Classical

Henry Purcell - Love's Goddess Sure Was Blind (1994)

2014-10-31T17:05:23Z

Henry Purcell - Love's Goddess Sure Was Blind (1994)

Two Latin Motets
01. Jehova, quam multi sunt hostes mei 
02. Two Latin Motets - Miserere Mei 

Funeral Sentences
03. Man that is born of a woman
04. In the midst of life 
05. Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts

Elegy on the Death of Queen Mary
06. Incassum, Lesbia, incassum rogas 

Ode for Queen Mary's Birthday, 1692
07. Love's Goddess Sure was Blind) - Symphony 
08. Love's Goddess sure was blind this day
09. Those eyes, that form, that lofty mien 
10. Sweetness of nature, and true wit 
11. Long may she reign over this Isle 
12. May her blast example chase 
13. Many such days may she behold 
14. May she to Heaven late rerturn 

Elegy on the Death of Queen Mary
15.  O dive custos auricae domus 

The Complete Funeral Music for Queen Mary
16. The Queen's Farewell (James Paisible) 
17. March (Purcell) 
18. The Queen's Farewell (Thomas Tollett) 
19. March (Purcell) 
20. I am the resurrection and the life (Thomas Morley
21. I know that my Redeemer liveth (Morley) 
22. We brought nothing into this world (Morley) 
23. Man that is born of a woman (Morley)
24. In the midst of life (Morley) 
25. Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts (Purcell)
26. Canzona (Purcell) 
27. I heard a voice from Heaven (Morley)

The Symphony Of Harmony And Invention
Harry Christophers – director

When we last left Harry Christophers and his cracker jack a cappella chorus the Sixteen, they were making fabulous recordings for the wonderful Collins label. But that was back in the halcyon days of the CD boom, those far off times called the '90s, when everyone with a little capital and a lot of taste could start a record label. Back in the '90s, Christophers and the Sixteen made more than a dozen wonderful recordings for Collins, among them one of the most moving recordings of Henry Purcell's Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary ever made. But the digital boom went bust and so did Collins, taking with it all of Christophers and the Sixteen's discs.

But now, in the middle of the 2000s, they're back, and they've brought with them an even more wonderful recording of Purcell's funeral music. It's more wonderful because, good as the Collins recording sounded, this Coro recording sounds even better: deeper, richer, warmer, and even more detailed. It's more wonderful because, good as the earlier performances were, these performances sound even better: more passionate, more precise, and even more powerful. And it's more wonderful because while this is exactly the same recording that appeared on Collins, it somehow sounds more wonderful released on the Coro label. How this is possible is impossible to know, but that it does is indisputable. If you don't have Harry Christophers and the Sixteen's Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary, here it is again. This time, don't miss it. --- James Leonard, Rovi

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Henry Purcell - Royal Welcome Songs for King James II (2017)

2017-09-29T12:41:42Z

Henry Purcell - Royal Welcome Songs for King James II (2017)


1. Chacony in G minor, Z730 (c.1678)
2. When on my sick bed I languish, Z144 (1677–8)
3. True Englishmen drink a good health (Catch No. 45), Z284

Welcome Song - Ye tuneful Muses, raise your heads, Z344 (1686)
4. Symphony 
5. Ye tuneful Muses, raise your heads!
6. This point of time ends all your grief
7. In his just praise your noblest songs let fall
8. Try, try ev’ry strain
9. From the rattling of drums and the trumpet’s loud sounds
10. With him he brings the partner of his throne
11. Happy in a mutual love   
12. Whilst in music and verse our duty we show

13. A New Irish Tune in G (‘Lilliburlero’), Z646
14. God is gone up with a merry noise (Canon a 7), Z107
15. A New Scotch Tune in G, Z655
16. Save me, O God, for thy name’s sake, Z51 (1677)

Welcome Song: Sound the trumpet, beat the drum Z335 (1687)
17. Symphony
18. Sound the trumpet, beat the drum
19. Crown the year, and crown the day
20. To Caesar all hail, unequall’d in arms!  
21. Let Caesar and Urania live
22. What greater bliss can Fate bestow
23. While Caesar, like the morning star
24. To Urania and Caesar delights without measure

The Sixteen
Harry Christophers – conductor

Despite being written for the celebration of royal occasions, Purcell’s Royal Welcome Songs were penned during a time of immense disillusionment with the monarchy. Filled with humour as well as an ironic detachment from the politics of the time, Ye tuneful muses and Sound the trumpet fizz with the dramatic energy which characterised his later operas and mark a crucial turning point in Purcell’s career.

