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| Essential Purcell | 
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| Artists: Henry Purcell, New College Choir Oxford, King's Consort, Robert King, Roy Goodman, Charles Daniels, John Mark Ainsley, James Bowman, Peter Buckoke, Jane Coe, Rogers Covey-crump, Gillian Fisher, Michael George, Miles Golding, Jane Norman, Barbara Bonney, Mark Caudle, William Carter, King's Consort Choir, Helen Gough, Paul Nicholson, Angela East, Barry Guy, Tessa Bonner, Jerome Finnis, Rupert Bawden, Lucy Howard, Richard Campbell, Susan Addison, James O'donnell, Stephen Saunders
Label: Hyperion UK
Category: Music
List Price: $12.98
Buy New: $8.23
You Save: $4.75 (37%)
Buy New/Used from $4.88
Avg. Customer Rating:  (10 reviews)
Sales Rank: 8435
Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 4.9 x 0.4
UPC: 034571100159
EAN: 0034571100159
ASIN: B000002ZDU
Release Date: April 10, 1995
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-10 of 10 | | « PREV | | |
Be Welcome then, great Sirs (and Mesdames). October 19, 2001
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
If anyone has benefitted from the reversion in the last three or so decades to period instruments and historical reconstruction, it is Henry Purcell. Before, he was merely great, the peerless word-setter in the English language, a virtuoso of boundless range, a professional composer whose offical commissions were always imbued with personality and invention. But period instrumentation has added to this a greater depth, an other-worldly texture of sound. With his intricate, multi-part vocal writing, his preference for low, rumbling instruments such as the bass viol and the strange and remarkable theorbo, as well as his often sombre and low-key subject matter and treatment, Purcell creates a round, glowing, humming sound as pregnantly full as dub reggae. This has an extraordinary effect on the listener. Whereas Bach, with his mathematical abstractions, sounds universal and timeless, Purcell's music takes the listener back 300 years, back to different ways of thinking about, feeling about and addressing things we still think etc. about today - death, love, friendship. The emotion is timeless, but the music's beauty is alien, THEIRS, hence its preciousness. A lot of intelligence has gone into the unity of this compilation, beginning with two Welcomes (to the dawn and to the listener, in this case a King), and ending with thoughts of evening, death and a Baroque 'Thank you for the music'. These are bright, fanfare-like works, but the predominant mood is slow, ruminative, quiet. The selection covers the wide range of Purcell's oeuvre, from opera and funeral marches to secular songs and odes, and includes his most famous vocal works - Dido's Lament from Dido and Aeneas, sung by Gillian Fisher, and never more evocative of pagan loss and death; the massive 'Bell Anthem', with its ingenious opening symphony and joyful antiphon; and a miraculously serene 'Evening Hymn', Dido's opposite, death indicating hope, the treble voice swirling over the heavy ground bass like the soul released from the inert body. it might seem quixotic to choose highlights from an exemplary collection of highlights, but the entry of the strings washing over the serene repetition of 'Be Welcome then, great Sir' always makes my heart stop still, while the musical picture of 'Bold Honour', the 'noisy Nothing, stalking shade', blocking the poet's amorous intentions in 'She loves and confesses too', adds a chilling hint of life's transience to a bouyantly bawdy song.
Excellent Purcell Disc November 30, 2000
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
With this album director and Purcell expert Robert King provides the listener with an excellent introduction to the composer's vocal works. The pieces presented here were taken from Mr. King's recordings of 'The Complete Odes and Welcome Songs', 'The Complete Anthems and Services', 'The Complete Secular Solo Songs' and diverse anthology discs. King, his wonderful soloists and musicians do the brilliance of Purcell's music fully justice. Whether he was commissioned by royalty, the church or theatre, Purcell shone in all areas. This disc definitely demonstrates the diversity of his art, not to speak of his uncanny ability of setting words to music.
