★ ★ ★ ★ "...Med et sådant repertoire siger det næsten sig selv, at knægten kan synge mere end tilforladeligt... er man til drengestemmer i denne herlige musik, får man fuld valuta på denne cd, og Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment spiller under ledelse af Nigel Short (navnefælle til en berømt engelsk skakstormester) sprødt og slankt, hvad der klæder Aksels stemme. Og trompetsoloen i det første nummer er pragtfuld." Kristeligt Dagblad September 2016 Norwegian boy-soprano Aksel Rykkvin has quickly built a reputation as a rare talent, combining an intelligent musicality with a beautifully resonant treble voice. On his debut recording he is accompanied by The Orchestra of the Age on Enlightenment under Nigel Short (leader of award-winning chamber choir Tenebrae), in a selection of arias by JS Bach, Handel and Mozart. Many of the arias performed are considered too technically demanding for boy singers in the present day – in particular Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate which was composed for the castrato Venunzio Rauzzini, and several of Bach’s Cantatas which were written at a time when singers often maintained their treble voices until the ages of 16 or 17. TRACKLIST Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51: Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen – Johann Sebastian Bach – 4:14 Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt, BWV 68: Mein gl?ubiges Herze – Johann Sebastian Bach – 3:44 Joshua, HWV 64: Happy, oh thrice happy we – George Frideric Handel – 3:00 Alcina, HWV 34: Chi m’insegna il caro padre? – George Frideric Handel – 3:11 Alcina, HWV 34: Barbara! io ben lo so – George Frideric Handel – 3:01 Rinaldo, HWV 7: Lascia ch’io pianga – George Frideric Handel – 4:14 St. John Passion, BWV 245: Ich folge Dir gleichfalls – Johann Sebastian Bach – 3:25 Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne, HWV 74: Eternal Source of Light Divine – George Frideric Handel – 3:17 Bist du bei mir, BWV 508 – Johann Sebastian Bach – 2:18 Messiah, HWV 56: How beautiful are the feet of Him that bringeth glad tidings of salvation – George Frideric Handel – 2:13 Messiah, HWV 56: Thou art gone up on high – George Frideric Handel – 2:58 Samson, HWV 57: Let the bright Seraphim in burning row – George Frideric Handel – 5:11 Magnificat in D Major, BWV 243: Quia Respexit – Johann Sebastian Bach – 2:44 Der zufriedengestellte ?olus, Zerrei?et, zersprenget, zertr?mmert die Gruft, BWV 205: Angenehmer Zephyrus – Johann Sebastian Bach – 4:12 Joshua, HWV 64: Oh! Had I Jubal’s lyre – George Frideric Handel – 2:44 Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492: Voi, che sapete che cosa e amor – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – 2:46 Marriage of Figaro, K. 492: Aria: Non so pi? cosa son, cosa faccio – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – 2:39 Exsultate jubilate, K. 165: Alleluia – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – 2:28