This programme showcases the variety and diversity of Purcell’s writing, opening with the Chacony in G minor, which is among the great glories of music for strings, and including When on my sick bed I languish - an amazingly impassioned piece in which he bares his soul...quintessential Purcell! --- thesixteenshop.com

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Henry Purcell – Ayres for The Theatre (Holman) [1999]

2014-03-28T17:27:32Z

Henry Purcell – Ayres for The Theatre (Holman) [1999]


1. Abdelazer, or, the Moor's Revenge, incidental music, Z. 570: Overture [Grave - Canzona]
2. Abdelazer, or, the Moor's Revenge, incidental music, Z. 570: Rondeau
3. Abdelazer, or, the Moor's Revenge, incidental music, Z. 570: Aire
4. Abdelazer, or, the Moor's Revenge, incidental music, Z. 570: Aire
5. Abdelazer, or, the Moor's Revenge, incidental music, Z. 570: Minuett
6. Abdelazer, or, the Moor's Revenge, incidental music, Z. 570: Aire
7. Abdelazer, or, the Moor's Revenge, incidental music, Z. 570: Jigg
8. Abdelazer, or, the Moor's Revenge, incidental music, Z. 570: Hornpipe
9. Abdelazer, or, the Moor's Revenge, incidental music, Z. 570: Aire
10. Timon of Athens, semi-opera, Z. 632: Overture [Grave - Canzona - Adagio - Canzona]
11. Timon of Athens, semi-opera, Z. 632: Curtain Tune
12. The Gordian Knot Unty'd, incidental music, Z. 597: Overture
13. The Gordian Knot Unty'd, incidental music, Z. 597: Aire
14. The Gordian Knot Unty'd, incidental music, Z. 597: Rondeau Minuett
15. The Gordian Knot Unty'd, incidental music, Z. 597: Aire
16. The Gordian Knot Unty'd, incidental music, Z. 597: Jigg
17. The Gordian Knot Unty'd, incidental music, Z. 597: Chacone
18. The Gordian Knot Unty'd, incidental music, Z. 597: Aire
19. The Gordian Knot Unty'd, incidental music, Z. 597: Minuett
20. Bonduca, or, The British Heroine, incidental music, Z. 574: Overture [Grave - Canzona]
21. Bonduca, or, The British Heroine, incidental music, Z. 574: Song Tune
22. Bonduca, or, The British Heroine, incidental music, Z. 574: Song Tune
23. Bonduca, or, The British Heroine, incidental music, Z. 574: Aire
24. Bonduca, or, The British Heroine, incidental music, Z. 574: Hornpipe
25. Bonduca, or, The British Heroine, incidental music, Z. 574: Aire
26. Bonduca, or, The British Heroine, incidental music, Z. 574: Hornpipe
27. Bonduca, or, The British Heroine, incidental music, Z. 574: Aire
28. Bonduca, or, The British Heroine, incidental music, Z. 574: Minuett
29. Chacony, for 4 strings in G minor, Z. 730
30. The Virtuous Wife, or, Good Luck at Last, incidental music, Z. 611: Preludio
31. The Virtuous Wife, or, Good Luck at Last, incidental music, Z. 611: Hornpipe
32. The Virtuous Wife, or, Good Luck at Last, incidental music, Z. 611: Minuett
33. The Virtuous Wife, or, Good Luck at Last, incidental music, Z. 611: Minuett
34. The Virtuous Wife, or, Good Luck at Last, incidental music, Z. 611: Overture [Grave - Canzona]
35. The Virtuous Wife, or, Good Luck at Last, incidental music, Z. 611: Song Tune
36. The Virtuous Wife, or, Good Luck at Last, incidental music, Z. 611: Slow Aire
37. The Virtuous Wife, or, Good Luck at Last, incidental music, Z. 611: Aire

Parley of Instruments
Peter Holman – conductor

It is very pleasing to hear early music played straight without either fussiness or paranoid preoccupation with authenticity and ornamentation. Oh that all early music was played like this, played as pure music and not as bloodless, dreary and effeminate exercise. In these performances we do not have the dandy or the fop. We are not interested in the powdered wigs, beauty spots or lorgnettes and ‘the insincere flattering words of fops and the false manners and modesty of well-dressed tarts’ to quote Rameau.

