Thomas Linley - O bid your faithful Ariel fly

[SopranoKayla1992]

YES!!!! If they turned Tempest into an Opera, this is EXACTLY what Ariel would sound like!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!♥♥♥♥♥♥­♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

[TheCrazyCello]

One other thing I love about this recording is Paul Goodwin's oboe playing. That pause in the introduction before he begins the downward run at 0:17 is delicious, I can't think of a better word to describe it! And the tension at 0:43 where the oboe climbs up to the high d leaving the soprano in suspension over the harmony is superb, although hard to hear (it's a little better in stereo &fmt=18 at the end of the URL)

[coaxqueen]

what a shame you have these awesome, unique and best recs ever of these glorious english 18th cen. composers and have but a poor opinion of them. I saw live Julia Gooding and she have the most charming and beautiful tone of soprano voice that fits perfectly in this repertoire. cheers!

[TheCrazyCello]

You misunderstand, I love this recording. I think Julia Gooding is a superb soprano, the "thin" tone I mentioned is deliberate and perfect for this style, as is her intonation with wide leading notes and purer major thirds (and the necessary narrower fifths) and intelligent use of vibrato. I was merely commenting that Youtube doesn't do the recording justice.

[Emma7Peel]

oui mais cela n'excuse pas les notes approximativement...

[TheCrazyCello]

No, you're right. Although it's not bad on the CD, Youtube doesn't do the recording any favours. It's infinitely better than any modern recording I've heard - with so much vibrato you can't tell what note is being sung!

[Emma7Peel]

joli mais serré, et quelques aigus un peu faux...

[TheCrazyCello]

I think it's just the style of performance. The 18th Century English soprano sound is characteristically "thin", as for the intonation, this recording is performed with an unequal temperament.