Here is another superb program put together by Christina Pluhar and performed by L’Arpeggiata. Joining them are countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, soprano Nuria Rial, and a group called Barbara Fortuna, made up of four Corsican men who sing in a distinctly earthy manner, with close harmonies and decorations unique to that island. The “program” here is an invented 17th-century southern Italian mystery play based on The Way of the Cross, broken into three parts: the vision, the death of Christ, and the resurrection. Solos alternate with full orchestral numbers; there are duets and instrumentals; a traditional, breathtaking Stabat Mater for the four Corsicans is followed with one for solo soprano by Giovanni Felice Sances.
L’Arpeggiata’s calling card is to combine Historically Informed Performances with jazz–and in this case, folk-based music–and it is amazing how staggeringly well it works. Utter purists in any faction may whine, but listen to the music: it’s moving, fascinating, and invariably beautiful. Doron David Sherwin’s jazz riffs on the cornet might raise the greatest number of hackles, but he still never goes too far; his embellishments only go “so” far away from melody and never overshadow whoever he’s playing with for long. And he adds spice to the many chaconnes and ground-bass-based pieces Pluhar has chosen.
The march-like rhythms tell of the Way of the Cross while the accompaniments–a stunning selection of strings, plucked and otherwise (violins, gambas, harps, dulcimer, baroque guitar, lute, etc.), organ, and percussion–are varied and virtuosic. Furthermore, adding the darkly masculine sounds of Barbara Fortuna to the ethereal Jaroussky and Rial is a stroke of programming genius: the changes are always a welcome surprise. I was wild about their previous CD–Teatro d’Amore (you may want to check out Christophe Huss’ review–type Q12168 in Search Reviews)–and I recommend this one without reservation. [7/14/2010]
