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 Mozart, Handel and JS Bach. 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.
Freakishly good, with a musical assurance and richness of tone that are almost superhuman – Financial Times
Widely praised for his richness of tone and instinctive, innate musicality – BBC Music Magazine
It’s a remarkable performance – pure, technically perfect and hauntingly beautiful – Classic FM
This is totally extraordinary. For the sheer joy in performing, this CD would be hard to beat – Cathedral Music Magazine
