Farinelli, il Castrato [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
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CD Details
Composer: Johann Adolf HasseComposer: Nicola Porpora
Composer: Riccardo Broschi
Composer: George Frederick Handel
Composer: Giovanni Pergolesi
Conductor: Christophe Rousset
Performer: Derek Lee Ragin
Performer: Les Talens Lyriques
Performer: Ewa Mallas-Godlewska
Edition: Music CD
Format: Soundtrack
CD Release Date: 2003-07-01
Music Label: Auvidis Travelling
Soundtracks:
- Son qual nave ch'agitata. Air de Arbace [Artaserse]
- Alto Giove. Air d'Acio [Polifemo]
- Se al labbro mio non credi
- Ombra fedele anch'io. Air de Dario [Idaspe]
- Ouverture
- Lascia ch'io pianga. Air de Almirena [Rinaldo]
- Cara sposa. Air de Rinaldo
- Ouverture
- Generoso risuegliati o core. Air de Poro [Cleofide]
- Salve Regina
- Alto Giove
Music reviews of Farinelli, il Castrato [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
Music Review: Earthshattering album that introduced me to castrati repertoire
Rating: 5 Stars
I was first introduced to the film Farinelli as a freshman in college. Since childhood, I was drawn to Baroque music by Bach, Albinoni, and Handel, but primarily of an instrumental nature. It wasn't until Farinelli that I discovered the sensual power and beauty of the castrati voice (sung in modern times by countertenors and male sopranists). Farinelli was a musical revelation for me, and started my obsession with countertenors and castrati repertoire that led to the amassing of a large library of Baroque castrati gems such as Rinaldo, Rodelinda, and CDs by superstar countertenors Andreas Scholl, Daniel Taylor, and Yoshikazu Mera.
Castrati were young boys who were castrated in the hopes of preserving their angelic prepubescent voices. In the absence of testosterone, their singing voices would not drop, but they would still possess the lungpower and stamina of an adult (the range would be either soprano, mezzo-soprano, or alto). The Catholic church made use of castrati in its Sistine Chapel choir until the early 1900s, long after castrati roles had fallen out of fashion. (Alessandro Moreschi - The Last Castrato made the only known surviving recording of a castrato in 1913.) Horror author Anne Rice even wrote a novel revolving around the rich world of the castrati in the erotically-charged Cry to Heaven.
The Belgian film Farinelli was based on the life of Carlo Maria Broschi, Europe's wealthy superstar castrato that held a god-like status over popular imagination (and held some sway in the courts). Farinelli was appointed Chamber Musician to King Phillip V of Spain in 1737 in an attempt to cure his depression through music therapy, which proved the end of his public singing career.
Since modern countertenors do not possess the three-and-a-half-octave range of a real castrato, two voices were blended: that of countertenor Derek Lee Ragin and soprano Ewa Mallas Godlewska. This is seamless and homogenized on the recording, and allows for greater flexibility of tone and range. The featured compositions include some by Farinelli's Svengalian brother Riccardo Broschi as well as Handel, Hasse, Porpora and Pergolesi. Typical castrato vocal fireworks ensue on Son Qual Nave (castrati were famed for their ability to hold very long notes, as well as super-ornate flourishes and ornamentation that was the style). Alto Giove is heartrending in its measured melancholy. This was also my introduction to what I believe to be one of the most beautiful arias ever written, Lascia Ch'io Pianga, and I now own several versions by various countertenors and mezzo-sopranos. Several of Handel's works for castrati from Rinaldo are featured.
This is a stunning CD that opened my ears to the fascinating, rich world of castrati roles and the ornate vocal style that was the rage of the stage and courts for a brief period in musical history. If you enjoy Farinelli, be sure to check out the works of other superstar countertenors such as Andreas Scholl, Daniel Taylor, and Yoshikazu Mera, who all specialize in Baroque repertoire, including opera written for castrati.
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