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Track Listings
| 1. Welcome, Welcome, Glorious Morn |
| 2. Be Welcome Then, Great Sir |
| 3. Oh, Fair Cedaria |
| 4. Hear My Prayer, O Lord |
| 5. When I Am Laid in Earth |
| 6. Let Mine Eyes Run Down With Tears |
| 7. The Sparrow and the Gentle Dove |
| 8. If Music Be the Food of Love |
| 9. Rejoice in the Lord Alway, 'The Bell Anthem', Z49 |
| 10. Hosanna to the highest |
| 11. Thou Knowest, Lord, the Secrets of Our Hearts |
| 12. Fairest Isle, All Isles Excelling |
| 13. Mark, how readily each pliant string |
| 14. Sound the Trumpet |
| 15. She Loves and She Confesses Too |
| 16. O how blest is the Isle |
| 17. Remember Not, Lord, Our Offences |
| 18. Now That the Sun Hath Veiled His Light |
| 19. Vouchsafe, o Lord, to keep us this day |
| 20. With rapture of delight... Hail bright Celcilia |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk
The "Essential" Purcell? Well, you could get a bunch of critics to argue about that for a few days, but in the meantime, here is a sampler of highlights from the King's Consort's three admirable Purcell series: the Complete Odes and Welcome Songs, Complete Anthems and Services, and Complete Secular Solo Songs. There are, of course, some of Purcell's most-performed pieces (which probably are "essential"): Dido's Lament from Dido and Aeneas, "Sound the trumpet" from Come, ye sons of Art, Rejoice in the Lord always (the "Bell Anthem," named for the string figure at the opening that sounds like pealing bells), the gently patriotic "Fairest isle, all isles excelling" (sung by a miscast James Bowman), and a selection from the funeral music for Queen Mary. There are also some delightful surprises--particularly among the little-known secular songs and church music. The plaintive "O fair Cedaria" gets a lovely performance by Barbara Bonney (a singer not usually associated with Purcell); tenor Rogers Covey-Crump (possibly the ideal high tenor for Purcell) sings the enchanting "If music be the food of love"; the church anthems "Let mine eyes run down with tears" and "Remember not, O Lord, our offences" have some startling harmonies as daring as any Monteverdi ever wrote. If you're unfamiliar with Purcell, this reasonably priced disc is a good place to start exploring without a big initial investment. --Matthew Westphal
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
48 of 48 people found the following review helpful
By Peter Jones
Format:Audio CD
Very rarely does a disc come along which hits all the spots: excellent recording quality, perfect pacing, superb track listing and top class performance.
This is one of those discs. It even gets ten out of ten for price: this is one of those budget-priced "sampler" cd's, which, although all the tracks are full-length and unedited, it is geared towards selling the many other releases of Purcell by Robert King.
However don't let this put you off: the running order has been compiled with due care and attention. This album stands up as a classic in its own right.
This is one of those discs. It even gets ten out of ten for price: this is one of those budget-priced "sampler" cd's, which, although all the tracks are full-length and unedited, it is geared towards selling the many other releases of Purcell by Robert King.
However don't let this put you off: the running order has been compiled with due care and attention. This album stands up as a classic in its own right.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By Harry Webb
Format:Audio CD
An excellent compilation, just right for an initial introduction to this uplifting and inspiring music that set the scene for so much that followed. A well produced and high quality recording with some excellent vocal performances.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Sasha
Format:Audio CD
Everything with released by "Hyperion" always gets my full attention as this wonderful company always have the highest standards of performance, selection of super-talented artists and the choice of recorded material is literary mind-blowing,it truly changed my life because they seem to avoid commercial direction and obvious paths in favor of lesser known but equally beautiful pieces.In short,if you see "Hyperion" label printed on Cd,go for it.
There is nothing lesser-known about Henri Purcell who,after all is a giant of the whole barque era. His oeuvre is so rich that it would probably take me years to get my head around many different styles he worked in but this CD is a good start for a somebody like me who simply needs some guidance where to start: "Hyperion" has released three series of complete Purcell works and here they presented choice from twenty-five various recordings.
The long and exhausting list of artists here is star-studded: Barbara Bonney, James Bowman, Gillian Fisher, Charles Daniels, Rogers Covey-Crump, Susan Gritton, Mark Padmore... there is something for everybody but I must point at the direction of my beloved Michael Chance who must have been one of my all-time favorite singers in any genre (after all,he is the guy responsible for my "classical bug") and here he shines in a heavenly duet with James Bowman,truly magnificent showpiece for two counter-tenors titled "Sound the trumpet" dating from 1694 royal celebration.
It is such a rich compilation that with repeated listening I am sure to find always different favorites.
There is nothing lesser-known about Henri Purcell who,after all is a giant of the whole barque era. His oeuvre is so rich that it would probably take me years to get my head around many different styles he worked in but this CD is a good start for a somebody like me who simply needs some guidance where to start: "Hyperion" has released three series of complete Purcell works and here they presented choice from twenty-five various recordings.
The long and exhausting list of artists here is star-studded: Barbara Bonney, James Bowman, Gillian Fisher, Charles Daniels, Rogers Covey-Crump, Susan Gritton, Mark Padmore... there is something for everybody but I must point at the direction of my beloved Michael Chance who must have been one of my all-time favorite singers in any genre (after all,he is the guy responsible for my "classical bug") and here he shines in a heavenly duet with James Bowman,truly magnificent showpiece for two counter-tenors titled "Sound the trumpet" dating from 1694 royal celebration.
It is such a rich compilation that with repeated listening I am sure to find always different favorites.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
purcell
superb quality recordings.loved it ,recommend to everyone.kins concert brillliant,lets hope more cds of the same quality are produced soon,enjoy them.
Published 2 months ago by jj
5.0 out of 5 stars
It does what is says on the package!
Somewhere, somehow, my CD 'The Essential Purcell' disappeared from its case and I was quite upset. I never thought I would be able to replace it until I did a search on Amazon and... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Dr Mike
5.0 out of 5 stars
great selection
A very good recording of an excellent cross-section of Purcell's choral music. It will be of particular benefit to anyone starting to rehearse for a performance that will include... Read more
Published 24 months ago by harvel7
3.0 out of 5 stars
Music good but engineering flat
The overall compilation of Purcell's music on this CD is well organized. However, I felt the sound engineering could have been much better. Read more
Published on 15 Sep 2010 by R. Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars
worth buying alone for susan gritton
Not a bum track, with She loves and confesses too worth the price alone.The greatest one disk collection of his work in the world-accept no substitutes.
Published on 27 Feb 2009 by E. Coolican
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful, moving and faultless performances.
This is very enjoyable, and Dido's 'When I am laid in the cold ground' is especially moving, especially at this time of year! (England in a damp November!)
Published on 1 Nov 2008 by Michael J. Brett
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