Purcell: An Evening Hymn 'Now that the sun hath veiled his light', Z193

“Rosemary Joshua brings to these accounts all the aplomb of a Baroque diva, with her sharply etched diction, perspicuous dramatic insights and varied vocal timbres...It would be easy for Joshua to steal the show, but the instrumentalists respond to her pliant vocal lines with sensitively articulated continuo playing.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2012 *****

“Purcell is not known as a composer of sacred songs. The 24 here, all scored for a single high voice, come from two volumes published in his later years, which group the work of several composers but are dominated by Purcell’s. Some are less than 30 bars long, others sound almost cantata-like. All are intimate and varied in tone. Whether they were designed to be heard in sequence like this is questionable, but [Rosemary] Joshua brings them vividly to life” Financial Times, 21st April 2012

“Joshua brings vocal security and textual intelligence to these works and though a slightly flighty vibrato sometimes threatens the music's intimacy, it does not get in the way of superbly realised greater dramatic truth. The continuo accompaniments are as sensitively accomplished as one would expect from such a line-up...If this is a sober disc, it is also one which reeks of Purcell's genius.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2012

“For a singer who began her career in the early 1990s, Joshua sounds astonishingly fresh — Emma Kirkby-like in the purity of her sound, although she brings a wider palette of colour to this kind of music than the veteran early-music diva ever did.” Sunday Times, 25th March 2012

“The word-painting of the sacred texts — involving angular leaps, florid melismas and a fluid mixture of declamation and gorgeous lyricism — is intense and detailed. Rosemary Joshua does it full justice, yet also seems to float, lithe and graceful, through it all. It’s a masterclass in delicate Baroque singing.” The Times, 19th May 2012 ****

“Ethereal yet visceral, Scholl's voice is the dream vehicle for Purcell...Stefano Montanari coaxes thrilling playing from Accademia Bizantina, who dance and swagger, throb and pulsate with true Latin passion. Their continuo realisations - here delicate and intimate, there audaciously jazzy - are an unceasing delight.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 *****

“that famously otherworldly tone [is] often breathtakingly in evidence...His decision to tackle Dido's lament has generated controversy: in fact, his performance is extraordinarily haunting...O Dive Custos is arguably the disc's high point. The Academia Bizantina, meanwhile, are on fine form for Stefano Montanari” The Guardian, 13th January 2011 ****

“Scholl understands the importance of words and remains the countertenor of choice: it’s not so much the intelligence and grace that make his artistry so instantly recognisable, as the hypnotically soothing quality of his voice...Among the many joys of this exceptional recital are the accompaniments by Accademia Bizantina.” Financial Times, 21st January 2011 *****

“Few counter-tenors maintain the width of repertoire or vocal acumen of this artist...his Cold Song from “King Arthur” [is] a shivering, juddering triumph, and the entire package pleases.” The Times, 22nd January 2011 ****

“his way with words has strengthened...the two countertenors combine marvellously in O dive custos” Gramophone Magazine, March 2011

“There's no doubt about the theatrical intent driving Scholl's interpretations and the flamboyant work of Italian period instrument band, Accademia Bizantina. The latter's lively continuo group and multi-hued sounds certainly catch the full flavour...few singers...can match him for style and intelligent musicianship in this repertoire.” Classic FM Magazine, March 2011 ****

“[The disc] contains much in the way of sympathetic vocal and instrumental colouring, not to mention some very fine singing and playing, full-stop...Stefano Montanari's stylish violin-playing [in Fairest Isle], as elsewhere, is a treat in itself...Scholl [brings] an animated, urgent quality to his performance, the tone rich and resonant, the diction razor-sharp.” International Record Review, April 2011

“Padmore's sound is more beautiful and easily expressive than Pears's ever was, but he never imposes his own personality too forcefully, content to let the natural inflections of the bespoke vocal lines in the Donne cycle follow their own course.” The Guardian, 26th June 2009 ****

“Before life and after is the more consoling conclusion to the Hardy cycle, and Padmore lavishes a palette of tone colour to match or even outshine Pears here. His English diction has an unfussy naturalness, and Vignoles captures the descriptive imagery of the piano parts with their descriptions of the train whistle and the boy’s violin. Padmore’s voice now sounds dark for Purcell, but the three Britten realisations suit it well, and the disc is rounded off by five of Britten’s most attractive folk-song arrangements.” Sunday Times, 5th July 2009 *****