How I rejoiced in the famous Rondeau from Abdelazer being played as intended. Britten really did demean this lovely theme in his Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra - a work which had so many horrendous mistakes in it that it caused Britten to fall out with that splendid conductor Norman Del Mar who pointed out to Britten that he had written notes for instruments that were outside their range; unfortunate as he was composing a guide to the orchestra!

I suppose it is true to say that Henry Purcell was the first great British composer. What other gems would he have written had he not died so young? His death is a mystery. He was only in his mid-thirties. It is said that his wife, who was said to be something of a spiteful and unpredictable woman, locked her husband out and when he returned from the local hostelry he could not get in and caught a severe chill resulting in pneumonia from which he died.

The music on this disc is scored for few instruments usually two violins, viola, bass viol and harpsichord and sometimes a chamber organ. Crispin Steele-Perkins played the trumpet in the Timon of Athens music and in Bonduca and to great effect. This string ensemble gives the music a mellow flavour but, sadly, most of it sounds so similar that interest is placed under strain. Having said that, it is beautifully played. Of course, it is not known what instruments were available in the theatres at this time.

It is also a pity that most of this music is incidental music. The four main items are incidental music to plays namely Abdelzar, The Gordion Knot Untied, Bonduca and The Virtuous Wife - obviously not a reference to his own spouse! Most of this music was published posthumously as A Collection of Ayres composed for the Theatre. This was in 1697 two years after his death. In fact three of these plays date from the year before his death.

I think it is fair to say that this music is slight due to its brevity. In the four suites we have 34 movements in all, lasting from 39 seconds to three minutes 41 seconds which, no doubt, was the required amount for the various productions just as film composers today have to compose for a precise set time.

Purcell's religious music contains some fine pieces yet it should not be taken that he was a honourable man. He wrote some secular and rather bawdy works. Yet he has the distinction of being the first British composer to write an opera which is a masterpiece namely Dido and Aeneas of 1689.

Purcell is the British composer of what we call the Reformation period but the term is used not only in religious connotations but in political ones as well. All theatres had been closed since the beginning of the Civil War in 1642. Charles II changed that in 1660 and with the Duke of York, patronised several theatres.

The CD is further enhanced by Sir Peter Lely's exquisite painting of Nell Gwyn with the infant Duke of St. Albans. If she was this beautiful one can understand the king's dalliance with her.

A lovely disc, despite the music being too similar to maintain continual interest, beautifully played and recorded. And, at £5.99 a bargain. I hope it will encourage people to explore Purcell 's music and his world! --- David C F Wright, MusicWeb International

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Henry Purcell – Dido & Aeneas (Pinnock) [1989]

2009-10-25T16:30:30Z

Henry Purcell – Dido & Aeneas (Pinnock) [1989]


1. Overture		2:19	
2. Act 1 - "Shake the cloud from off your brow" - "Banish sorrow, banish care"	1:02
3. Act 1 - "Ah! Belinda, I am press'd" ... "When monarchs unite, how happy"		4:44
4. Act 1 - "Whence could so much virtue spring?" - "Fear no danger"		3:32	
5. Act 1 - "See, your royal guest appears" - "Cupid only throws the dart"		1:26	
6. Act 1 - "If not for mine, for empire's sake" ... "To the hills and the vales"		2:18	
7. Act 1 - The Triumphing Dance		1:11	
8. Act 2 - Prelude for the Witches "Wayward sisters" ... "Ho, ho, ho"		2:33	
9. Act 2 - "Ruin'd ere the set of sun" ... "But ere we this perform"		2:21	
10. Act 2 - "In our deep vaulted cell"		1:41	
11. Act 2 - Echo Dance of Furies		0:54	
12. Act 2 - Ritornelle - "Thanks to these lonesome vales"		3:19	
13. Act 2 - "Oft she visits"		2:16
14. Act 2 - "Behold, upon my bending spear" - "Haste, haste to town"		1:22
15. Act 2 - "Stay, Prince"		2:40
16. Act 3 - Prelude - "Come away, fellow sailors"		1:32	
17. Act 3 - The Sailors' Dance "See the flags and streamers curling"		1:42	
18. Act 3 - "Our next motion" - "Destructions's our delight"		1:13	
19. Act 3 - The Witches' Dance		1:12
20. Act 3 - "Your counsel all is urg'd in vain" - "Great minds against themselves conspire"	5:02
21. Act 3 - "Thy hand, Belinda...When I am laid in earth"	4:22	
22. Purcell: Dido and Aeneas / Act 3 - "With drooping wings"		4:54

