Folks, The other day as I was looking through the bins of a local Barnes
& Noble, I came across two great promotions.

One, from Harmonia Mundi contained a cd (Haendel, Ombra Mai Fu, Arias,
Andreas Scholl, Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin, HMX 2901685) and the
yearly catalog.  The other from Bis also contained a cd (Handel, Sacred
Cantatas, Emma Kirkby/London Baroque, BIS-CD-106501-CAT) and a catalog.
Both are half-price.

Although I'm not too crazy about the counter-tenor voice, I know that
Andreas Scholl is highly regarded, and the price was right, so I bought
it.  And I have to say that I like the disc very much.  Instead of being
somewhat off-put by the voice, I found myself focusing on the purity of
tone and the range.  Really, quite remarkable.  The disc isn't all aria.
A good part is the instrumental music that accompanies the aria, played
very well by the Academy for Ancient Music.  For me, this disc is a real
find.

Although not a big fan of vocal music in general, I've always loved
Emma Kirkby's voice.  Previously to listening to this disc, I had always
associated Emma with Hyperion and English music.  Seeing that the disc
is one of her singing Handel, I grabbed it.  I was not disappointed.
She still has an absolutely beautiful voice and is in complete control,
at least to my, admittedly inexperienced, ears.

Ron Chaplin
Iselin, New Jersey 08830-149