Vivaldi: Sacro Furore - Stabat Mater, Nisi Dominus, Concerti in Bloomington, MN

Countertenor
Carlo Vistoli
has been on operatic stages since the late 2010s and has made several recordings, but it is with this 2024 release that he really comes into his own and rises toward the top of the pack of younger countertenors seeking to follow the giants of the genre.
Vistoli
is a product of the educational program Le Jardin des Voix, associated with the French Baroque group
Les Arts Florissants
, but his style transfers very well to Italian opera and sacred music. Here, he offers three
Vivaldi
pieces for solo voice and orchestra, with the venerable
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
accompanying him with an appropriate smoothness. One, the final
In furore Iustissimae irae, RV 626
, is a fiery piece in an entirely operatic language; while there are more spectacular performances of this piece,
's is impressively controlled. In the longer
Stabat Mater, RV 621
, and
Nisi Dominus, RV 608
,
really shines. There are plenty of recordings of these, but rarely elsewhere is one going to hear one gorgeous melody after another, each rendered in a different texture of creamy voice. It is a thrilling performance. The program is augmented by some unusual
concertos from the
Akademie für Alte Musik
and concertmaster
Georg Kallweit
(there is no conductor). For example, listen to the odd cascading effect in the
Concerto for strings in G minor, RV 157
, at the beginning. Clear and immediate sound from the b sharp studio in Berlin is another draw. An exciting
release in several ways. ~ James Manheim