Anne Sofie von Otter (Mezzo Soprano)
Kym Amps (Soprano)
Stephen Varcoe (Baritone)
Lynne Dawson (Soprano)
Nigel Rogers (Tenor)
Sarah Leonard (Soprano),
Elisabeth Priday (Soprano)
Carol Hall (Soprano)

English Concert,  English Concert Choir
Trevor Pinnock - conductor

Trevor Pinnock's Dido, the most glamorously cast of the period-instrument recordings, was the first to offer a version following 17th-century casting and theatrical conventions. Anne-Sofie Von Otter, always a superb artist, is a regal, moving Dido--her singing is almost too "operatic," but rarely crosses over into excess. Lynne Dawson is a spectacular Belinda, gracefully tossing off her airs at high velocity and combining youthful giddiness with enough maturity to be a credible confidante. Steven Varcoe's light baritone makes Aeneas seem more tender lover than burly soldier, but he sings beautifully. In Purcell's era, men often played witches or old women: here Nigel Rogers sings the Sorceress with plenty of verve and a minimum of camp. ---Matthew Westphal, amazon.com

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Henry Purcell – Fantazias (2006)

2010-10-26T10:01:40Z

Henry Purcell – Fantazias (2006)

Fantasia
1.Fantasia upon one note
2.Pavan a 4               play
Three Fantasias in Three Parts
3.Fantasia I               play
4.Fantasia II
5.Fantasia III
Three Fantasias in Four Parts
6.Fantasia IV (June 10 1680)
7.Fantasia V (June 11 1680)
8.Fantasia VI (June 14 1680)
In Nomine
9.In Nomine in Six Parts
Three Fantasias in Four Parts
10.Fantasia VII (June 19 1680)
11.Fantasia VIII (June 22 1680)
12.Fantasia IX (June 23 1680)
Three Fantasias in Four Parts
13.Fantasia X (June 30 1680)
14.Fantasia XI (August 19 1680)
15. Fantasia XII (August 31 1680)
In Nomine
16.In Nomine in Seven Parts

Ricercar Consort:
Philippe Pierlot, Viol
Kaori Uemura, Viol
Rainer Zipperling, Viol
Emmanuel Balssa, Viol
Mieneke van der Velden, Viol
Sofia Diniz, Viol
François Fernandez, Violin
Luis Otavio Santos, Violin
Sophie Gent, Violin
Giovanna Pessi, Baroque Harp

Purcell's fantasias are relatively early works, apparently written largely as contrapuntal studies. Unlike the sonatas, they were never intended for publication, but they do represent some of the most complex music written for viol consort. By Purcell's time, music of this type was no longer a living tradition, and in fact his In Nomines were the last examples written before the 20th century.

This is music of the shadows; music of sublime subtlety. It is candlelit and wood-grained; intimate to its core. It is music of solitude that has never encountered an electric light bulb let alone an amplifier. (No small irony in an exquisite sharply etched digital recording such as this).

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Henry Purcell – King Arthur (Christie) [1995]

2009-10-25T16:31:59Z

Henry Purcell – King Arthur (Christie) [1995]


