PURCELL
(1659-1695)
The Complete Odes and Welcome Songs
The King's Consort/Robert
King with soloists.
HYPERION CDS44031/8 [9
hrs 5 mins]
Crotchet
£59.95
AmazonUK
£61.99
AmazonUS
$104.97
Vol 1 - Welcome to all the pleasures
Arise my Muse (Ode for Queen Mary's birthday, 1690)
Now does the glorious day appear (Ode for Queen Mary's birthday, 1689)
Welcome to all the pleasures (Ode for St Cecilia's Day, 1683)
GILLIAN FISHER, TESSA BONNER soprano, JAMES BOWMAN, MICHAEL CHANCE
countertenor, JOHN MARK AINSLEY, CHARLES DANIELS tenor, MICHAEL GEORGE, CHARLES
POTT bass, THE KING'S CONSORT / ROBERT KING
HYPERION Compact Disc CDA66314
Vol 2 - Hail, bright Cecilia!
Hail, bright Cecilia! (Ode for St. Cecilia's Day, 1692)
Who can from joy refrain? (Birthday Ode for the Duke of Gloucester,
1695)
GILLIAN FISHER, TESSA BONNER soprano, JAMES BOWMAN countertenor, ROGERS
COVEY-CRUMP, JOHN MARK AINSLEY tenor, MICHAEL GEORGE, SIMON KEENLYSIDE bass,
CHOIR OF NEW COLLEGE, OXFORD, THE KING'S CONSORT / ROBERT KING
HYPERION Compact Disc CDA66349
Vol 3 - Fly, bold rebellion
Fly, bold rebellion (Welcome Ode for Charles II, 1683)
Sound the trumpet, beat the drum (Welcome Ode for James II, 1687)
Celebrate this festival (Birthday Ode for Queen Mary, 1693)
GILLIAN FISHER, TESSA BONNER soprano, JAMES BOWMAN, JONATHAN KENNY
countertenor, ROGERS COVEY-CRUMP, RUFUS MÜLLER tenor, MICHAEL GEORGE,
CHARLES POTT bass, THE KING'S CONSORT / ROBERT KING
HYPERION Compact Disc CDA66412
Vol 4 - Ye tuneful Muses
Ye tuneful Muses (Welcome Ode for Charles II, 1686)
From hardy climes and dangerous toils of war (Ode for the wedding of Prince
George of Denmark and Princess Anne, 1683)
Celestial music did the gods inspire (Ode for Mr Maidwell's School,
1689)
GILLIAN FISHER, TESSA BONNER soprano, JAMES BOWMAN, JONATHAN KENNY
countertenor, ROGERS COVEY-CRUMP high tenor, CHARLES DANIELS tenor, MICHAEL
GEORGE, CHARLES POTT bass, THE KING'S CONSORT / ROBERT KING
HYPERION Compact Disc CDA66456 ; Cassette KA66456
Vol 5 - Welcome, welcome glorious morn
Great parent, hail! (Ode for the Centenary of Trinity College, Dublin,
1694)
Welcome, welcome glorious morn (Birthday Ode for Queen Mary, 1691)
The summer's absence unconcerned we bear (Welcome Song for Charles II,
1682)
GILLIAN FISHER, EVELYN TUBB soprano, JAMES BOWMAN, NIGEL SHORT
countertenor, JOHN MARK AINSLEY, ROGERS COVEY-CRUMP tenor, MICHAEL GEORGE,
CHARLES POTT bass, THE KING'S CONSORT / ROBERT KING
HYPERION Compact Disc CDA66476 ; Cassette KA66476
Vol 6 - Love's goddess sure
From those serene and rapturous joys (Welcome Song for Charles II,
1684)
Laudate Ceciliam (Ode for St Cecilia's Day, 1683)
Love's goddess sure (Birthday Ode for Queen Mary, 1692)
Raise raise the voice (Ode for St Cecilia's Day, c1685)
GILLIAN FISHER, MARY SEERS soprano, JAMES BOWMAN, NIGEL SHORT
countertenor, ANDREW TUSA, MARK PADMORE tenor, ROBERT EVANS, MICHAEL GEORGE
bass, THE KING'S CONSORT / ROBERT KING
HYPERION Compact Disc CDA66494
Vol 7 - The Yorkshire Feast Song
Swifter, Isis, swifter flow (Welcome Song for Charles II, 1681)
Of old when heroes thought it base (Yorkshire Feast Song, 1690)
What, what shall be done in behalf of the man? (Welcome Song for the Duke
of York, 1682)
GILLIAN FISHER, SUSAN HAMILTON soprano, JAMES BOWMAN, NIGEL SHORT
countertenor, ROGERS COVEY-CRUMP high tenor, CHARLES DANIELS tenor, ROBERT
EVANS, MICHAEL GEORGE bass, THE KING'S CONSORT / ROBERT KING
HYPERION Compact Disc CDA66587
Vol 8 - Come ye sons of Art
Welcome, vicegerent of the mighty king (Welcome Song for Charles II,
1680)
Why, why are all the Muses mute? (Welcome Song for James II, 1685)
Come ye sons of Art, away (Birthday Ode for Queen Mary, 1694)
GILLIAN FISHER, TESSA BONNER soprano, JAMES BOWMAN, MICHAEL CHANCE
countertenor, JOHN MARK AINSLEY, MARK PADMORE tenor, ROBERT EVANS, MICHAEL
GEORGE bass, CHOIR OF NEW COLLEGE, OXFORD, THE KING'S CONSORT / ROBERT KING
HYPERION Compact Disc CDA66598
Not supplied for review, but a birthday present to me which I wish to share
by saying Welcome to all the Pleasures and to recommend it as a peerless
bargain in this boxed set re-issue.
The twenty four surviving Odes and Welcome Songs are here collected, and
benefit immeasurably by being heard in extenso. The high standard
Purcell maintained throughout his prolific output and short life never ceases
to amaze, especially as, to modern readers, the texts are so often obsequious
and banal. The embarrasse de richesse inevitably means, as has been
discovered with other composers, notably Schubert, that there is something
a little arbitrary about the few which have become established and are regularly
performed.
There is not a one which does not include one or more marvellous vocal settings
and there are numerous instrumental Symphonies and ritornelli
that are sheer delight. Robert King is the most knowledgeable guide and
combines the skills of a historian with the flair of a true performer, and
unbounded enthusiasm which ensures that there is never a dull moment or routine
reading of any of these occasional works from 1680-95, nine for Royal birthdays,
six for welcomes after travel, and a few 'one-offs'.
The enterprise took from 1989 to 1992 and is very much a team effort. The
singers and players are all meticulously listed in the booklets, and many
of the same names recur constantly. Besides taking some remarkable solo songs,
they share in supplying the choruses. Research has shown that the original
forces were generally small, with up to a dozen instrumentalists and no more
than a double quartet of singers, who covered all the solos and joined forces
for the choruses. This is a felicitous and wholly satisfactory arrangement,
as has been fully testified in live performance at the
Wigmore
Hall and latterly the advocacy of a comparable system for
presenting Bach cantatas has won increasing support.
The performances are all impeccably stylish and many of the individual items
are unparalleled elsewhere, if indeed there are rival recordings. The ambience
is well judged and the recordings maintain consistent quality. In connection
with the Purcell Tercentenary in 1995, Robert King with his fortuitously
eponymous musicians has also recorded the complete sacred Anthems & Services
(CDA66585 to CDA66716) and this has,
if it is possible, proved even more revelatory. It has to be hoped that Hyperion
may be able to see their way towards making those available also in a bargain
boxed set?
Peter Grahame Woolf
