International Classical Music Awards
2022
Nominated - Baroque Vocal

Presto Editor's Choice
November 2021

Jeanine De Bique (soprano), Concerto Köln, Luca Quintaville

Graun, C H: Cleopatra e Cesare, Act I, Tra le procelle assorto
Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto, HWV 17, Act II, Che sento? Oh Dio! & Se pietà di me non senti
Handel: Agrippina, HWV 6, Act I, L'alma mia fra te tempeste
Telemann: Germanicus, Act I, Rimembranza crudel
Handel: Partenope, HWV 27, Overture
Handel: Rodelinda, HWV 19, Act II, Ritorna, oh caro e dolce mio resoro
Graun, C H: Rodelinda, regina de' Langobardi, Act I, L'empio rigor del fato
Handel: Deidamia, HWV 42, Act III, M'ai resa infelice; che vanto n'avrai?
Manna: Achille in Sciro, Chi può dir che rea son io
Vinci, Leonardo: La Rosmira fedele (Partenope), Sinfonia
Handel: Alcina, Mi restano le lagrime
Broschi, R: L'isola d'Alcina, Act III, Mi restano le lagrime

With rich texture and bold femininity, Jeanine De Bique releases her debut album “Mirrors” on Berlin Classics! De Bique is accompanied by the renowned baroque orchestra Concerto Köln, with musical direction by Luca Quintavalle. The album focuses on baroque arias and includes three world premiere recordings composed by George Frideric Handel and his contemporaries Carl Heinrich Graun, Riccardo Broschi and Georg Philipp Telemann complete the program.

The female protagonists are central to the album’s title and concept. “Mirrors” is the profound intimacy of Handel arias explored and juxtaposed with unknown arias of the same characters from the music of his contemporaries. Yannis François, concept creator for the album explains: “The listeners can experience different reflections of the same character as if they were looking at themselves through a broken mirror.”

The arias tell of key moments in the psychological development of the protagonists, illuminate the diversity of the female experience and the relatable perspectives of their lives.

These characters who, despite strokes of fate, are ultimately rewarded for their tenacity, strength, forgiveness and love. Aroused with awe and compassion, De Bique recognizes the unique opportunity to celebrate the diversity of the female experience, using her multicultural background of Trinidad and Tobago. She identifies as a new voice, not only of these familiar characters, but also for women who are still trying to find spaces to free and reclaim their voices.

Mirrors explores human relationships in a musically rousing way, allowing the listener to feel exuberance, surprise and delight, discover new music and enjoy the familiar.