1-1 	Overture 	1:56
1-2 	Air 	1:02
	First Act
1-3 	"Woden, First To Thee" 	2:51
1-4 	"The White Horse Neigh'd Aloud" 	1:22
1-5 	"The Lot Is Cast, And Tanfan Pleas'd" 	0:33
1-6 	"Brave Souls, To Be Renown'd In Story" 	2:46
1-7 	"I Call You All To Woden's Hall" 	2:06
1-8 	"Come If You Dare" / First Act Tune 	4:07
	Second Act
1-9 	"Hither, This Way, This Way Bend" 	2:06
1-10 	"Let Not A Moonborn Elf Mislead Ye" / "Hither, This Way, This Way Bend" 	1:53
1-11 	"Come, Follow Me" 	2:22
1-12 	"How Blest Are Shepherds" 	5:18
1-13 	"Shepherd, Shepherd, Leave Decoying" 	1:53
1-14 	"Come, Shepherd, Lead Up A Lively Measure" / Hornpipe 	1:39
1-15 	Second Act Tune: Air 	1:01
	Third Act
1-16 	Prelude 	0:23
1-17 	"What Ho ! Thou Genius Of This Isle" 	1:01
1-18 	Prelude (While The Cold Genius Rises) 	4:08
1-19 	"Thou Doting Fool" 	0:38
1-20 	"Great Love, I Know Thee Now" 	0:55
1-21 	"No Part Of My Dominion" 	0:56
1-22 	Prelude 	0:45
1-23 	"See, See, We Assemble" / Dance 	1:28
1-24 	"Tis I That Have Warm'd Ye" / Ritornello / "Tis Love That Has Warm'd Us" 	1:59
1-25 	"Sound A Parley" / "Tis Love That Has Warm'd Us" 	4:00
1-26 	Third Act Tune: Hornpipe 	0:47
	Fourth Act
2-1 	"Two Daughters Of This Aged Stream Are We" 	2:35
2-2 	Passacaglia / "How Happy The Lovers" / Ritornello / "For Love Every Creature" / "In Vain Are Our Graces" / Chorus Trio 	7:11
2-3 	Fourth Act Tune: Air 	0:40
	Fifth Act
2-4 	Trumpet Tune 	0:47
2-5 	"Ye Blust'ring Brethren Of The Skies" 	3:24
2-6 	Symphony 	1:42
2-7 	"Round Thy Coast" 	3:24
2-8 	"For Folded Flocks, And Fruitful Plains" 	2:01
2-9 	"Your Hay It Is Mow'd" 	2:27
2-10 	"Fairest Isle" 	4:41
2-11 	"You Say 'Tis Love" 	5:26
2-12 	Trumpet Tune (Warlike Consort) 	0:35
2-13 	"Saint George" 	2:07
2-14 	"Our Natives Not Alone Appear" 	1:05
2-15 	Chaconne 	3:36

Veronique Gens  (soprano) (tracks: 1-5, 1-13, 2-2, 2-10)
Claron McFadden  (soprano) (tracks: 1-9, 1-11, 2-1, 2-13)
Sandrine Piau  (soprano) (tracks: 1-13, 2-1, 2-11)
Iain Paton  (tenor) (tracks: 1-8, 1-12, 2-8)
Jonathan Best  (bass) (tracks: 1-10, 2-2, 2-8, 2-11)
Mark Padmore  (tenor) (tracks: 1-4, 1-7, 2-2, 2-8)
Petteri Salomaa  (bass) (tracks: 1-4, 1-18, 1-20, 1-25, 2-5, 2-9)

Les Arts Florissants
William Christie - conductor

King Arthur is a “semi-opera”, which isn’t to say that the music is only semi-interesting. On the contrary, some of the best work Purcell ever did is contained here, including the famous “frost scene”, with its shivering, notated vibrato in voices and instruments. This performance was notable for being produced in France, with a fine international cast. When it was released some critics (if I recall) had things to say about the accents of some of the singers, as if any of us would understand the English of Purcell’s day, or know what it really sounded like. All that matters is this: Christie leads a colorful, dynamic performance on period instruments, and the cast, including such luminaries as Véronique Gens and Mark Padmore in their primes, sounds fully engaged with both music and text. The engineering is also excellent. Great fun.-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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Henry Purcell – Music for a While (Deller) [1992]

2010-05-11T17:31:23Z

Henry Purcell – Music for a While (Deller) [1992]


1. The Plaint 
2. If Music Be The Food Of Love
3. I Attempt From Love's Sickness
4. Fairest Isle
5. Sweeter Than Roses
6. Not All My Torments
7. Thrice Happy Lovers
8. An Evening Hymn
9. From Rosy Bow'rs
10. O Lead Me To Some Peaceful Gloom
11. Retired From Any Mortal's Sight
12. Music For A While
13. Since From My Dear Astrea's Sight
14. O Solitude

Alfred Deller – haute-contre
Wieland Kuijken – basse de viole
William Christie – clavecin
Roderick Skeaping – violon baroque
Robert Elliot – orgue (14)
Jane Ryan – basse de viole (14)

This is one of the gems of the Harmonia Mundi back-catalogue. Even at the age of 67 and recorded within three months of his death Deller preserves his special purity almost completely unimpaired. Only at the end of some demanding phrases is there the slightest hint of crumbling. What remains is his exemplary purity of stratospheric tone. He makes play with a delightful affected tremble in If Music be the Food of Love and his bird-like attack in miniature on quite high notes is memorable in Not all my torments. A sepulchral cortege is evoked through O lead me to some peaceful gloom with its evocative shrill trumpets. Equally stygian is the instrumental tissue for O Solitude while Deller's voice courses high above. The instrumental ensemble comprises various permutations of clavecin, baroque violin, organ and bass viol. The notes include a useful chronology of Deller's life and there are essays by David Vickers, Gustav Leonhardt, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, René Jacobs, Paul Elliott and Bernard Coutaz. A rich context indeed. --- Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International

