Friday, August 20, 2010

Ensemble Matheus & Philippe Jaroussky

Jaroussky is a wonderful counter-tenor and a master of melisma, which is the singing of multiple musical notes on a single syllable of text in, say, an opera. In 2007 he was named the best French lyrical artist. I am a huge fan of Vivaldi, and PJ's remarkable talent has enabled him to sing many pieces, like the one below, that have been more or less overlooked due to the demands on the singer's voice.

The Ensemble Matheus, founded and directed by Jean-Christophe Spinosi, is renowned for its performances of a very broad repertoire of 17th century to contemporary music, all on instruments of whatever time period the music they happen to be playing is from. That makes them not only musical artists, but musical historians, which gives them extra points on this blog.

The Ensemble Matheus' website is here.

You can't see the musicians or the singer in the clip below, but I've posted it anyway because it is one of my favorites:

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