Henry Purcell - A Purcell Collection (VOCES8; Les Inventions)

Information

Composer: Henry Purcell

1. Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem
2. To the Hills and the Vales
3. By Beauteous Softness Mix'd with Majesty
4. O God, Thou Art my God
5. How Happy the Lovers
6. 'Cold Song' (What Power Art Thou ...)
7. Behold, O Mightiest of Gods
8. My Heart is Inditing of a Good Matter
9. Bid the Virtues
10. Hail! Bright Cecilia
11. Strike the Viol
12. Second Dirge Anthem (Morley) / Thou Knowest, Lord, the Secret of Our Hearts
13. Fairest Isle
14. Full Fathom Five

VOCES8
Andrea Haines, Emily Dickens (soprano)
Christopher Wardle, Barnaby Smith (countertenor)
Olivier Vincent, Samuel Dressel (tenor)
Paul Smith, Dingle Yandell (bass)

&
Les Inventions

Date: 2014
Label: Signum Classics
http://signumrecords.com/product/a-purcell-collection/SIGCD375/

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Review

Voces8 here make use of their intermediate size – neither a choir nor strictly a one-to-a part ensemble – to bring together what would normally be an unlikely Purcell vocal anthology of church anthems inter-strewn with choruses and solo numbers from the stage works and court odes. Their vocal blend and solid ensemble have been praised before, and rightly too; here they score well in more intimate unaccompanied choral pieces (O God, thou art my God or Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts) and in theatre choruses from Dido and Aeneas, Dioclesian and The Tempest. But while in bigger, orchestrally accompanied pieces such as Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem and My heart is inditing there are gains in agility and contrapuntal clarity (always a plus in Purcell), there are losses in grandeur and weight compared to performances by larger groups; My heart is inditing, an eight-part piece, also suffers from palely defined textural contrasts.

The group’s individual voices are equal to their tasks in the solo numbers, if not always as characterful as might be expected from singers more used to standing out front. Emily Dickens’s ‘Bid the graces’ from Come, ye sons of art is poised and lofty (if slightly lisped), while countertenor Barnaby Smith’s two numbers include a rollingly assertive version of the too-often dirge-like ‘Strike the viol’, joyfully ornamented in its orchestral refrain by the stylish strings and recorders of the French ensemble Les Inventions.

There are times when I feel that interpretative tricks are missed – the deceptively plain but ardent word-setting of O God, thou art my God is carelessly run through, while the heart-stopping simplicity of ‘Fairest isle’ does not gain anything by being heavily ornamented almost from the start – but there is no doubting that this disc still offers a rich and enjoyable demonstration of Purcell’s genius.

-- Lindsay Kemp, Gramophone

More reviews:
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: ***** / RECORDING: *****
MusicWeb International  RECORDING OF THE MONTH

http://www.allmusic.com/album/a-purcell-collection-mw0002637745

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Purcell-Collection-Voces8/dp/B00IT4R4ZI

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Henry Purcell (10 September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell worked in many genres, both in works closely linked to the court, such as symphony song, to the Chapel Royal, such as the symphony anthem, and the theatre. Although incorporating Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, Purcell's legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music. He is generally considered to be one of the greatest English composers; no other native-born English composer approached his fame until Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams, William Walton and Benjamin Britten in the 20th century.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Purcell

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VOCES8 is an a cappella octet from the United Kingdom. Formed in 2005, VOCES8 has a diverse repertoire ranging from early English and European Renaissance choral works to their own arrangements. The group is signed to the Decca Classics label, for which the first album 'Eventide' was released in February 2014. Prior to the recording contract with Decca, the ensemble recorded seven albums, with most recent recordings are on the Signum label. They have artistic collaborations with the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Les Inventions, violinist Hugo Ticciati and cellist Matthew Sharp.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voces8
http://www.voces8.com/

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The early music group LES INVENTIONS was founded in 2005 by harpsichordist, organist and conductor Patrick Ayrton. The group seeks to revitalize the ancient tradition of combining elements of music, poetry and dance in performance. Their aim is also to reawaken interest in forgotten composers and restore neglected works to their place in the Baroque and Classical repertoire. Based in France, LES INVENTIONS have been in residence since 2007 at France’s leading Bach festival, Bach en Combrailles. Their discography – for labels Ramée and Signum – includes collaborations with the acclaimed British vocal group, VOCES8.
http://lesinventions.org

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