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Henry Purcell – O Solitude (Scholl) [2010]

2016-02-26T17:02:27Z

Henry Purcell – O Solitude (Scholl) [2010]


1 	If Music Be The Food Of Love 	2:16
2 	Sound The Trumpet 	3:00
3 	Strike The Viol 	4:19
4 	Chacony 	3:37
5 	Fairest Isle 	4:55
6 	What Power Art Thou 	3:10
7 	Chacony In G Minor 	4:08
8 	One Charming Night 	2:24
9 	Sweeter Than Roses 	3:18
10 	When I Am Laid In Earth 	4:05
11 	Incidental Music For The Gordian Knot Unty'd 	10:47
12 	Here The Deities Approve 	4:36
13 	Music For A While 	4:14
14 	O Dive Custos 	6:59
15 	O Solitude, My Sweetest Solitude 	5:32
16 	Pavan In G Minor 	4:50
17 	Now That The Sun Hath Veiled His Light (An Evening Hymn On A Ground) 	4:34

Andreas Scholl - Counter Tenor
Accademia Bizantina (Ensemble)
Stefano Montanari - Conductor

Purcell would seem like a natural fit for Andrea Scholl's voice, but this album of songs, arias, and orchestral selections from Purcell's semi-operas and incidental music is the counter tenor's first foray into recording this repertoire, and it's a fabulous success. This is a recording that takes a while to establish its momentum, but it grows in stature as it progresses. The first few tracks are very fine, but by the time Scholl has finished "What power art thou," (the "Cold Song" from King Arthur), the first of many tracks where one might have to repress the urge to hit replay to experience its wonder again immediately, the music and the performance have cast a net of enchantment that doesn't let up. A few other selections that may elicit a similarly intense response include "One Charming Night," from The Fairy Queen, "Music for a While," from Oedipus, and "Dido's Lament." Seeing this last on the tracklist might reasonably cause a skeptical response, because there are so many superb recordings by sopranos and mezzo-sopranos, and the idea of a counter tenor singing a role that is virtually always, if not always, sung by a woman in the theater seems odd. Scholl's broadly paced and deeply felt singing is fully persuasive, though, and makes it possible to hear the solo not only as a woman's grief at love lost, but as a more universal expression of profound, dignified sorrow. Stefano Montanari conducts Accademia Bizantina in a performance every bit as invested in probing the depths of the music as Scholl's. The violence the orchestra evokes in the "Cold Song" is genuinely startling, fierce enough to make one concerned about the string instruments' withstanding such a battering; it's hugely effective. Scholl is joined on two tracks by counter tenor Christophe Dumaux, with whom he blends beautifully. Their duet, "O dive custos," has a gorgeous Monteverdian lyricism and immediacy. Decca's sound is wonderfully clean, warm, and present. --- Stephen Eddins, Rovi

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Purcell - Dido and Aeneas (Hogwood) [1995]

2012-06-13T17:26:45Z

Purcell - Dido and Aeneas (Hogwood) [1995]


1 	Overture 0:02:04 	 
2 	Shake The Cloud From Off Your Brow 	0:01:02 ACT I - Belinda
3 	Ah! Belinda, I Am Prest With Torment   0:04:13 	Dido
4 	When Monarchs Unite 	0:00:17 Chorus
5 	Whence Could So Much Virtue Spring? 	  0:01:31 Dido
6 	Fear No Danger Dance 	 0:02:07 Belinda, Second Woman
7 	See, Your Royal Guest Appears 	  0:00:46 Belinda
8 	Cupid Only Throws The Dart   	0:00:34 Chorus
9 	If Not For Mine 	  0:00:22 Aeneas
10 	Pursue Thy Conquest, Love   	0:00:50 Belinda
11 	A Dance Gittars Chacony   0:00:20 	 
12 	To The Hills And The Vales  	0:01:10 Chorus
13 	The Triumphing  	0:01:12 Dance
14 	Prelude For The Witches - Wayward Sisters  0:01:26 ACT II - Sorceress
15 	Harm's Our Delight  	0:00:13 Chorus
16 	The Queen Of Carthage, Whom We Hate 0:02:41 Sorceress
17 	In Our Deep Vaulted Cell   	0:01:11 Chorus
18 	Echo Dance Of Furies   	0:01:04 	 
19 	Ritornelle - Thanks To These Lonesome Vales 	0:03:12 Belinda
20 	Gitter Ground A Dance 	 0:00:29 	 
21 	Oft She Visits - Ritornelle   	0:01:35 Second Woman
22 	Behold, Upon My Bending Spear  	0:00:31 Aeneas
23 	Haste, Haste To Town 	 0:00:44 Belinda
24 	Stay, Prince 	 0:02:45 Spirit
25 	Ritornelle 	0:00:54 	 
26 	Prelude - Come Away, Fellow Sailors   	0:01:36 ACT III - First Sailor
27 	The Sailors' Dance 	0:00:48 	 
28 	See The Flags And Streamers Curling 	 0:01:26 Sorceress
29 	Destruction's Our Delight 	0:00:34 Chorus
30 	The Witches' Dance   	0:01:35 	 
31 	Your Counsel All Is Urg'd In Vain 	0:03:41 Dido
32 	Great Minds Against Themselves Conspire 	0:00:58 Chorus
33 	Thy Hand Belinda -When I Am Laid In Earth 	0:04:06 Dido
34 	With Drooping Wings 	  0:04:20 Chorus

