Christina Pluhar/Emmanuelle Haim/Jean-Christophe Spinosi

They’re the Baroque music conductors/ music directors whom Philippe Jaroussky has frequently worked with. I’m writing about my initial impressions of their music because it’s interesting to see how their own characters can be seen through their music.

I know Christina Pluhar’s work only by her collaborations with PJ. I believe she specializes in early Baroque music (early 17^th century) like Monteverdi and the other early Baroque composers with her small assemble of Baroque musicians. Jut watching these traditional Baroque music instruments I’ve never seen before (and have no idea what they’re called) is simply fascinating.

Because she plays early Baroque music, they sound so ethnic and exotic. And the same time, there are elements in her music that sound very modern folk and modern ethnic music (I could not imagine how she was able to get New Orleans jazz out of Monteverdi’s “Ohimè Ch'io Cado”). She creates very good and very warm-hearted music. Her music reminds me the home you always long for and want to go back to.

I’ve known Emmanuelle Haim previously by her works with Rolando Villazon. I love their CD, Monteverdi’s “Combattimento” and they also produced my favorites, “D'Hipparco e di Climene Ospiti Miei” (Cavalli) and  “Si dolce è l'tormento” (Monteverdi), which are breathtakingly beautiful.

Even though Christina Pluhar and Emmanuelle Haim both play Monteverdi but yet, they sound so different and have very different feels which makes you think they were composed by two different composers.

Haim uses more Classical musical instruments and sounds much more Classical. Her music is very tight and very masculine. She could produce very raw music, which are exciting. And also she could produce very beautiful music with richness in sounds. She is very experimental and her interpretations are innovating. She is someone who can bring singers’ richness of their voices at full extent.  She also conducted and directed PJ’s CD, “Carestini” which I listen to quiet often. This CD includes probability PJ’s best songs “Scherza Infida” ((Handel) and “Mi lusinga il dolce affetto “ (Handel). I love to see her “L’Orfeo”.

I’ve known Jean-Christophe Spinosi’s works also only by his collaborations with PJ. They produced “Nisi Dominus” (Vivaldi) with pure, crisp, clear and dark tone, which is the best rendition of this song I’ve ever heard. I listened to PJ’s early rendition when he was early 20’s with a different conductor but it was not as good as this one.

Spinosi’s conducting style is very much like his own personality, catchy, athletic and energetic but also has intensive beautiful sensibility. His music has the clean feel of slashing bunch of bamboos with very sharp Samurai swords. He likes clear, crisp, agile and high-tension music with strong intonations and contrasts, which at times, could be little abrupt.

Either ways, I’ve never heard a Classical “rock’n roll” album so exciting (specially for high voice) such as “Vivaldi Heroes”. Their collaborations on Vivaldi are so amazing and just too cool. Especially “Frà le procelle “,  “Nel Profondo” and  "Sorge L'Irato Nembo" have the feel-good athleticism of Van Halen’s “Jump”(but for high voice).

One of the reasons their music is so exciting is because all three of them (Vivaldi, Spinosi and Jaroussky) bring their own athleticism and sensibility to the table by driving each other to the next extremes. Also it might be something to do with the fact that all three of them were/are violinists.

By observing the PJ’s works before and after their collaborations, I think Spinosi helped to sharpen and refine PJ’s musical sense greatly because his music became much keener after their collaborations.

Philippe Jaroussky also has his own assemble of band (I’ve never heard a opera singer who has his or her own band) using anywhere between 4 to 12 or so musicians. I believe it makes him as a music director on his own music. They’re also very good musicians and play wonderful, intimate and high quality sounds of music. He mentioned in his interview that he would like to conduct one day. I think he will make a wonderful conductor.