Composer: Riccardo Broschi, Carl Heinrich Graun, George Frideric Handel, Gennaro Manna, Georg Philipp Telemann, Leonardo Vinci
Performer: Jeanine De Bique, Concerto Köln
Conductor: Luca Quintaville
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Berlin Classics
Catalogue: 0302017BC
Release: 2021
Size: 1.21 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Graun: Tra le procelle assorto (from Cleopatra e Cesare)
02. Handel: Che sento?…Se pietà di me non senti (from Giulio Cesare)
03. Handel: L’alma mia fra le tempeste (from Agrippina)
04. Telemann: Rimembranza crudel (from Germanicus)
05. Handel: Partenope: Sinfonia
06. Handel: Ritorna, caro e dolce mio tesoro (from Rodelinda)
07. Graun: L’empio rigor del fato (from Rodelinda)
08. Handel: M’ai resa infelice (from Deidamia)
09. Manna: Chi può dir che rea son io (from Achille in Sciro)
10. Vinci: La Partenope: Overture
11. Handel: Mi restano le lagrime (from Alcina)
12. Broschi: Mi restano le lagrime (from L’isola d’Alcina)
The female protagonists are central to this album’s title and concept. Yannis François, musicologist and concept creator for the album explains: “The listeners can experience different reflections of the same character as if they were looking at themselves through a broken mirror”. The arias tell of key moments in the psychological development of the protagonists, illuminate the diversity of the female experience and the relatable perspectives of their lives.
The repertoire, adapts to the extraordinary temperament of Jeanine De Bique’s voice, is designed to be rich in contrast and varied, allowing the versatile florescence of colors of her voice to stir and bloom. Mr. François remarks: “Not many sopranos can easily jump from Handel’s Rodelinda to Weber’s Agathe to Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music! The possibilities of developing a program for her debut album were endless!”
These bold female characters who, despite strokes of fate, are ultimately rewarded for their tenacity, strength, forgiveness and love. Aroused with awe and compassion, Jeanine De Bique recognizes the unique opportunity to celebrate the diversity of the female experience, using her multicultural background of Trinidad and Tobago. She identifies as a new voice, not only of these familiar characters, but also for women who are still trying to find spaces to free and reclaim their voices. From her flexible expressions to the figures she embodies, she is in fact a mirror within the album.
Her collaboration with the orchestra proved inspiring for her. “It seems as if everything that has shaped me as a person and as a musician has given me the means to meet the musical and emotional demands of the program,” says De Bique. With Concerto Köln and Luca Quintvalle, “I knew I had found the finest performing partners”. “Mirrors” explores human relationships in a musically rousing way, allowing the listener to feel exuberance, surprise and delight, discover new music and enjoy the familiar.