Anna Prohaska - Celebration of Life in Death - Presto Music

The opening Dies Irae, with Prohaska intoning with hieratic fervour over a drone bass, may suggest that we're in for a pretty gloomy hour, but thereafter there's plenty of edgy vitality on this eclectic recital which spans eight centuries and only slightly fewer countries: Tunder's Ach Herr, lass deine lieben Engelein and Graupner's Die Krankheit, so mich drückt are the most substantial works on the album, but miniatures such as Purcell's Since the Pox or the Plague (delivered with manic gallows-humour) and a grave, touching account of Eleanor Rigby pack no less of a punch.