Blissful confidence with Jan Börner

The young Solothurn countertenor Jan Börner has recorded truly rarely heard early cantatas and sacred concertos of the 17th century from the German-speaking cultural area with the Basel ensemble Il Profondo. Last May, they retreated to the former Capuchin monastery in Solothurn to record their carefully selected baroque works. And not from modern edited sheet music versions: They play directly from the original manuscripts. And that's not all: the ten cantatas recorded include three new discoveries by Johann Theile, Martin Koler (Colerus) and David Pohle, which are now available as world premiere recordings.

As is so often the case in early Baroque manuscripts, and even more so in older manuscripts, there are hardly any indications of tempo, dynamics or instrumentation. This suits the musicians of Il Profondo, all graduates of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, with their in-depth knowledge of historical performance practice and their skilled handling of compositional structures. Depending on the work, Jan Börner's flawless voice is accompanied by violin consort, dulcian, lute instruments or an original Italian processional organ from the 17th century, which was borrowed especially for the recordings. The result is an album on which the music is performed in large arcs, very linear yet rich in detail and in an extremely authentic baroque gesture.

On absorta est ... - of bliss and confidence (roughly: "overcome is ..."), the title of the album, are audibly first-class specialists at work. They make great music. The chosen repertoire must also be called great, characterized by the urge to discover new things. Musical pearl follows musical pearl. The artfully designed, richly illustrated black-and-white booklet is fittingly informative. The result is a true work of art that has something to say. Nota bene from a Swiss countertenor who we will hear a lot more of, indeed must hear a lot more of ...