Purcell: Bid the virtues (from Come ye Sons of Art, Z323)

The baroque woman was confined to a strictly domestic role. She was either saintly (mother of Christ and the subject of religious allegory as in Handel’s Trionfo del tempo e del disinganno), a diva, a queen (Poppea, Cleopatra) or the inevitable victim in classical tragedies like Semiramis, Berenice, Rodelinda and Agrippina.

'Ladies sing Baroque' is shaped as a nod to those ladies who have enchanted jazz, but composed of music from two centuries earlier: hymns to emotion, the tunes that disturb for eternity! Monteverdi's invention of opera, Vivaldi's music for the Pieta, Pergolesi and Bach bring the drama and emotion found in temples and churches. Highlights include the final duet from 'L'Incorronazione di Poppea' and Bach's sublime 'Erbarme dich' whilst two Canadians with strong characters, Marie-Nicole Lemieux and Karina Gauvin, successfully evoke the legendary association of Marilyn Horne and Montserrat Caballé.

A new and fresh light on pieces by Henry Purcell, interspersed with music by Frescobaldi, Mancini, and several anonymous composers.

A new recording by the ascending British star of the early music and baroque scene. Grace Davidson’s distinctive and ethereal voice can be heard in ensemble with such groups as The Sixteen, Tenebrae, the Monteverdi Choir, the English Concert, the Gabrieli Consort, Ensemble Plus Ultra and Ex Cathedra. This is the first album devoted entirely to her own voice and features her in a range of early music repertoire from Hildegard to Mozart and is accompanied by the original instrument orchestra Fiori Musicali.

Grace Davidson takes as her canvas for this vocal portrait music ranging over 700 years of musical history, displaying a wonderful variety of musical textures and colours. From the subtle, suggestive monody of Hildegard of Bingen (the 12th-century visionary) through to the distinctive music of the Neapolitan baroque and the vivid tones of Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate this is a musical journey portraying an outstandingly beautiful new voice. The music performed includes rarities such as Mancini, Koželuch and Leo as well as well known works by John Dowland, Bach and Mozart.