Andreas Scholl

Andreas Scholl (born 10 November 1967) is a German countertenor, a male classical singer in the alto vocal range, specialising in Baroque music.

Born into a family of singers, Scholl was enrolled at the age of seven into the boys choir. Aged 13, he was chosen from 20,000 choristers gathered in Rome from around the world to sing solo at a Mass held on 4 January 1981. Just four years later, Scholl was offered a place at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, an institution that normally accepts only post-graduate students, based on the strength and quality of his voice. He has since become an instructor at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, succeeding his own teacher, Richard Levitt.

Scholl's early operatic roles include his standing in for René Jacobs in 1993 at the Théâtre Grévin in Paris, where he caused a sensation. His major roles, such as his debut at Glyndebourne in 1998 as Bertarido in Handel's Rodelinda, a role he reprised at the Metropolitan Opera in 2006, were written for the 18th-century alto castrato Senesino.

Amen

The word amen (/ˌɑːˈmɛn/ or /ˌeɪˈmɛn/; Hebrew: אָמֵן, Modern amen, Tiberian ʾāmēn; Greek: ἀμήν; Arabic: آمين‎, ʾāmīn ; "So be it; truly") is a declaration of affirmation found in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. It has been generally adopted in Christian worship as a concluding word for prayers and hymns. Common English translations of the word amen include "verily" and "truly". It can also be used colloquially to express strong agreement, as in, for instance, amen to that.

Pronunciation

In English, the word amen has two primary pronunciations, ah-men (/ɑːˈmɛn/) or ay-men (/eɪˈmɛn/), with minor additional variation in emphasis (the two syllables may be equally stressed instead of placing primary stress on the second). The Oxford English Dictionary gives "ɑː'mɛn, eɪ'mεn".

In anglophone North America the ah-men pronunciation is used in performances of classical music, in churches with more formalized rituals and liturgy and in liberal to mainline Protestant denominations, as well as almost every Jewish congregation, in line with modern Hebrew pronunciation. The ay-men pronunciation, a product of the Great Vowel Shift dating to the 15th century, is associated with Irish Protestantism and conservative Evangelical denominations generally, and is the pronunciation typically used in gospel music.

Andreas

Andreas (Greek: Ἀνδρέας) is a name given to males in Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Brazil, United States, Armenia, Finland, Flanders, Germany, Greece, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. The name derives from the Greek noun ἀνήρ anir – with genitive ἀνδρός andros –, which means "man" (i.e. male human being). See article on Andrew for more information. Also in regard to the name Andreas, it may be used in the feminine as Andrea, which is instead the main male form in Italy and the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

Given name

Ombra mai fu

"Ombra mai fu" is the opening aria from the 1738 opera Serse by George Frideric Handel.

Context

The opera was a commercial failure, lasting only five performances in London after its premiere. In the 19th century, however, the aria was rediscovered and became one of Handel's best-known pieces. Handel adapted the aria from the setting by Bononcini who, in turn, adapted it from the setting by Francesco Cavalli. All three composers had produced settings of the same opera libretto by Nicolò Minato.

Music

Originally composed to be sung by a soprano castrato (and sung in modern performances of Serse by a countertenor, contralto or a mezzo-soprano), it has often been arranged for other voice types and instruments, including solo organ, solo piano, violin and piano, and string ensembles, often under the title "Largo from Xerxes", although the original tempo is marked larghetto.

In the opera, the aria is preceded by a short recitativo accompagnato of nine bars, setting the scene ("Frondi tenere e belle"). The aria itself is also short; it consists of 52 bars and typically lasts 3 to 4 minutes.

Stabat Mater

Stabat Mater Dolorosa, often referred to as Stabat Mater, is a 13th-century Catholic hymn to Mary, variously attributed to the Franciscan Jacopone da Todi and to Innocent III. It is about the Sorrows of Mary.

The title of the sorrowful hymn is an incipit of the first line, Stabat mater dolorosa ("The sorrowful mother stood"). The Stabat Mater hymn, one of the most powerful and immediate of extant medieval poems, meditates on the suffering of Mary, Jesus Christ's mother, during his crucifixion. It is sung at the liturgy on the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. The Stabat Mater has been set to music by many composers, with the most famous settings being those by Palestrina (~1590), Domenico Scarlatti (1715), Alessandro Scarlatti (1723), Pergolesi (1736), Vivaldi (~1727), J.S.Bach (1748), Haydn (1767), Rossini (1832/42), Dvořák (1877), George Henschel, Karol Szymanowski (1925/26), Poulenc (195/51), Toivo Kuula and Arvo Pärt (1985).

Date

The Marian hymn Stabat mater is generally ascribed to Jacopo da Todi (ca. 1230-1306).