Rachel Baptist: Ireland’s Black Syren

Rachel Baptist was a Black singer living in mid-18th-century Dublin, and likely born there, too. Known as the “Celebrated Black Syren”, Baptist performed mostly in the Marlborough Green pleasure garden in Dublin, singing popular theatre songs, folk music and arias from various contemporaneous oratorios and cantatas. The programme brings together music by Handel, Geminiani and Pasquali, all of whom had strong associations with Dublin, as well as Purcell, whose music was also popular there. It’s a fantastic showcase for soprano Rachel Redmond, who here assumes the role of Baptist. Her clear and characterful voice, ideally suited to this repertoire, is alive to the music’s emotional and often considerable technical demands, and shines, in particular, in the gentle “Softly Sweet in Lydian Measures” from Handel’s Alexander’s Feast. Equally sprightly is the Irish Baroque Orchestra under Peter Whelan, whose attention to phrasing, articulation and clarity of texture makes this album an arresting and engaging listen.