Serial countertenors at the Lausanne Bach Festival

Published on November 5, 2024 at 06:55. / Modified on November 5, 2024 at 06:56.

There was great fervor during the opening concert of the 26th Bach Festival in Lausanne, Sunday at the Saint-Laurent church. Countertenor Barnaby Smith and members of the Illyria Consort – a small ensemble of eight musicians – received a warm welcome from the audience after a three-piece program Cantatas for solo viola by Bach accompanied by instrumental pieces. Works of moving inspiration, written during his youth in Weimar and later in Leipzig.

Barnaby Smith has a beautiful voice, bright and expressive. He is a member of the British a cappella octet Voces8 and also conducts. What sets him apart is his naturalness and the care given to the vocal lines, without the sourness or mannerisms of certain countertenors which give the feeling of artificially tampering with their voice. He communicates enthusiasm in his interpretations as well as in the comments – in English – that he delivers to the audience between pieces. We learn there that he discovered the Cantatas for viola of Bach thanks to the famous recording by Andreas Scholl – an absolute reference – and that he was his singing student.