A hymn to a sublime contralto: the complete Philips recordings of Aafje Heynis, remastered and compiled together, with original jackets, for the first time. Aafje Heynis grew up as a church singer, and her faith and modesty radiate from her performances, which began to capture the ears of Dutch audiences after the war. A momentous […]

On the back of one of Eloquence’s most applauded and best-selling CDs – that of Dutch contralto, Aafje Heynis, singing Bach and Handel – comes a recording of her as the centrepiece in two Bach Cantatas and seven sublime but rarely-performed Sacred Songs. The piece de resistance is of course, Vergnugte Ruh (‘Contented Rest’), here […]

The Dutch contralto, Aafje Heynis, had a dark, rich, altogether unique voice and the story of her discovery in a Holland recovering from the ravages of World War II, told in the booklet notes, is heart-warming indeed… as is this collection put together from several of her recordings. Seven Bach and six Handel arias make […]

Brahms’ Violin Concerto comes from the same period as his Second Symphony, with which, in sprit, it has much in common. A similar serenity and insistence on carefully balanced form pervades both works. The first performance of the work was given in Leipzig on New Year’s Day 1879. The concerto is in three movements and, […]