MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger


 
REVIEW


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 

cover image


Crotchet

Henry PURCELL (c.1659-1695) Rejoice in the Lord alway (Z 49) [8:53] Blow up the trumpet in Sion (Z 10) [7:42] O God, thou art my God (Z 35) [4:12] Chacony in g minor (Z 730) [5:03] O God, thou hast cast us out (Z 36) [4:27] My heart is inditing (Z 30) [16:37] Remember not, Lord, my offences (Z 50) [03:01]
James Bowman (alto); Nigel Rogers (tenor); Max van Egmond (bass)
The Choir of King's College Cambridge/David Willcocks;
Leonhardt-Consort/Gustav Leonhardt
rec. Bennebroek, The Netherlands, June-July 1969
ADD
TELDEC 2564-686999-2 [50:32]

Experience Classicsonline

For me this disc is something special. I purchased the first release on vinyl in the early 1970s, and it was the very first Purcell disc I owned. I have played it many times, and as a result the pieces by Purcell recorded here have become my personal favourites. So I was pleased to see this recording being reissued and to have the opportunity to listen to it again after many years of not having heard it.

The programme opens with what in my view is one of Purcell's most beautiful pieces, on an equally beautiful text. It is from St Paul's letter to the Philippians: "Rejoice in the Lord alway and again I say rejoice". This phrase is effectively set by Purcell, and emphasized through several repetitions. The anthem begins with a sinfonia for strings and basso continuo. The Leonhardt-Consort shines in the subtle dynamic shading, and we also hear the great sense of rhythm for which Gustav Leonhardt is particularly famous.

Only two sections are written for the tutti, all other sections are given to the three solo voices. It is very nice to hear three pioneers of early music singing in excellent form here, delivering such a fine expression of the text. A particularly good example is the subtle performance of the closing phrase: "through Jesus Christ our Lord". After that the first section is repeated.

'Blow up the trumpet' is another great specimen of Purcell's art of translating a text into music. The rhythm of the opening section is an eloquent depiction of the blowing of trumpets. Dynamically the performance is a bit too modest. That is much better in the closing phrase: "where is their God?"

'O God, thou art my God' is an anthem in which we also hear trebles as soloists. In this performance the treble parts are sung by more than one singer. That is not ideal, but here it works quite well, because the singing is good and well synchronized. Notable here is the special treatment of the words "in a barren and dry land".

'O God, thou hast cast us out' gives much attention to the opening words "O God". The largest part of this anthem is given to the choir. Its sound is polished and powerful. That is no surprise as the Choir of King's College was particularly good under the direction of David Willcocks. There is no wide vibrato in the lower male voices as I have noticed often in later recordings. I also think the trebles are more powerful and less 'angelic' than they have sometimes been in the post-Willcocks era. Because of these features the tutti are coming off really well on this disc.

The choir also shines in 'My heart is inditing', one of Purcell's most famous compositions. In the second section, "At his right hand shall stand the queen" it is powerful but also rhythmically flexible. The fourth section, "With joy and gladness" is given a fine dynamic climax on the words "and shall enter into the King's palace". After this the opening sinfonia is repeated, which is beautifully played, but perhaps a shade too slow. In this anthem the solo sections are sung by members of the choir rather than the three soloists. I don't know why, but the singers - who are not mentioned - are executing their parts perfectly. The last section, "For kings shall be" is again notable for its dynamic shading, and the anthem ends with a powerful and jubilant "Alleluja".

It is remarkable that the disc doesn't end with this anthem, but rather with a prayer, 'Remember not, Lord, our offences', a piece for voices without any accompaniment. It’s strongly rooted in tradition and shows how much Purcell mastered the polyphony of the past. It is a moving piece getting a highly expressive performance here which once again underlines the qualities of the Choir of King's College under Willcocks’ direction.

It was a pleasant experience to hear this recording again. Much has happened since it was first released, and in particular the strings are a bit thin and less polished than those we are used to today. But I have still very much enjoyed their playing - not only in the anthems but also in the Chacony in g minor - the subtle treatment of dynamics and excellent exploration of Purcell's rhythms. And as the choir and the three soloists are in such fine form I think this disc isn't just worthwhile for historic reasons. It can also be enjoyed for purely musical reasons, and the programme is a good introduction to the sacred music of Purcell.

Johan van Veen
 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools






Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.