Itinéraire baroque en Périgord 2025: L’Itinéraire (3): Orpheus Britannicus Constantin Zimmerman (counter-tenor); Mike Fentross (theorbo). Église Saint-Martin d’Argentine, La Rochebeaucout, France, 02.08.2025
Purcell If Music by the Food of Love; The Fatal Hour Comes On Apace; Here The Deiies Approve; Ground in C minoe, Z 221 (instrumental); Solitude; Music for a While; Crown the Altar.
Moving now to the small church of Saint-Martin d;Argentine, and something very special indeed. A small break between registers aside, Swiss countertenor Constanin Zimmeman’s renditions of Purcell were mightily impressive. Joined by the sensitive theorbist Mike Fentross, this was as much of a reminder of the power of voice and plucked instrument as the recent recital of English Lute Song at the Thaxted Festival (review).
One of the delights of this work is the discovery of artists who are on the cusp of major careers: Zimmerman is one such. From the opening bars of If Music be the Food of Love, Zimmerman’s velvety counter-tenor captivated. He is so nearly there, his English excellent; but with just the occasional over-emphasis of a word’s final consonant (“k” s a particular casualty).
The melodic contours and cadences of The Fatal Hour Comes On Apace are pure Purcell. A lachrymose song, it held swings and roundabouts in delivery: a superb “misery” (‘You go to certain misery’); but against that another over-emphasis on a hard syllable (‘And gives me pangs no word can speak’). The church is small and intimate – just right for these songs – so does not need that.
Taken from Welcome all the pleasures, Z 339, is ‘Here the deities approve’ boasts a haunting melody (Patricia Pétibon recorded it as a solo voice number on her album La traversée). Here, Fentross’ theorbo sounded a bit heavy, and all was not well vocally around ‘All the blessings they have seen you,’ so maybe it was good that a Purcell Ground (which seems to be a Stairway to Heaven wannabe!) followed: the C minor, Z 221, a masterpiece that absolutely took us outside of time itself thanks to Mike Fentross’ exquisite performance. Heavenly, if you’ll pardon the pun.
One of Purcell’s most poignant songs is O Solitude. It also seems a perfect prolongation from that Ground (again, ‘night’ was over-emphasised). The pace was ideal, as it was for Music for. While (a mumour of appreciation running though the audience!). Finally, ‘Crown the altar (from Celebrate the festival, Z 321), full of energy and beauty. A lovely encore: Arnalta’s Act II aria, ‘Oblivion soave’ from Monteverdi’s Poppea. Perfect.
Keep an eye out for this chap, Constanin Zimmerman: I see he has performed Puck (Purcell Fairy Queen) in two runs in successive years at Augsburg, so there is an obvious affinity with Purcell. There is a Monteverdi Vespes with him from the 2017 Musique Cordiale Festival available on YouTube, but the sound is not good, not at all. Better to encounter Zimmerman in the flesh.
