When I first heard a countertenor sing at my school (I must have been aged 7 or so - and somewhat shocked to my shoes!) the emotional appeal of this voice has stayed with me. In the Anglican Church choral tradition for example, this male alto pitch has been sung by lay clerks for centuries ( for "religious" reasons about women in churches). In terms of solo performance however, Alfred Deller in the 1950's started the revival of this voice, and James Bowman took Deller's torch and carried it to Mount Olympus! The rest is history, and of course who couldn't bow to the likes of Paul Esswood, Michael Chance and Andreas Scholl?

Phillipe Jaroussky's skilled artistry brings even newer possibilities to the countertenor voice - to agile, eloquent, High Renaissance and Baroque performance, and the vast orchards of the genre. Here, he and his fellow musicians have some fun after the main concert, and I think both Monteverdi and jazz/swing fans wouldn't take this amiss :).

I absolutely acknowledge the fundamental difference between Phillipe's vocal powers, versus the above-mentioned countertenors, whose voices fill an opera house without technological assistance. Times have changed, however.

Phillipe is a thespian, as if anyone could doubt it. Moreover, he communicates music which might otherwise remain the sole preserve of the "cognoscenti", and thereby widens its appeal hugely. I do hope his detractors (some of whom sniffily label him a "pop artist") somehow come to terms with what music is all about.

Rather better video quality than posted by others earlier.

Information below courtesy of others.

Claudio Zuan Antonio Monteverdi (1567 † 1643)

Work: Ohimè ch'io cado, ohimè ch'inciampo, madrigal, SV316

Performer:
Philippe Jaroussky, (Countertenor)
L'arpeggiata - Christina Pluhar

Teatro d'amore

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