FORGOTTEN IS NOT LOST

PHILIPPE JAROUSSKY — FORGOTTEN ARIAS — 2023

Since his dazzling appearance in the Victoires de la Musique Classique in 2004 in Pariis as the lyrical artist revelation of the year, Philippe Jaroussky has been in the limelight of the stage in his various fields where he has competition but which he constantly elevates with him, hand in hand, together, side by side. He collaborates on so many projects with so many other singers and musicians, including of course other countertenors, that he knows more than anyone that no two voices are identical, equal, because they are all superior, and step by step rise, each at their own pace, from the pavement of some boulevard to storm I don’t know what stadium, opera house, and concert hall. In 2020 he even obtained a Victory of Honor for all of his work, as if he were going to retire at 42. But don’t worry, he’s still there and he’s still singing. His latest opus, as some aesthetes would say, has just been released and you will meet here with a few surprises now and there in the thirteen arias that he performs, supported by Le Concert de la Loge conducted by violinist Julien Chauvin. Received this morning in my mailbox in my mountain, I will devote two or three complete listens to immerse myself in his work and I will then talk about it. The same way I whistle the calls of my favorite blackbird in my gardens, I will fly away on the swirls of Philippe Jaroussky’s voice, trying not to sink into some BCM perdition or even loss of hypnotic contemplation.

Jaroussky is a wild horse you’ll have to ride to discover the metaverse of our vocal imagination. Listen to his minor or major, harmonic or melodic scales ascending and descending on Jack’s magic ladder to the sky and the giant ogre’s palace that will swallow you in one dry gulp. Welcome home in the realm, the alter-verse of music and the ego-verse of self-creation, of your heart’s fears, sensations, loves, passions, and all sorts of sensuous emotions.

But do not fall in love with that horse. Just learn how to tame him — if you can — but I’m sure you will try to do it. Taming is fun, just like gaming with the impossible, gaining access to the world on the other side of this maiming muddy marsh we live in. Good luck and a happy ending, even if baritone moves will upset your own countertenor’s ears. But don’t we always need a…