is name is probably the easiest to misspell in the Western world, but you will be rewarded for remembering it. Philippe Jaroussky is a French countertenor that has been the object of much attention for a peculiar talent he possesses. He can sing like a woman. Well, in fact, he can sing how the Angel Gabriel probably sang at the age of 10. Do angels age? Anyway, Mr. Jaroussky has been on the top of my list for a few years when I need to hear the human voice, and I was so pleased to find a huge feature on him in the New York Times Magazine!

The particular talent of being a fully grown man but being able to still sound like a choir boy is called castrati. There is a reason castrati sounds like castrated, because in antiquity these talents were robbed of their special parts in order to preserve the ability to sing at such high octaves. Often the castrati would go on to enjoy lucrative careers of public adoration. Sadly, not all who were castrated though made it and were left by the wayside, ignored and humiliated. Luckily, we don’t do this any longer, we wait for it to happen naturally. Enter Philippe.

I’m not sure if this photograph by Richard Burbridge is the most flattering of the man, but it does emphasize the point that he is famous for what resides in his larynx. If you heard Philippe sing on-record rather than in video form you might have the same reaction as when you first heard the BeeGees. Impossibly female, as in, that cannot be a man singing. Not everyone loves the idea of a man being able to sing at such high tones, it’s definitely something one gets used to over a period of time. When Philippe first met Fernanda Eberstadt he acknowledged “It’s true that there is something potentially ridiculous about this voice coming out of a man’s body.”

If one can stomach it, it’s worth holding your nose and going for it. There isn’t any risk involved other than seeing something, perhaps, odd, and hearing something that should not be coming from a man. In retrospect, however, we find that Shakespearean comedy and pre-19th-century opera were both based on the premise that what makes a woman go crazy is a boyish man who might or might not be a girl. Interesting set up for the following clip:

This is from the album Vivaldi: Nisi Dominus & Stabat Mater, the first song Philippe sings in the clip is Cum Dederit which by the way stops people in their tracks. I listened to it when I was in Yosemite this summer and my head almost imploded. Beauty upon beauty. Sometimes it’s just too much, you know? Anyhow, it’s an excellent album completely through, from the first track to the 19th one. The Amen is also so incredible, you’ll see it at about 2:53 in the clip above. Surprising, flowing, eloquently baroque. Excellent holiday gift for yourself or someone you think deserves something that sounds like liquid platinum in your ears.