Sallying Forth: Bejun Mehta Takes On The 20th Century

Sallying Forth: Bejun Mehta Takes On The 20th Century Enlarge this image toggle caption Marco Borggreve Marco Borggreve Gaga, move over — and you, too, Annie Lennox, Grace Jones and David Bowie. However, when his voice changed, Mehta lost his way a bit artistically, and after a turn as what he's called "a thoroughly mediocre baritone," Mehta has made his way back to the stage in thrilling high-wire feats — the kind of dazzling material that composers like Handel excelled at producing for the star castratos of the 18th century, when boys who had fabulous voices had those sounds quite gruesomely and surgically preserved. Sponsor Message On his previous solo recital album as a countertenor, Ombra Cara, Mehta took on the "typical" countertenor repertoire of Baroque pyrotechnics to a magnificent end. Just listen to Mehta's version of Vaughan Williams' "Silent Noon": Hear Bejun Mehta Sing Ralph Vaughan Williams' 'Silent Noon' 4:23 As conductor René Jacobs pointed out in the DVD that accompanied Mehta's last album, the countertenor can sing high notes softly — an exceedingly difficult proposition, but one he delights in throughout this elegant and artful album.