Dido - Catherine Bott (soprano)
Belinda - Emma Kirkby (soprano)
Aeneas - John Mark Ainsley (tenor)
Second Woman - Julianne Baird (soprano)
Sorceress - David Thomas (bass)
First Witch - Elisabeth Priday (soprano)
Second Witch - Sara Stowe (soprano)
First Sailor - Daniel Lochmann (tenor)
Spirit - Michael Chance (countertenor)
The Academy Of Aancient Music
Сhristopher Hogwood - conductor

Purcell's Dido and Aeneas was commissioned by and first performed at Josias Priest's School for Young Ladies in Chelsea. The libretto is by Nahum Tate, who extracted the story of Queen Dido and the sailor, Aeneas, from Virgil's Aeneid. Into Virgil's story Tate introduced some of the more popular elements of Baroque opera, including a sorceress, a hunt, and a storm. The first performance took place in 1689, probably in mid-May.

The story concerns Aeneas, who is shipwrecked at Carthage, where the Carthagenian Queen, Dido, falls in love with him. Aeneas returns her love, but knows he must leave eventually - it is his destiny to found Rome. After their final parting, Dido realizes she cannot live without him and looks forward to her death.

Dido and Aeneas is considered to be the only true opera that Purcell composed; its continuous music and purpose-written libretto set it apart from his other dramatic works, which are more properly considered semi-operas or, in the case of Timon of Athens, a masque. Although brief, Dido and Aeneas nevertheless embraces a wide range of emotional content, and achieves a dramatic lyricism that was then unprecedented in England. Purcell deftly tailored the score to the performing forces available at Josias Priest's school. There are only four principal roles and the orchestra consists of just strings and continuo; together, the opera's three acts last only about one hour. However, Dido is not a work for amateurs: the vocal writing demands highly skilled singers, and the presence of male voices in the score (not least of which is Aeneas himself, a tenor) indicate that some professional performers were most likely imported for the first production. Dances in the piece, such as the "Dance of Triumph" for Dido's court and another for the witches, were most likely written at the suggestion of Priest, who was a dance instructor. The French overture that opens the work is reminiscent of Lully, as is the homophonic chorus in minuet rhythm, "Fear no danger." More akin to the music of Purcell's English contemporaries are "Purse thy conquest, Love" and "Come away, fellow sailors" (which boasts a metrically irregular melody). Most interesting are the recitatives, which are in neither the quick, Italian recitativo secco style nor the more rhythmically regular French fashion. Instead, Purcell tailored his writing to the particular accents and cadence of the English language, creating an entirely new declamatory style.

Three of the arias in Dido and Aeneas are of the ground bass variety. The most famous of these, "When I am laid in Earth," is the last in the opera and is often referred to as "Dido's Lament." In the aria, we hear a chromatic bass line that descends through a fourth, then closing an octave below where it starts. This ground bass is repeated nine times, supporting a vocal line filled with expressive dissonance. The opera close with the chorus, "With drooping wings," in which descending minor scales suggest the text of the title.--- John Palmer

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Purcell - King Arthur (Gardiner) [1994]

2011-10-30T19:36:49Z

Purcell - King Arthur (Gardiner) [1994]