An outstanding Purcell offering. With a beautiful perfomance by Barbara Bonney of 'Oh, fair Cedaria'. Susan Gritton is equally captivating in 'She loves and she confesses too'. Gillian Fisher's rendition of the famous 'Dido's Lament' is haunting and poignant. Further an intelligent and brilliant 'Hosanna to the highest' by Michael George. James Bowman and Michael Chance sparkle in the countertenor duet 'Sound the trumpet' (from 'Come Ye sons of Art away'). And I should not forget to mention the joyous, luminous performance of the beautiful 'Bell Anthem'. To name but a few favourites, only James Bowman's 'Fairest Isle' was a disappointment.
Those who are familiar with Purcell's music will get an excellent disc with some of his most beloved works. If you are new to Purcell, this is, as already said a great introduction. Which might be the incentive to further explorations of Purcell.
by stardustraven
The Finest Purcell available April 25, 2000
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Whenever Hyperion releases a sampler CD, it is invariably of the highest quality. On this disc, they have put together nearly 80 minutes of the best Purcell tracks yet preserved, all taken from their vast collection of Purcell recordings and all under the direction of the multi-talented Robert King. Each track is a treasure unto itself. The list of soloists reads like a "Who's Who" of great names in Early Music- special mention must go to countertenors Michael Chance and James Bowman, who bring their own inimitable sparkle to solo songs and to the brilliant duet "Sound the Trumpet." There could be no better introduction to Purcell than this disc. It really is the finest recorded Purcell available!
A well-chosen selection of superb performances December 4, 1999
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
Before listening to this recording, I was skeptical of claims that Henry Purcell was a great composer, much less the greatest composer that England had ever produced. Robert King and the performers on "Essential Purcell" make a fine case for Henry Purcell's worth. I agree with what the music fan from Charlottesville had to say about this CD, and have only a few remarks to add. First, Mr. King's taste in selecting from Purcell's enourmous oeuvre contributes, for me, as much to the value of this CD as the high quality of the individual performances. The included excerpts cover a range of expression than I found astonishing, given my experience with a few previously heard recordings of focused portions of Purcell's work. Second, listeners not familiar with this composer might want to know that Purcell is one of those whose merit is not so much in producing "absolute music" (although he is marvelously creative) as in producing music that empowers narrative content. Some ability to identify with Christian faith, Restoration patriotism, romantic classicism, etc. is needed to appreciate these works to their full extent.
A wonderful glimpse into King's anthology of Purcell's music March 10, 1999
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
This disc collects some of the highlights from Robert King's monumental anthology of Purcell's music - 19 volumes of songs, odes, services and anthems; plus additional discs featuring solo songs and duets. This disc is a perfect introduction to Purcell for those new to baroque. It is also a help to those who are familiar with Purcell but can't afford to buy the entire anthology, and thus have to select the volumes they most want. Helpfully, the booklet lists all of King's Purcell recordings with detailed information on what they contain. I confess, I myself don't own all of them. But on the basis of the ones I do own I can safely assert that Mr. King is one of the best interpreters of Purcell's music; and that his musicians and soloists turn in performances which are unlikely to be soon bettered. Many of the performers make repeated appearances throughout the series, helping King to knit together a consistent and homogeneous presentation of some of the best baroque music in the world. The extraordinary James Bowman is present in virtually every volume. So are such well-known English baroque performers as Gillian Fisher and Michael George. Frequently encountered are Rogers Covey-Crump and Charles Daniels, both of The Hilliard fame. Some of the less frequent participants, however, are not to be slighted. The sweet-voiced high tenor Mark Padmore appears in a couple of pieces here and there, but leaves an indelible imprint on the entire series by singing the glorious "Odes and Welcome Songs" finale "O how blest is the isle" from the ode Why Are All the Muses Mute (vol. 8 - my favorite). Luckily, this wonderful piece is included on this disc. But EVERY piece on this disc will take your breath away, as will (or would) many other Purcell's compositions which are beyond the scope of this little collection but which you may want to discover. Some of the best Purcell recordings out there, in addition to King, include: Hail! Bright Cecilia (Herreweghe); King Arthur (Christie); and Fairy Queen (Christie, Christophers or Norrington).
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