holy Grail and early Christianity, and the idea of Arcadia, the lost golden age, kept cropping up. I had also become obsessed with a painting by Poussin in the Louvre - I went there specially to look at it, because it clearly contained a secret. It's haunting and a bit sad, and shows shepherds in a beautiful landscape, standing round a huge stone coffin. And the Latin title is lacking a word: 'Et in Arcadia ego' - 'And I also in Arcadia'. There is no 'am'. Some scholars think that incompleteness was meant to send a message; some even thought it indicated a treasure was buried somewhere. And one scholar discovered that it's an anagram for 'Tego arcana Dei', which means 'I keep the secrets of God'. But one thing was certain: Poussin himself was a member of a secret society, with secret codes of communication. I would like the audience for this CD to have this painting in their minds as they listen.

MC: Now, these cantatas would originally have been sung by castrati, which you are not.
AS: Yes, falsettists, or counter-tenors - which is what I am - were not in favour in early 18th century Italy.

MC: If Gasparini and co were to come forward in time and hear your performances, what would they think?
AS: I hope they would accept that I am doing justice to the music, that I know what I am singing about. But your question is a good one. They would think I'm not giving the music enough ornamentation.

MC: If we were to go back to their day, how would their singing strike us?
AS: We would think their vocal sounds were really super-beautiful. Like a boy's voice delivered with all the strength of a grown-up male body. An amazing clarity!

MC: Finally, how does this music sit with the music you have in your "other life" - as a singer of your own, home-grown, soul-funk?
AS: Well, for years I have been working on a record of that which is still not out...

MC: Is there any connection at all between these two very different art-forms?
AS: You mean, how do I see myself as a performer? Well, it's a question of putting oneself in the right context. Pop songs are three-minute bits of music which are ideal for listening to in the car, but they can never give you the same experience as a three-hour opera. It's the difference between a snack and a gourmet meal.

MC: These cantatas could be described as long snacks...
AS: Absolutely. And they are also vocal experiments, and experimenting is essential if art is to develop. I get my singing students to experiment all the time - how soft can they go, how much air can they mix to create special effects, and what you do with a close microphone.

MC: Will these cantatas make good in-car entertainment?
AS: I hope so! Twelve minutes is not too demanding on the attention-span.