Είμαι μεγάλος φαν του κόντρα-τενόρου Philippe Jaroussky, έχοντάς τον παρακολουθήσει από το ξεκίνημα της δισκογραφικής καριέρας του – σημείο αναφοράς για τους φίλους του μπαρόκ. Εδώ, σε διαφορετική, ρομαντική επικράτεια, ερμηνεύει απαράμιλλα μια “φθινοπωρινή” μελωδία του Gabriel Faure.
I’m a huge fan of counter-tenor Philippe Jaroussky, having followed him since the beginning of his recording career – a reference point for friends of baroque music.
Here, on different, romantic territory, he performs in his incomparable way an “autumn” melody by Gabriel Faure.
[ENGLISH TRANSLATION]
Autumn with a misty sky, with heart-breaking horizons,
With rapid sunsets, with pale dawns,
I watch the flow, like the water of a torrent,
Of your days made of melancholy.
My thoughts, carried off on wings of regret,
As if it were possible for our life to start over,
Travel while dreaming through the enchanted slopes
Where in former days my youth smiled!
I feel in the bright sunlight of a victorious memory
The slender rises blooming again in a bouquet
And I feel rising to my eyes tears that in my heart
I at age twenty had forgotten.
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Love this, thank you!
I had no idea there was such a thing as a counter-tenor. If I heard this without your notes, I would have thought it a woman’s voice. It’s beautiful!
Counter-tenors are the modern [and normal] equivalent of the old castrato singers : these people were castrated before puberty in order to retain their high notes. The combination of a woman’s vocal range and a man’s body [including wider ribs] gave their voice a unique color.
The film Farinelli is about the most famous castrato singer of the 18th century and his relation with baroque composers like Handel and Porpora.
The horrific castration practice was adandoned one century later.
I happen to have an album of the last castrato’s recordings, made in the beginning of the 20th century. It is spooky stuff. I’m gonna post something from it some day.
Wow! Amazingly interesting. Yes, castration to preserve a voice is horrible.
Yes, do post something from the last castrato’s recordings.
He gave a lot for his voice. We should not waste it!