Vivaldi - Pieta / Jaroussky

Philippe Jaroussky

Composed by: Vivaldi, Antonio

With his pure yet sensuous tone, Philippe Jaroussky has earned his reputation as “the Apollo of countertenors” (Die Zeit), and the music of Vivaldi — perfectly suited to such a voice — has been a muse throughout his career both onstage and in the studio. His recording of the Pergolesi Stabat Mater with soprano Julia Lezhneva was crowned Baroque Vocal Album and Opera Album of the Year at the 2014 International Classical Music Awards. For his new disc Pietà, he turns once again to the poignant meditation on grief that is the Stabat Mater — this time in Vivaldi’s searingly beautiful 1712 setting — along with a selection of the Red Priest’s solo motets and sacred works. But it’s not all solemn fare: Clarae stellae scintillate is an uplifting, light-filled motet in praise of Mary, and the sweet-toned ‘Domine Deus’ from the Gloria RV589 has an almost pastoral lilt. There are, of course, the vocal pyrotechnics in which Jaroussky excels, as in the blazing Alleluia of Longe mala, umbrae, terrores RV629. For Pietà, Jaroussky reunites with Ensemble Artaserse, the chamber orchestra he founded in 2005, and almost a decade later he has come full circle, completing an important triptych of Vivaldi recital albums.

Price: $21.98