Let me weep
My cruel fate,
And that I
should have freedom.
My cruel fate,
And that I
should have freedom.
The duel infringes
within these twisted places,
in my sufferings
I pray for mercy.
Philippe Jarousssky singing Handel's Lascia ch'io pianga from Rinaldo. Back in the day, the falsetto range was the domain of castratos but as NPR put it, M. Jaroussky is "still intact". His voice is not for everyone and you may recoil after hearing this for the first time. Then Handel will overwhelm you with his music and you will begin to appreciate the confluence of religion, mythology, and music in the Baroque era.
"He's a countertenor who achieves that high pitch through vocal technique — singing in a 'head voice,' the way the way a female soprano would, rather than in his speaking register. It's the reason, he says, that he'll never sound exactly like a real castrato."
(c) Arun Simha
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