Brian Asawa - The Dark Is My Delight And Other 16th Century Lute Songs / Tayler

Andrea Rost ~ Brian Asawa - The Dark Is My De

As one of the leaders of an exciting new generation of countertenors, Brian Asawa benefits not only from his distinctive voice, but also from his record label's publicity machine, which has made his name and his first two recordings strongly recognized by critics and listeners. Asawa's success at the Metropolitan Opera Auditions in 1991 and his many opera performances in the United States and abroad certainly haven't hurt his career. The voice we hear is unquestionably pretty and technically refined, but its throaty, dark timbre sounds more like the efforts of a man trying to sound like a woman. He just doesn't have that uniquely male countertenor quality exemplified by three of Asawa's more engaging colleagues--Andreas Scholl, David Daniels, and Daniel Taylor. That's not to say that these performances of some of the 16th century's loveliest songs are not eminently listenable and occasionally sublime. Asawa's agile voice projects a strong character coupled with an effortless delivery that will appeal to many listeners. He has an annoying habit, however, of singing slightly behind the beat and gradually leaning into longer-held notes. --David Vernier