“Padmore is on happier ground with the idiosyncratic Purcell realisations, especially in a gem of an 'Evening Hymn', while the Hardy vignettes of Winter Words bring an ideally subtle sense of atmosphere from both singer and pianist.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2009 ****

“The Holy Sonnets of John Donne were composed in 1945, soon after Britten's visit to German concentration camps, and the stark immediacy of that experience can be heard in the composer's own recordings. Padmore and Roger Vignoles, his warm-toned accompanist, take a more reflective line. ...the core of the cycle is some heartfelt singing in the sixth and most beautiful setting, "Since she whom I loved". The vivid picture-painting of Winter Words helps make it probably Britten's most popular song-cycle with piano. Several of the Thomas Hardy poems evoke a time of innocence now lost, a familiar Britten theme, and the evocative performance by Padmore and Vignoles captures that sense of longing particularly well.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2009

“This declamatory, religious-themed repertoire fits Padmore like a glove, marrying as it does his enduring success as a performer of early sacred music with his newer success as a chamber recitalist...A satisfying recital on every level.” Charlotte Gardner, bbc.co.uk, 21st December 2009

“Carolyn Sampson's luminescent soprano, with its easeful enunciation, seemingly instinctive ornamentation, and total lack of self-consciousness captures the bittersweet 'affects' of 'Sweeter than Roses', relishes the shifting tones of voice in the long nocturnal, 'From silent shades', and glows against a single theorbo accompaniment in the great 'Evening Hymn'. The instrumental palette, though limited, is exquisitely tuned to Sampson's voice and to the character of each piece.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2007 ****

“It is immediately obvious from the first few songs that this disc is truly special. Carolyn Sampson's singing is deliciously enjoyable for its sweet tuning, flawless intonation, impeccable stylishness, shapely phrasing of melodic lines and textural awareness.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2007

“Her tone is extraordinarily beautiful: natural, warm and unforced, with almost superhuman vocal athleticism” American Record Guide

“It is immediately obvious from the first few songs that this disc is truly special. Carolyn Sampson's singing is deliciously enjoyable for its sweet tuning, flawless intonation, impeccable stylishness, shapely phrasing of melodic lines and textual awareness. Each of these 19 songs, mostly taken from Purcell's operas and music for theatre plays, are given judicious performances.
The programme admirably shows the variety of characteristics and styles in Purcell's writing, and Sampson achieves the perfect degree of joyful radiance, seductiveness, witty comment or bittersweet melancholy in each song. 'Sweeter than roses' is an old warhorse for early music singers, but the poetry has seldom seemed so personal as it does in Sampson's heart-rending rendition. The Plaint from TheFairy Queen is beautifully done and the line 'he's gone and I shall never see him more' is remarkable for its stylish precision and emotional truthfulness (the performance is also notable for Sarah Sexton's superb solo violin-playing).
The supporting players always sound as if they are fully interested in the subtle nuances of the music. Well known favourites such as 'Music for a while', 'Fairest isle' and 'I attempt from love's sickness to fly' are excellently done, but several of the relatively obscure songs ('The fatal hour' and 'From silent shades') are shown to be equally rewarding and engaging. First-class new recordings of Purcell's music are much too rare, and this one deserves to be an enormous success.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Christie and his performers bring the perfect balance of intimacy and intensity to this repertoire. Paul Agnew conveys the essence of these songs with poetic expressivity… while the treble-like soprano of Hannah Morrison is the perfect instrument for Purcell's sublime Evening Hymn, which she sings with artless naivety. Divine, indeed.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2007 *****

“The 16 Purcell songs and airs in this recital, some familiar, some rarely heard, are arranged in a pleasing order for continuous listening but, of course, can be selected or re-arranged at the touch of a CD button. Emma Kirkby's pure white tone is a joy throughout, her diction immaculate and her technique equal to all the demands of Purcell's many notes to a word... with nice decorations in repeated passages.” Gramophone Magazine