It’s an exciting and bold statement to release such a well-explored programme, a move that invites multiple comparisons, and in this case they’re all extremely favourable. Carlo Vistoli isn’t quite a new-kid-on-the-block – he’s a well-established Handelian – but ever since last year’s Cavalli Xerse (Dynamic, 9/23) I’ve rather hoped a solo recital album like this might appear. So to hear him performing with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin in an all-Vivaldi programme on Harmonia Mundi is an ideal way to enjoy this remarkable singer and to get to know his artistry better.

There are good reasons why countertenors gravitate towards this pairing of Vivaldi’s famous Nisi Dominus and Stabat mater: not only are they super music but they’re also richly expressive vehicles that don’t demand extremes of range, but rather require an intense direction to the phrases and passionate clarity of text. From James Bowman’s confident, trendsetting account with the Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood (Decca, 2/77) to the crystal-clear, intense rendering of the Stabat mater from Andreas Scholl with Ensemble 415 and Chiara Banchini (Harmonia Mundi, 4/96), this music clearly lends itself to a wide variety of interpretations. And Vistoli’s new addition is quite a standout. Not for him the conservative piety of those of us who grew up in a choral tradition; he has a much larger – dare I say operatic – canvas on which to paint these cantatas and the overall effect, while variously gripping and demanding, is always beautiful. Perhaps it’s time for a countertenor fach system to better describe all these approaches.

Beginning with a brooding concerto in G minor (RV157), the strings showcase their silvery tone and insatiable rhythmic drive. This is wonderfully crisp playing, and it spills over into the Nisi Dominus, which receives a bolt of energy from the start. The violins in particular are on superb form throughout, in fact, bursting to the fore between vocal phrases and discreetly dipping below the radar during fiddly coloratura passages. Vistoli meets their enthusiasm and passion head on with impeccable fast passagework and crisp diction without the stern etching of Franco Fagioli’s bold and impressive reading (Decca, 5/18). On this newest addition to the catalogue, however, it is the second movement, ‘Vanum est vobis ante lucem surgere’, that caught me unawares. I didn’t expect such a sense of line: Vistoli’s drawn-out phrase-shapes and relatively unhurried stillness are even more captivating after his quasi-operatic opening (and yes, I do think he has an attractive vibrato). One other point is that Clemens-Maria Nuszbaumer’s obbligato viola d’amore is sumptuous in the ‘Gloria Patri’ and deserves special mention.

The throbbing intensity of the Stabat mater is well served and Vistoli, singing richly and evenly throughout his range, really spins out the first movement with aplomb. Importantly, he never misses a mimetic gesture, such as the gleam of the sword at ‘Pertransivit gladius’, which is also a wonderful moment from the strings. In the ‘Eia mater, fons amoris’ I would usually welcome less vocal prowess on the opening phrase to signal more humility. It’s highly subjective, of course, but in that stanza the text addresses the Virgin directly and Vivaldi drops his resonant bass in favour of chilly upper-string textures hewn from short bow strokes. The effect is one of time standing still. Less would be more in terms of vocal ornamentation, and in my opinion none would be ideal, but try telling that to an 18th-century singer! Vistoli is the closest I have come to being convinced of using elegant ornamentation at this moment; his is the sort of artistry that thaws long-held views like mine, it seems.

With that in mind, the operatic thwack of In furore iustissimae irae, RV626, is probably Vistoli’s finest moment on the album: his coloratura is solid and exciting but never mechanical, and his ability to switch from anger to clemency in the opening aria is deeply impressive. Added to this, the aria ‘Tunc meus fletus’ (‘Then my tears’) is another one of Vivaldi’s intimate and chillingly simple textures, and not to be missed in this performance. In short, I think it’s safe to conclude that another new countertenor superstar has arrived, and he’s found just the right ensemble to work with.