1-1 		Overture 	1:46 	
1-2 		Air 	1:29 	
1-3 		Overture 	1:16 	
  	First Act
1-4 		"Woden, First To Thee" / "The White Horse Neigh'd Aloud" /
 "To Woden Thanks We Render" 	3:40 	
1-5 		"The Lot Is Cast" 	0:33 	
1-6 		"Brave Souls" 	2:20 	
1-7 		"I Call You All To Woden's Hall" 	2:01 	
1-8 		Symphony / "Come If You Dare" 	3:41 	
  	Second Act
1-9 		"Hither, This Way" 	2:12 	
1-10 		"Let Not A Moonborn Elf" / Ritornello 	1:15 	
1-11 		"Hither, This Way" 	0:37 	
1-12 		"Come, Follow Me" / Ritornello 	2:25 	
1-13 		[Song Tune] "How Blest Are Shepherds" 	6:37 	
1-14 		Symphony / "Shepherd, Leave Decoying" 	2:10 	
1-15 		Hornpipe / "Come, Shepherds" 	1:37 	
1-16 		Second Act Tune: Air 	0:55 	
  	Third Act
1-17 		(The Frost Scene) Prelude /
 "What Ho! Thou Genius Of This Isle" 	1:20 	
1-18 		Prelude While Cold Genius Rises / "What Power Art Thou" 	2:51 	
1-19 		"Thou Doting Fool" 	1:03 	
1-20 		"Great Love" 	0:54 	
1-21 		"No Part Of My Dominion" 	0:55 	
1-22 		Prelude / "See, See, We Assemble" / Dance 	3:26 	
1-23 		"Tis I That Have Warm'd Ye" / Ritornello /
 "Tis Love That Has Warm'd Us" 	2:01 	
1-24 		"Sound A Parley" / Ritornello 	3:44 	
1-25 		Third Act Tune: Hornpipe 	0:38 	
  	Fourth Act
2-1 		"Two Daughters Of This Aged Stream" 	2:39 	
2-2 		Passacaglia / "How Happy The Lover" / Ritornello /
 "For Love Ev'ry Creature" 	6:09 	
2-3 		Fourth Act Tune: Air 	0:51 	
  	Fifth Act
2-4 		Trumpet Tune 	0:45 	
2-5 		"Ye Blust'ring Brethren" 	2:43 	
2-6 		Symphony 	1:39 	
2-7 		Song Tune / "Round Thy Coast" 	3:17 	
2-8 		"For Folded Flocks" 	2:42 	
2-9 		Ritornello / "Your Hay It Is Mow'd" / Ritornello 	2:59 	
2-10 		"Fairest Isle" 	4:06 	
2-11 		"You Say 'Tis Love" 	5:24 	
2-12 		Trumpet Tune [Warlike Consort] 	0:35 	
2-13 		"St George" / "Our Natives Not Alone Appear" 	1:59 	
2-14 		Chaconne 	3:24 	

Ashley Stafford -  Alto
Stephen Varcoe - Baritone
Elisabeth Priday, Gill Ross, Gillian Fisher, Jennifer Smith (3) - Soprano Vocals
Paul Elliott - Tenor

Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists
John Eliot Gardiner – conductor

King Arthur or, The British Worthy (Z. 628), is a semi-opera in five acts with music by Henry Purcell and a libretto by John Dryden. It was first performed at the Queen's Theatre, Dorset Garden, London, in late May or early June 1691.

The plot is based on the battles between King Arthur's Britons and the Saxons, rather than the legends of Camelot (although Merlin does make an appearance). It is a Restoration spectacular, including such supernatural characters as Cupid and Venus plus references to the Germanic gods of the Saxons, Woden, Thor, and Freya. The tale centres on Arthur's endeavours to recover his fiancée, the blind Cornish Princess Emmeline, who has been abducted by his arch-enemy, the Saxon King Oswald of Kent.

King Arthur is a "dramatick opera" or semi-opera: the principal characters do not sing, except if they are supernatural, pastoral or - in the case of Comus and the popular Your hay it is mow'd - drunk. Secondary characters sing to them, usually as diegetic entertainment, but in Act 4 and parts of Act 2, as supernatural beckonings. The singing in Act 1 is religious observance by the Saxons, ending with their heroic afterlife in Valhalla. The protagonists are actors, as a great deal of King Arthur consists of spoken text. This was normal practice in 17th century English opera. King Arthur contains some of Purcell's most lyrical music, much of it inspired by French dance rhythms and adventurous (for the day) harmonies.

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