CARESTINI—THE STORY OF A CASTRATO • Philippe Jaroussky (ct); Emmanuelle Haïm, cond; Le Concert d’Astrée • VIRGIN 95242 (72:06 Text and Translation)

Arias from: PORPORA Siface. CAPELLI I fratelli riconosciuti. HANDEL Arianna in Creta. Ariodante. Alcina. LEO Farnace. HASSE La clemenza di Tito. GLUCK Demofoonte. GRAUN Orfeo

The current spate of vocal recitals focusing on singers of another era brings a new winner with French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky’s homage to Carestini. The name of Giovanni Carestini may not have the resonance today that it did almost 300 years ago, but he was up in the category of Farinelli or Senesino. Handel wrote two of his most exacting roles for him, Ruggiero in Alcina and the title role of Ariodante. Many anecdotes have come down, including Handel’s berating of him because he didn’t like Ruggiero’s “Verdi prati,” thinking it too unadorned. He was considered a technical marvel and also an effective actor.

The selections here range over a 50-year period, and Jaroussky’s programming never leaves us disappointed, with its fine contrasts. Whether in virtuosic flight or long-lined lament, the singer is communicative, clearly enjoying himself, while Emmanuelle Haïm and Le Concert d’Astrée (some of whose members also play in Le Cercle de l’Harmonie) offer brilliant support. Jaroussky’s “Scherza infida” (Ariodante) is taken at a singable tempo, not at the funereal pace adopted by Anne Sofie von Otter, however effective it is in the context of the complete performance. “Sta nell’Ircana” (Alcina) is properly martial, the singer dazzling us with his ornamentation. An aria from Gluck’s Demofoonte is slightly familiar, as Mozart later used the Metastasio text for one of his concert arias, but Gluck’s setting is strikingly individual. Hasse’s Clemenza di Tito is another Mozartean precursor, but the texts are different.

Frédéric Delaméa’s accompanying notes tell us not only about the music but also about Carestini himself, supplying us with the context that is so often neglected. And, of course, while we can only speculate as to the sound of the castrato voice, we can rejoice in the appearance of such virtuosic countertenors as Jaroussky or Max Emmanuel Cencic, who bring to life in such an engaging fashion the music of the 17th and 18th centuries.

FANFARE: Joel Kasow