Melinda Paulsen

Melinda Paulsen
Mezzo-Soprano Vocals

The American mezzo-soprano (and contralto), Melinda Paulsen, studied music at the Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, the USA. With ‘Bachelor of Arts’ with honour she came in 1988 to Germany and continued her singing study at the Munich College of Music with Professor Daphne Evangelatos in the master class which she finished in 1991. During this time she extended her repertoire with Professor Helmut Deutsch in the area of Lieder and Professor Diethard Hellmann in the oratorio. Afterwards she was engaged by the Opera Studio of the Bavarian State Opera, where she compiled opera roles with Astrid Varnay and participated in different productions in the national theatre. In 1992 she won the second prize (a first price was not assigned) in the renowned international ARD competition. Melinda Paulsen sings with renowned conductors such as Helmuth Rilling, Enoch zu Guttenberg, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Marek Janowski and Roberto Abbado. An appearance led Melinda Paulsen in 1996 to Klagenfurt for a new production of the Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera (direction: Christof Loy), where her Don Ramiro became a critic success. She appeared at important international festivals, such as Wratislavia Cantans in Poland and the Bregenz Festival in Austria and in Maulbronn in Händel’s Jephta with Emma Kirkby. At present she is also assigned training for singing at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz. Apart from her activities in the opera scene Melinda Paulsen is sought-after as Lieder and concert singer. She has made several CD recordings, e.g. Ersteinspielungen wie Lieder of Nadia Boulanger, or the Mozart’s concert aria Ch'io mi scordi di te? with original instruments. The fact that her organization strength does not make stop also with works of Bach is held among other things in her participation in the current Bavarian Broadcast series of Bach Cantatas. She is to be heard also as contralto singer recording of Bach’s Weihnachts-Oratorium (BWV 248) under Enoch zu Guttenberg. To her opera recordings belong the role Isaura in Rossini’s Tancredi and the role of Puck in Weber’s Oberon.
George Fr. Handel · JephthaGeorge Fr. Handel · Jephtha
George Frideric Handel:
Jephtha

The English Oratorio HWV 70, performed according to the traditions of the time

by Emma Kirkby (Soprano), Melinda Paulsen (Mezzo-Soprano),
Charles Humphries (Countertenor), Julian Podger (Tenor),
Stephen Varcoe (Bass), Monastery Baroque Orchestra,
Maulbronn Chamber Choir (Maulbronner Kammerchor)
Conductor: Jürgen Budday

A live recording from the church of the German
UNESCO World Heritage Site Maulbronn Monastery

DDD · Double Album · c. 150 Minutes

2 CD
EUR 33,00SpotifyDeezerNapsterApple MusicYouTube MusicAmazon.com MusicIdagioTidalAmazon.comiTunesQobuzReview

A splendidly atmospheric recording

The oratorio Jephta was George Frideric Handel's last large work, written in 1751 in London and first performed at Covent Garden in the following year. This dramatic and poetic work in three movements reflects the inner aspect of Jephta's unsolvible solitude when he is expelled from Gilead by his half-brothers and grows up in exile. This splendidly atmospheric recording was made at the medeieval Monastery Maulbronn in Germany and fully captures the music's great force and beauty. The performers here include Emma Kirkby (soprano), Melinda Paulsen (mezzo-soprano), Charles Humphries (alto), Julian Podger (tenor), Stephen Varcoe (bass), together with the Barockorchester der Klosterkonzerte, Maulbronner Kammerchor, and conductor Jürgen Budday.

New Classics UK

Review

Clear and beautiful

In this public performance of his last oratorio, recorded and performed at the church of monastery Maulbronn in Germany, the sound is very clear and beautiful...This K&K issue is pleasurable a worthwhile addition to the work´s discography...

John T. Hughes, International Record Review

Review

***** I could not be happier with this superb recording

I have been listening to Jephtha and Samson quite extensively, and I must say that these two recordings are truly impressive. First, the cast of soloists is an absolutely superb assembly of historically-informed performers. It would be hard to find singers any better than Emma Kirkby, Steven Varcoe, Michael Chance. I found all of the performances by the soloists nearly impeccable.
Second, I suspected that the recordings themselves might be filled with ambient and background noises since these were the result of live performances.
I have been extremely pleased with the technical aspects of the recordings: they are 'clean' and clear with very little extraneous sounds. The engineering of these recordings is highly commendable!!
Finally, the orchestral playing by the Barockorchester der Klosterkonzerte and the participation of the Maulbronner Kammerchor are nearly flawless. The string playing is especially strong, and the choruses - filled with drama and emotion - are executed at the highest possible level. Even the pronunciation and intonation of the English is perfect. In sum, I could not be happier with these two superb recordings. Already possessing several recorded versions of each of these masterful oratorios, I felt that it would be difficult to match the strength and quality of, for example, the performance under John Elliot Gardiner.
These two new additions by K&K Verlagsanstalt to the recorded Handel repertoire are magnificent models, exemplary of how to bring these monumental works to life for the modern audience. The crisp, clear recording, the excellent engineering, the incredible acoustics, the superb performances make these two of the best Handel compact discs I have purchased in a long time.
I should be most happy if you would keep my name on your mailing list, since I would like to be informed when your fine enterprise releases any more Baroque repertoire. These are performances to be treasured and are of the highest caliber of historically-informed practice.

Thomas R. McCallum (USA) on Amazon.com

Review

Very impressive

Kirkby shines vocaly, this being a performance to emphasise the profound and the serious. The chorus sing strongly, with warm and rounded tone, and firm lines; several of the choral numbers are very impressive, for example the Part I chorus '0 God, behold our sore distress', which has considerable grandeur. The marvellous chorus that ends Part 2, one of Handel's noblest, 'How dark, 0 Lord, are thy decrees, all hid from human sight' (his blindness overcame him as he wrote it) is well sung. Some of the quicker choruses are done with real vigour and confidence, for example 'When his loud voice' and the jubilant final ones.
The resonant church recording enriches the sound of the choir. The orchestra is hearty and the conductor, Jürgen Budday, draws some buoyant rhythms from them in the faster music.
The strongest inducement to buy this set lies in the loveliness of Emma Kirkby's singing. This is no longer the exquisite, delicate thread of sound that it once was, but it is still exquisite and delicate while being much fuller and richer, and her characterisation of lphis, the daughter of Jephtha who 'must a victim fall' because of his 'impious vow' to sacrifice the first person he encounters after victory. Listen to her wonderfully shapely and natural singing of 'Tune the soft melodious lute', for example, or 'Farewell, ye limpid springs and floods', as she movingly welcomes death.
Storgè is sung with strength and clarity by Melinda Paulsen (who also does the Angel air in Part 3). Jephtha himself is well taken by Julian Podger, a very capable singer. He is at his best in the heroic music, such as 'His mighty arm'. Zebul is warmly and sensitively sung by Stephen Varcoe, Charles Humphries provides an able Hamor, duetting gracefully with Emma Kirkby in two numbers.

Stanley Sadie, Gramophone Magazine

User login

courtesy of webmatter.de

Back
Zurück