Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky now brings his musical and dramatic powers to a programme of 11 arias from Italian oratorios of the baroque era, complemented by three instrumental sinfonie performed by Ensemble Artaserse.

Featuring five world premiere recordings, the album, La vanità del mondo, takes its name from an oratorio by Pietro Torri that was first heard in Brussels in 1706; Jaroussky performs an aria (the lively, lilting ‘Esiliatevi, pene funeste’) which is assigned to the allegorical figure of Piacere – in other words, Pleasure. Among the other composers on the album are Handel (the first version of the aria best known as ‘Lascia ch’io pianga’), Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Hasse, Fago and Caldara.

“Jaroussky’s expressiveness is irresistible,” according to BBC Music Magazine. “He squeezes maximum nuance from each word, sighing, languishing, and lamenting with utter conviction.”