Iestyn Davies & Ensemble Guadagni
Iestyn Davies (counter-tenor)
Ensemble Guadagni: Matthew Truscott (violin), Jonathan Manson (viola da gamba), David Miller (theorbo) & Robert Howarth (harpsichord, organ)
Intimacy and freshness make this a breathtaking performance...Davies's celebrated timbre - translucent, warm, pure - and the Ensemble's imaginative additions make these melodies expand and glow
Iestyn Davies & Ensemble Guadagni
Iestyn Davies (counter-tenor)
Ensemble Guadagni: Matthew Truscott (violin), Jonathan Manson (viola da gamba), David Miller (theorbo) & Robert Howarth (harpsichord, organ)
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Intimacy and freshness make this a breathtaking performance...Davies's celebrated timbre - translucent, warm, pure - and the Ensemble's imaginative additions make these melodies expand and glow
About
"One of the most glorious countertenor voices in the world today" The Independent
Winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Best Young Artist 2009, countertenor Iestyn Davies demonstrated that he is the outstanding artist of his generation. His expressiveness of tone, intensity of sound and musicianship were brought to bear in concert, and, of course, in opera, where his natural sense of drama stole many a show and, significantly, brought the spotlight back to the countertenor voice.
Iestyn Davies emerged as one of the country’s leading countertenors following his prize in the London Handel Singing Competition in 2004, only shortly after completing his studies at St John’s College, Cambridge as a choral scholar. He was immediately identified as an exciting operatic prospect, and his rôles soon included Ottone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (Zurich Opera with Harnoncourt), Corrado in Vivaldi’s Griselda (Ensemble Matheus with Spinosi), and Hamor in Handel’s Jephtha (Welsh National Opera). Engagements quickly extended to rôles in Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria, also at WNO, and the parts of Apollo in Britten’s Death in Venice and Arsace in Partenope for English National Opera. He is equally active on the concert platform, appearing with many of the leading British ensembles, including the Academy of Ancient Music, Polyphony and the Monteverdi Choir. He made his solo recording début in Vivaldi’s Griselda with Ensemble Matheus for Naïve. This recital was part of the Wigmore's Hall's ongoing 'Art of the Countertenor' series, which also featured Andreas Scholl and Bejun Mehta.
Contents and tracklist
- Ensemble Guadagni
- Ensemble Guadagni
- Ensemble Guadagni
- Ensemble Guadagni
- Ensemble Guadagni
- Ensemble Guadagni
Awards and reviews
November 2010
Intimacy and freshness make this a breathtaking performance...Davies's celebrated timbre - translucent, warm, pure - and the Ensemble's imaginative additions make these melodies expand and glow
Awards Issue 2010
Davies sings with the kind of authority, intelligent musicianship and technical assurance that were the hallmarks of his finest predecessors during their heyday.
8th August 2010
Davies is...equipped with intelligent, sensitive musicianship and a carefully honed technique that enables apparently easeful singing. His voice has an alluring, distinctive richness...even when the music is fast, he maintains an essential intimacy.
13th August 2010
There's no trace in Davies' delivery of the epicene floridity to which some countertenors can be prey: rather, emotional acuity prevails, most impressively so on Purcell's "Gentle shepherds, you that know", delivered with commendable poise.
8th August 2010
Iestyn Davies has established himself as the countertenor of the moment with a translucent voice that has no trace of the wobbly feminine bloom or hootiness that can haunt lesser singers...my favourite is his simply wondrous interpretation of Purcell's sublime Evening Hymn.
4th August 2010
it is a pure delight...Davies reveals each aria’s individuality with a seemingly effortless but telling sense of style...Elsewhere, Davies traces an affecting range of melancholy, reflection and quiet bliss through pieces by Blow, Purcell and Buxtehude. He is a major vocal talent that is blossoming gloriously.