Sunday 2 January 2011

Philippe Jaroussky sings Caldara

Philippe Jaroussky sings Caldara: Forgotten Arias
Film of a concert given at the Prinzregenttheater, Munich
along with footage from the rehearsals
Director: Claus Wischmann (2009)
Running time: 43 mins

Arias by Antonio Caldara (1670-1736)
+ Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto for violoncello in D minor RV 407

Philippe Jaroussky - countertenor
Concerto Köln
directed by Emmanuelle Haim

French singer Philippe Jaroussky is passionately dedicated to forgotten repertoires. After bringing back to life the legendary castrato Carestini, and exhuming the works of a forgotten Bach (La dolce fiamma), he now focuses on the Italian opera composer Antonio Caldara. Philippe Jaroussky has been perusing Caldara's vast catalogue for some time, and has unearthed more than one unjustly forgotten aria.

Accompanied by Concerto Köln, Philippe Jaroussky now brings these works into the 21st century. Arte TV's Maestro series followed the singer and musicians during their reappropriation of these unknown works and filmed excerpts from their presentation in concert at Munich's Prinzregententheater.

Antonio Caldara (1670-1736) was one of the greatest opera composers of his time. In Mantua, Barcelona and Rome, but especially at the imperial court in Vienna, he composed over seventy works for the stage. Caldara straddles the Italian art of melody and Germanic counterpoint. He managed to combine these two styles, where many others had tried in vain. From this vast repertoire, Philippe Jaroussky has chosen songs that match his voice, combining lyric sweetness and vocal clarity. With Concerto Köln, he sought out arias which each express a unique mood. The result is a programme rich in colours and emotions, driven by ever-changing forms of expression.

Up to this point, the musicians could not draw on any recordings of works by Caldara; Philippe Jaroussky and Concerto Köln were thus travelling through unexplored territory, in the footsteps of an almost forgotten composer. Maestro accompanies the musicians on this journey with excerpts from the concert and rehearsals. Their concert tour culminated in the release in November 2010 of the album Caldara in Vienna by Philippe Jaroussky with Concerto Köln under Emmanuelle Haim.


No comments:

Post a Comment