Iestyn Davies is one of a handful of young British countertenors – Tim Mead also comes to mind – whose singing really makes you sit up and listen.
These are not polite churchy voices. Davies's sound is huge and dramatic, his range massive, his vibrato full-bodied and his top notes brilliant. He's capable of dazzling agility and, when he wants it, aching, piercing purity.
It's the kind of voice that's perfectly suited to the fire, fury and anguished love of the Italian operatic baroque – which is what we heard here.
Handel's cantata Mi palpita il cor was best for its gorgeously languid aria Ho tanti affanni in petto. Two chamber cantatas by Handel's Italian contemporary Nicola Porpora had leaner accompaniment and more outlandish vocal acrobatics, but Davies kept embellishments light and relied on beauty of sound, above all, to impress.
Most of his words lost their consonants by the time they reached me at the back of Greyfriars but it hardly mattered; there was more than enough rhythmic punch in his phrasing alone.
Davies was singing with London-based period instrument collective Arcangelo: here lutenist Thomas Dunford, cellist Jonathan Mason and, directing from harpsichord and organ, Jonathan Cohen.
They're a strong band with flexible, buoyant drive and a warm sound that carried beautifully.
They were joined by violinist Stéphanie-Marie Degand, active member of the French early music scene and co-founder, with Emmanuelle Haïm, of Le Concert d'Astrée.
Her timbre was on the thin side and her intonation a bit shaky, but she's an artful player and shaped Handel's Sonata in A, HWV 372 with cheerful grace.
HHHH
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