Jouissons de nos beaux ans! in Bloomington, MN

Those searching for singer
Cyrille Dubois
online will find him called variously a tenor or a countertenor. One can understand the confusion. He is actually what the French Baroque called a haut-contre, a tenor with an extended high range sung in a light falsetto-like voice. It is not a true falsetto, and really, it has to be heard to be appreciated. It is something like the Italian tenore di grazia of the early 19th century. That, in itself, is reason enough to hear this album, but wait, as the old TV pitchmen yelled, "there's more!"
Dubois
' program includes a good deal of
Rameau
, including the exuberant title track, composed when
was 80, but there are also pieces by his contemporaries, mostly in a pastoral vein.
was such an imposing figure that he dominated the scene, but the other composers here, like
Francois Lupien Grenet
and
Bernard de Bury
, are all but unknown, and many of the pieces are world premieres. They offer valuable insights into the stock characters and common ideas in the Parisian 18th century operatic scene, and they are full of opportunities for
to display the striking range of colors in his voice. He is backed by the
Orfeo Orchestra
Purcell Choir
under the direction of
Gyoergy Vashegyi
, who also get a group of obscure but highly listenable instrumental pieces. With fine sound from Hungary's Kodaly Centre, this is a must for lovers of the French Baroque and of male voice types in general. ~ James Manheim