Wayfaring Stranger: Folksongs

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The German countertenor Andreas Scholl takes risks on his latest CD, Wayfaring Stranger, and not all of them pay off. It is a recording of 17 English-language folksongs, some of them very well known, such as "Down by the Salley Gardens" and "My love is like a red, red rose." This is not usually a repertory tackled by classically trained singers, who can sound prissy, but Scholl's clear, plaintive alto, with its rich low notes and gentle top range, is a quite plausible vehicle. "Wild Mountain Thyme" evokes real sadness, while "Barbara Allen" aches with unhappy love. A surprise awaits in the ballad "Henry Martin," as Scholl uses his rough, nondescript baritone to identify the hero. It is rather a jolt. At least, it is good to know his voice has actually broken. In this song, too-feminine endings in the lyric fall clumsily on stressed beats. Scholl does nothing to counter the infelicity; English, of course, is not his mother tongue. In the beautiful title track, which opens the disc, he sings endearingly of a "why-farring straincher." The accompaniments for various combinations of chamber orchestra, lute, dulcimer, and harp tend to be slushy, sentimental, and over-fussy. The bass uncomfortably parallels the tune in "Salley Gardens" and would have won a big red line through it in old-fashioned harmony classes. Still, on the whole, this is a worthwhile disc. Scholl clearly loves the songs he sings with great tenderness, and he deserves credit for his courage even where the experiment fails. --Rick Jones

Tracks:

Wayfaring stranger
Down by the Salley Gardens
My love is like a red red rose
Wild mountain thyme
Henry Martin
Charming beauty bright
I will give my love an apple
She moved through the fair
Blow the wind southerly
Wife of Usher's well
I loved a lass
Pretty Saro
Down in yon forest
Barbara Allen
Raggle taggle gypsies o
Annie Laurie
Black is the color of my true love's hair

Amazon.com

The German countertenor Andreas Scholl takes risks on his latest CD, Wayfaring Stranger, and not all of them pay off. It is a recording of 17 English-language folksongs, some of them very well known, such as "Down by the Salley Gardens" and "My love is like a red, red rose." This is not usually a repertory tackled by classically trained singers, who can sound prissy, but Scholl's clear, plaintive alto, with its rich low notes and gentle top range, is a quite plausible vehicle. "Wild Mountain Thyme" evokes real sadness, while "Barbara Allen" aches with unhappy love. A surprise awaits in the ballad "Henry Martin," as Scholl uses his rough, nondescript baritone to identify the hero. It is rather a jolt. At least, it is good to know his voice has actually broken. In this song, too-feminine endings in the lyric fall clumsily on stressed beats. Scholl does nothing to counter the infelicity; English, of course, is not his mother tongue. In the beautiful title track, which opens the disc, he sings endearingly of a "why-farring straincher." The accompaniments for various combinations of chamber orchestra, lute, dulcimer, and harp tend to be slushy, sentimental, and over-fussy. The bass uncomfortably parallels the tune in "Salley Gardens" and would have won a big red line through it in old-fashioned harmony classes. Still, on the whole, this is a worthwhile disc. Scholl clearly loves the songs he sings with great tenderness, and he deserves credit for his courage even where the experiment fails. --Rick Jones

Customer Reviews:

Beauty.......2006-05-12

This is one of the most beautiful CDs I know: so pure in tone, so haunting in its harmonies. The reservations of some other listeners seem to make this quality a sort of fault, and perhaps it is if you like your ballads gritty; but I find the selections, the arrangements, and Scholl's singing so ravishing that I felt I had to write this review just to urge everyone to try it. Listen to "I Will Give My Love ..." You might feel your heart stop.

Wonderful. .......2006-03-14

This is the perfect CD to listen to one a cold winter's afternoon with a warm cup of tea and a good book. Scholl's voice is so pure and smoothing. The orchestral arrangements are very creative and lush - sort of an English version of Canteloube's Chants d'Auvergne. The one down note I would have is eventhough Scholl's voice is very expressive his phrasing can be a little square. I would have liked him to take a bit more liberties with the sentences. The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra musical fluidity more than makes up for any of Scholl's rigidity however.
A recommended buy.

Wayfaring Stranger: Folksongs.......2005-10-26

This is a fantastic CD. The countertenor voice of Andreas Scholl gives an entirley new
meaning to traditional folk music. The orchestration is just enough to give a haunting sound to each selection. ' Wayfaring stranger' and 'Wild mountain thyme' are two selections that make the purchasing of the CD worth the pice.

Surprisingly good.......2005-03-05

At first I was suspicious due to the album's sleek marketing and desing. But right from the start I was delighted to hear the lush arrangements of these peculiar songs.

Granted, we do hear quite a lot of strings and even some sound effects that make the music sound dangerously "romantic", or worse, "exotic"...

And yes, the arrangements become very similar to those used by Sarah Brightman, Bocelli and other musical aberrations.... but Scholl's scholarly perfection of voice and delivery save the day. Not only that, but his (limited) potential to characterize the music is in full capacity... especially in the songs where he actually sings in his baritone in a self-contained duet.

Yes, the strings are too warm. And yes, there are parts that could even fit as background music for Disneyworld rides... And yes, it can at times sound cheap and "postcard-ish".........

But, truth be told, sometimes a Coke tastes better than Bordeaux, and sometimes a "Little Debbie" cake hits the spot better than the Sachertorte.

So, if you want to listen to songs that are warm and glowing -albeit effectist-, sung by a first class musician... this album will do the trick.

For those who are new to Scholl, I strongly reccomend his earlier CD's --namely those containing the Handel Arias, the English Lute Songs, and the German Baroque lieder.

As for "Wayfaring Stranger", play close attention to "My Love is a Red Red Rose"... If you've ever felt true love, this is the song to make you cry.

Brilliant.......2005-01-11

Putting this wonderful voice together with an easy-listening style of ochestration was simply a brilliant idea.

This compilation will surely bring this wondrous voice to the attention of a wholly different public to the one which presently adores Andreas, and secondly, it will introduce these folk treasures to an audience at present virtually ignorant of them.

Add this one to your Scholl collection

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