May 2022: The New Album of The Week

"For me and for all of our mutual friends and acquaintances, Alois Mühlbacher’s voice is as natural as it is unmistakable. Even if it naturally developed both in terms of pitch and vocal perfection since his time as the St. Florian Boys’ Choir’s child prodigy, many parameters have remained the same: one could describe his voice as “perfect suppleness capable of rendering the music’s finest nuances”. For those of us who know Alois well and who have accompanied his vocal development, the image that we associate with this voice is self-evident. But how would a listener imagine the person to whom the voice belongs? How would a listener classify his singing? Does the voice sound like that of other counter-tenors, does it have something androgynous or of the former choirboy about it? I don’t know. For me, Alois’ voice is unique and identifiable solely as his own, inseparable from his wonderful personality — an ideal combination! I am 44 years older than he is. As a child, it was natural that he had an older teacher (me as his chorister). He has since completed his vocal studies, performed with famous ensembles around the world and could have made this recording with any number of young and virtuosic piano partners. I am delighted and almost touched, that he remained loyal to me for this project. Every minute of our music making is a great pleasure for me." - Franz Farnberger, am 31. Jänner 2022