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Reviewer: Raymond
Tuttle
I had just finished recommending Delphine Galou’s CD, with the same
conductor and orchestra, of cantatas and operatic arias by Vivaldi when this
release came along. Galou makes an even stronger impression here than she
did on the other release. Her ability to caress a vocal line, and to give it
presence and body, even when she is singing softly, comes to the fore as
early as in the central aria (“Sileant zephyr”) from Filiæ mæstæ
Jerusalem. (I am surprised that it is not already as popular as “Vedrò
con mio diletto” from Vivaldi’s Il giustino, which lately has become
a small sensation on YouTube.) A few years ago, Philippe Jaroussky recorded
it for his Pietà CD (Erato), but I think Galou’s warmer, larger voice
works better in this aria. Galou is at least as good as any Baroque singer
in front of the public ear today.
Tenor Giangrande, who joins
her in one of the shortest works, and who has the martial Regina cœli
to himself (even though Naïve’s materials tell us in several places that it
was composed for a contralto), is less fine—his machine gun-like
articulation in the more rapid passages is more distinctive than beautiful,
but he still is serviceable. In the middle of the program we hear a violin
concerto in which the accompanying orchestra is divided in two—a special
touch for celebrating the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Its middle
movement is very beautiful, and unusual, as it is essentially an extended
solo for the violinist. Alessandro Tampieri plays it gorgeously here—you
might find yourself holding your breath. And so, even though this disc has
the omnibus title Sacred Music for Alto, it is a good deal more than
that!
Galou is turning out to be a singer worth paying special attention to. In
2017, she released an Alpha Classics CD (Agitato) devoted to Italian
Baroque composers, again with Dantone and Accademia Bizantina. For what it
is worth, it won an award from Gramophone in the recital category. It
did not come our way, so perhaps I will track it down to see what all the
fuss is about. On the basis of these two Vivaldi discs, my expectations for
it are high.
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