If music...

If music... showcases star countertenor Jakub Józef Orlinski in 17 songs and arias by three composers of the Baroque era: Purcell, Handel and Fux. Perhaps unexpectedly, he is partnered not by an ensemble of period instruments but by a pianist - his long-standing colleague Michal Biel. On this album we have combined arias and songs that inspire and speak to us, says Jakub Józef Orlinski. I love thinking of albums as pages out of my diary. They are a statement of where I am as an artist. As Michal Biel, who draws on all the possibilities of a Steinway grand piano, freely admits: If music... is not an answer to the question of how to perform these masterpieces with historical authenticity. He sees each aria or song as a carefully considered transcription that reveals it's appeal transcending instrumentation.