Emöke Baráth

May 17, 2018 at PDT

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice

Jaroussky’s sweet, flexible countertenor makes a perfect foil for the Euridice of Amanda Forsythe, whose light soprano might have been made for music of this period. Their voices complement each other beautifully and they convey the passion of this powerful, human, yet very immediate opera with real sensitivity. As Amore, Hungarian soprano Emőke Baráth is the thrid part of an impressive trio, while Diego Fasolis and I Barocchisti bring their customary style and dramatic insight to a work that is presented for the first time in a version made in 1774 for Naples.

32 Tracks

August 15, 2024 at PDT

Fauré: Requiem - Gounod: Messe de Clovis

French composer Gabriel Fauré was lumbered, by all accounts, with a sub-standard choir at the church of La Madeleine in Paris, where he was organist. Somehow, however, he still mustered the enthusiasm to compose for them one of his best-loved works. This performance of the Requiem (featuring top-flight singers) uses the 1893 orchestral scoring in which Fauré omits violins and woodwind. This seemingly odd choice had its logic. The organ at La Madeleine was light on two-foot registers and mixtures, meaning that its sound was deep and luxurious—a match, perhaps, for the church’s heavy-set gilded interior. Fauré clearly wanted organ and orchestra to dovetail.

Hervé Niquet recreates that orchestral intensity with just 16 players plus organ, complemented by a chamber choir of 24 singers. The resulting blend is remarkable, heard to greatest effect in the “Kyrie” and the melodically inspired “Agnus Dei.”

Partnering the Requiem is a rare curiosity. Composed for choir and organ, Gounod’s Messe de Clovis was published posthumously in 1896 and evokes Gregorian chant and Palestrina-like counterpoint, all within a sophisticated 19th-century sensibility. It receives a fine performance here, the clarity of the playing and singing shining welcome light on Gounod’s understated craftsmanship.

Two small works, by Aubert and Caplet (the latter orchestrated Debussy’s “Clair de lune” to great effect) provide a charming sign-off, and a window into the music that would have been heard wafting down from Paris’ famed organ lofts during the mid- to late-19th century.

15 Tracks

February 17, 2022 at PST

Dualità - Handel Opera Arias

Celebrated for the silky purity of a lyric soprano that extends to a high D, Emőke Baráth here explores Handel roles as she discovers a rich, lower register in her voice. Stylishly supported by countertenor-cum-conductor Philippe Jaroussky, Baráth gives us excerpts from nine operas featuring both female and male roles (hence this album’s “duality”). Cleopatra’s “Da tempeste,” from Giulio Cesare, sits alongside rarities such as Adelaide’s aria from Lotario, while the burnished tone of Baráth’s “new” voice shines in Radamisto’s “Ombra cara.” The jump from the sorceress Melissa to the warlike Achille provides one of the album’s most thrilling programming coups.

14 Tracks

September 19, 2019 at PDT

Roma '600

30 Tracks

January 17, 2019 at PST

Voglio cantar

16 Tracks

November 8, 2018 at PST

Vivaldi: Il Giustino

97 Tracks

November 2, 2017 at PDT

Steffani: Duets of Love & Passion

8 Tracks

January 26, 2015 at PST

Rameau: Les fêtes de Polymnie

71 Tracks

March 9, 2017 at PST

Claude Debussy: Songs

23 Tracks

August 25, 2013 at PDT

Vivaldi: Catone in Utica

42 Tracks

January 28, 2016 at PST

Leclair: Scylla et Glaucus, Op. 11

87 Tracks

June 22, 2023 at PDT

Il Boemo (Motion Picture Soundtrack)

23 Tracks

November 26, 2015 at PST

Leclair: Scylla & Glaucus

87 Tracks

November 19, 2020 at PST

Vivaldi: Argippo

49 Tracks

September 21, 2023 at PDT

Monteverdi: Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria

37 Tracks

January 7, 2021 at PST

Cesti: La Dori

51 Tracks