This lovely collection, recorded in 1988 and ’89, finds Emma Kirkby at her mature best. The voice is still silvery and smallish, but it has the low notes, although they are certainly not as impressively dramatic as the top and middle ones are lustrous. This problem is most noticeable in “Ah, lo prevedi”, a huge aria filled with pain and anger, where a type of darkness simply not available to Kirkby would be welcome. But hearing her whip through “Aer tranquillo” and bathing in her liquidy silver tone in the gorgeous “L’amero saro costante” (both from Il re pastore) is a true delight, and Stephen Lubin’s translucent pianoforte goes ideally with Kirkby’s sound in “Ch’io mi scordi di te”. “Nehmt meinen Dank” features Kirkby in concert with flute, oboe, and bassoon, and it is here that we truly appreciate the contribution of Christopher Hogwood and his Academy: singer, conductor, and band think and perform as one. Arguably, the soprano’s bright tone can tire the ear throughout 55 minutes, but we’re hardly forced to sit still through the whole recital at once–and taken in doses, this is artful, heartfelt, and lovely singing.
