Unforgettable performances of Handel and Mozart. - I first heard recordings by the Danish tenor Aksel Schiotz in the 1970s, not long after he died. The particular recordings were Comfort Ye and Ev ry Valley Shall Be Exalted from The Messiah. Since then, every other tenor singing those pieces has sounded terminally asthmatic to me. None has had Schiotz s bell-like high notes or remarkable fluency and breath control. This CD has those Messiah cuts, as well as beautiful performances of Mozart, Bach, and Dowland. Schiotz, who lived from 1906 to 1975, did not have a particularly powerful or colorful voice, but he more than made up for that with the purity and warmth of his tone. Unfortunately, Schiotz had a blighted life. Just as he was set to begin his international career, the Nazis invaded his native land. He became a hero of the Danish Resistance, but in 1946, while singing in London to great acclaim, he suffered a tumor of the acoustic nerve. He nearly died, and was robbed of the ability to either speak or sing. A horrendous two-year struggle finally brought him back to the concert hall--this time as a baritone--but his voice had lost its unique beauty. It is the recordings from 1938-46 that will remain his legacy, and the recordings on this CD are his finest.