Ah, Carolyn Sampson. Ah, Mozart. Put both of you, along with the Great Mass in c and the marvelously tuneful early motet, Exsultate, jubilate, in the hands of Masaaki Suzuki and the period-instrument Bach Collegium Japan. Then, record it all in 24/96 for a BIS SACD, which you can download in its original format from multiple sites, and the results are pure pleasure.
Sampson first. This early-music soprano, who has now branched out into song—I will review, for San Francisco Classical Voice, her song recital in San Francisco on May 17, and previously gave Fleurs, her song recital on BIS from which the repertoire for her San Francisco recital debut is drawn, a 2016 Stereophile "Record to Die For"—recorded this music in November 2015. Compared to the Exsultate, jubilate she recorded 10 years earlier, with Robert King and The King's Consort (Hyperion), when she was 31, the voice has not changed. If anything, its warmth and sunniness have deepened, while her phenomenally perfect but markedly unpretentious coloratura technique has remained intact.
Listening to Sampson offers hope of a sunny day. There is an innate and endearing contentedness to her voice that leaves you feeling happy to be alive. Even when she's singing sad music, she inspires gratitude for the ability to experience all facets of life with openness and grace.
Suzuki's expertise in Mozart, as with Bach, is well-known. Every tempo seems ideal, with balances between instruments, soloists and chorus (in the Mass; see later) perfectly judged. I thought I knew every note of Exsultate, jubilate, but Suzuki brings out inner voices and contrasting instrumental lines with a clarity rarely encountered on disc. Add BIS's high-resolution engineering, which, thanks to microphone positioning that intentionally captures less resonance than King's, is exceptionally clear and colorful, and you have one delight after another.
The four-movement Exsultate, jubilate, K.165, premiered in 1773, when Mozart turned 17. The soloist was the soprano castrato, Venanzio Rauzzini, who had sung the lead in Mozart's opera, Lucio Silla. Slightly more than six years later, Mozart unveiled a new version of the piece with the castrato Francesco Ceccarelli that had different words in the first two movements, and substituted baroque flute for baroque oboe.
The differences in color between the two versions can be compared on Suzuki's recording, which appends, to the first version in its entirety, the first movement from the revision. As much as I adore the slight piquancy of the oboes, the etheric breathiness of baroque flute provides a delicious alternative. Sampson rises to the occasion, with different embellishments in each version, and a high ending for the later one. Deserving equal praise are sound engineer Jens Braun and mixing engineer Hans Kipfer, whose balance between color, clarity, and ambience is nigh ideal.
Regardless of version, the music is Mozart's at his sunniest. I may have a preference for the slower, undoubtedly inauthentic tempo for the third movement Andante that Elisabeth Schwarzkopf chose for her early mono recording, but Sampson manages to speed things along while conveying the sacred essence of music and text. As for the final "Alleluia," once you hear it, you may join me in whistling it in your sleep. (Actually, I was hearing a duet from Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro over and over in my head last night, but that's another story.)
The Great Mass in c, K.427 (1782–83) is known especially for its eight-minute soprano solo, "Et incarnates est." Sampson is one of very few sopranos who can make its exceptionally ornate, long line sound as natural and essential as breath itself. Compare it to a few other versions, and you'll marvel at how simply Sampson sails through its extremely challenging writing.
Although the other soloists have less to sing in the Mass, mezzo-soprano Olivia Vermeulen deserves praise for the exceptional beauty of her voice. The blend with Sampson is ideal. For a touch of heaven—at least the Christian version of same—and a generous helping of joy, this recording is the way to go.
