Search - Henry Purcell, Robert King, James Bowman :: Purcell - Hail! bright Cecilia · Who can from joy refrain? / Fisher · Bonner · Bowman · Covey-Crump · Ainsley · George · Keenlyside · Choir of New College, Oxford · The King's Consort · King

Purcell at his best

hcf | 01/12/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is actually Volume 2 of Purcell Complete Odes and Welcome Songs. The ode Who can from joy refrain is not very well known. It was Purcell's last ode, written shortly before his death. The final movement, alternating vocal and instrumental segments, is a true signature of a genius. The other ode on this disc - Hail! Bright Cecilia - is one of Purcell's most famous compositions and justifiably so. It contains a number of astonishingly beautiful vocal airs and an equally astonishing number of compositional devices (such as ground bass, sarabande, minuet, passacaglia, and even vocal embellishments written out by the composer himself). Unlike most of his other odes, Hail! Bright Cecilia was probably intended for a large group of performers. For this reason, King supplements his King's Consort with the choir of New College, Oxford. In a manner that is now widely accepted, King apportions alto parts between a countertenor (Bowman) and a high tenor (here, Covey-Crump). Bowman's 'Tis Nature's Voice is splendid. If you've heard this piece sung by Covey-Crump (on the Parrott), you will be shocked to hear how similar Bowman and Covey-Crump can sound. Bowman can be quite a high tenor. His intonation, aided by King's moderate tempo, is superb. Still, I am firmly convinced that the best version of this air is on the Herreweghe (sung by Padmore). Covey-Crump gets to sing The airy violin and produces quite an appealing version of it. Michael George does an effective Wond'rous machine. One singer, whose contribution on this CD I didn't enjoy, was - oddly - John Mark Ainsley. He usually sounds less wobbly. But I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this recording just because of that."