2014-12-15-featured-press

Berliner Zeitung – Mitleiden, mitlieben, miterleben

2014-12-15, Hamburger Abendblatt

“Mit Vivaldi in der Laeiszhalle: Der französische Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky begeistert das Hamburger Publikum. Am Ende erweist sich der stimmgewaltige Franzose sogar als grandioser Schauspieler”…

Source/Read more: Hamburger Abendblatt


The following is not a professional translation; no profit is being made, no infringement of copyright is intended.

“Vicarious suffering, love, and experience” [“Mitleiden, mitlieben, miterleben” is virtually untranslatable I find. ]

Alternate headline: “Countertenor surprises with musical loveplay” [Liebesspiele is plural. Usually, there is no plural in German for the word “Liebesspiel” (‘loveplay’,) as little as there is in English. Literally, “Liebesspiele” would translate as “love-games.” The plural suggests two things: One is the completely innocent meaning, with games just taken literally, meaning: play. The other is not quite so innocent, as it suggests polyamourous affairs maybe, or something along this train of thought. It’s up to the reader to pick a favourite. Isn’t German beautiful ;)]

French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky delights the audience with his Vivaldi program

Hamburg. Just to be done with the cliché right from the start: Vivaldi’s vocal music, be it for sacred or for secular purposes, is much better than his second-league reputation as an overly-productive Baroque composer. Much more diverse, much more intense, strikingly playful and driven by a subtle passion able to cause even the most hardened heart to skip a beat inaffection and longing for the soft light of the South. Vivaldi, the old charmer, often lets his melodies fly gently over the typically reduced string accompaniment, just like a warm evening breeze brushes over the pinetree tops. If it is about praising God or about pining is almost incidental.

That the French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky – already one of the most fascinating voices of the early music scene – chose another hand-picked Vivaldi programme to return into the limelight makes ample sense. For this kind of music that suits him so well allows him to display his strong sides best: the fine chiseling of subjects, the gilding of phrases and embellishments, accurate to the millimeter, the sophistication allowing to create dynamic drama even in small spaces. No matter if part-time priest Vivaldi revels in religious ecstasy in his motets, or if, as an entertainment composer of his audience, he lets the pain of an opera character surge – after a few bars already, one can’t help but to immediately suffer, love, and experience vicariously. Unless the music is rendered only mediocre. Vivaldi doesn’t go with luke-warm and hand-tame.

No wonder then, that Jaroussky’s concert at the Laeiszhalle, accompanied by the small but mighty Ensemble Artaserse, turned out to be an evening full of discoveries, worth and rewarding careful listening. Dramaticly clever: the mix of secular and spiritual. Until the break, Jaroussky combined instrumental concerto-interludes around the Stabat Mater and the artfully embellished motet “Longe mala, umbrae, terrores.” Right from the start, the ensemble left no doubt it was knowledgeable concerning the specific style, attentive, and on musical eye level. The capacity for dialogue between tutti and the solo voice was impressive. Pure and untainted, as if applied with the finest brush, the vocal parts were delivered, whereas the Artaseses lovingly staged the whole, but always with the ceremonial occasion in mind.

The Venetian polished to glossy shine

In contrast, in the second part, Jaroussky chose some solitaires from the Venetian’s huge operatic oeuvre, giving them a mirror-finish. Here, despite the similarities regarding the musical vocabulary, an altogether different discipline was in demand: Jaroussky was not only singing anymore, but he personified. Without any scenery, without any Baroque costume, his voice, softly and intensely bright, soared over the rest, and nevertheless, it was like looking at and listening to a man who could be from our times. Thus, “Vedrò con mio diletto” from “Il Giustino” became an epic five-minutes drama, and “Gemo in un punto” from “L’Olimpiade” turned out to be one of the gems of the night, apt to show Jaroussky’s class.

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