God Be in My Head: Sacred and Secular Treble Solos (2006)

by Freddy de Rivaz (treble), James Davy (organ), Nicholas Robinson (organ), Nicholas Robinson (piano), Simon Johnson (organ), Simon Johnson (piano)

This collection of solos by English treble Freddy de Rivaz features both sacred and secular solos from the Renaissance through the twentieth century. De Rivaz avoids the mannerisms and affects that can make boy trebles less than ideal soloists. His voice doesn't have the pallid white tone of so many trebles -- his vibrato is subtle, but it gives his voice color and expressiveness. He sings with unforced musicality, shaping each phrase with naturalness, his pronunciation is beyond reproach, and his tone is unfailingly pure ... Read More

This collection of solos by English treble Freddy de Rivaz features both sacred and secular solos from the Renaissance through the twentieth century. De Rivaz avoids the mannerisms and affects that can make boy trebles less than ideal soloists. His voice doesn't have the pallid white tone of so many trebles -- his vibrato is subtle, but it gives his voice color and expressiveness. He sings with unforced musicality, shaping each phrase with naturalness, his pronunciation is beyond reproach, and his tone is unfailingly pure and clear throughout his range. He even manages the ornamentation in the Baroque repertoire with apparent ease. De Rivaz is especially effective in the folk songs "Skye Boat Song" and Britten's arrangement of "The Salley Gardens"; his youthful voice gives the elegiac love song an added poignancy. He is equally at ease in standards of the treble repertoire such as "Pie Jesu" from Fauré's Requiem, and in his forays into soprano repertoire -- "Hear my prayer" and "O for the wings of a... Read Less