Zoltan Darago, Christophe Rousset, Les Talens Lyriques: Bach: Arias for Alto
Aparté

On this handsomely presented release, Zoltan Darago and the baroque ensemble Les Talens Lyriques combine for a sterling performance of cantata arias composed by Johann Sebastian Bach between 1723 and 1726. Considering that the release is Darago's debut on Aparté and that the chamber orchestra has issued more than sixty recordings on various labels, Bach: Arias for Alto could be characterized as a meeting of youth and experience. Yet while that might be true to some degree, the vocal and instrumental forces merge magnificently when Darago's voice blends seamlessly with Les Talens Lyriques' supple textures.

Born in 1993 and now based in Paris, the Hungarian Darago made his operatic debut with the Hungarian State Opera in Zsófia Tallér's opera Leander and Linseed while still in college. He went on to sing roles with the company during three seasons before graduating from the Liszt Academy in 2017. After completing his Master's at Helsinki's Sibelius Academy in May 2020, he rejoined the Hungarian State Opera for another season while also singing the lead in Philip Glass's Akhnaten in Helsinki in 2021 and 2022.

Such experiences prepared the countertenor well for his collaboration with Les Talens Lyriques and its conductor Christophe Rousset. Founded by him in 1991, the group's repertoire is broad, encompassing as it does works by Monteverdi, Handel, Lully, Mozart, Salieri, Rameau, Gluck, Beethoven, Berlioz, Massenet, Gounod, Saint-Saëns, and others, and it's comfortable performing operas, madrigals, cantatas, symphonies, and sacred music. Active also as a harpsichordist, chamber musician, educator, and writer, Rousset brings a wealth of expertise to every project he tackles. The instrumentalists number thirty-one on this recording, with the conductor also contributing organ to the session.

When Bach assumed the post of Cantor in May 1723 of the Nikolaikirche and Thomaskirche in Leipzig, he had to provide a cantata for each Sunday and holy day of the liturgical year. To meet the demands of such a grueling schedule, Bach would sometimes draw on works composed earlier to weave a melody into the new framework. The cantatas provided ample ground for creative innovation, and true to his nature Bach experimented with different arrangements and structures. Many adhere to a symmetrical ABA form, but there are exceptions, and while arias, recitatives, and chorales appear within the pieces throughout, they do so in varying combinations and sequences. Often featured in dialogue with violin, oboe d'amore, or organ, the alto voice assumes a dominant role in these settings (hear, for instance, how fluidly Darago and oboe entwine during “Du machst, o Tod, mir nun nicht ferner bange”), and its expressiveness is maximized to convey everything from melancholy to rapture.

The doubling of the voice and strings in the opening, angst-filled “O Mensch, errette deine Seele” quickly demonstrates how effectively the parts align. A sparser arrangement of strings and continuo in “Wie furchtsam wankten meine Schritte” grants Darago's voice greater prominence, and the combination of his pristine delivery, the stateliness of the lilting pulse, and the sinuous melodic trajectories of the strings makes for the album's most entrancing performance; that the aria is nine minutes long only deepens its allure.

In contrast to the anxiety conveyed by the sinner in “O Mensch, errette deine Seele” and the urgency imparted by the glorious “Geist und Seele wird verwirret,” “Wohl euch, ihr auserwählten Seelen” exudes serenity, its mood complemented by an arrangement rich in pastoral flutes and strings. The graceful “Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust” proves as comforting, with this time oboe d'amore adding to the feeling of bliss. In including a reference to “the sleep of eternal death,” the mood turns a tad funereal, on the other hand, when the same instrument pairs with voice on “Ach, schläfrige Seele, wie?”

Joy comes through palpably in “Gott hat alles wohl gemacht!” when the singer's appreciation for the blessings God's bestowed is reinforced by a buoyant instrumental backdrop. A similar mood resonates through “Erfreute Zeit im neuen Bunde” when horns, strings, woodwinds, and alto collectively celebrate “a joyful time in the new covenant.” Both parties perform with authority throughout, Darago singing with maturity and poise and the ensemble doing the same. As satisfying as the music is the project's deluxe presentation, with Aparté sparing no expense in packaging the CD within a hardback, booklet-styled case enhanced by photos, lyrics (in German with English and French translations), and a fine commentary by Hélène Cao. Music of such quality deserves to be presented as splendidly, and to its credit the label has done so here.

March 2025