Purcell: Strike the Viol (from Come Ye Sons of Art, Z323)

The greatest countertenor of today, Andreas Scholl returns to the Decca label with a recording of vocal jewels by the great baroque composer, Henry Purcell. This is Andreas Scholl's first ever recording of the music of Purcell and his uniquely beautiful voice is perfectly suited to the English composer's plangent melodies. The album includes pieces written for the stage, the church and the private chamber, some of which Andreas Scholl has sung in recital for many years, and some he sings for the first time.

Andreas Scholl's long-standing collaborators, ‘Accademia Bizantina’ bring out the Italian influence in Purcell's instrumental writing, and contribute orchestral items to the programme. 'O Solitude' is Andreas Scholl's first Decca album since the chart-topping ‘Handel: Arias For Senesino' in 2006.

The album includes the well known lament 'When I Am Laid In Earth' - recently voted the UK's No.1 favourite aria in a BBC Radio 3 poll - written for the character of Dido in Purcell's opera, Dido and Aeneas.

Andreas Scholl is joined for two duets by French countertenor Christophe Dumaux.

Michael Chance is a renowned exponent of this repertoire.

Florilegium has won many awards for its sensitive chamber-music-making in the Barock era.

Spanning his short creative life, Purcell’s Songs are a constant feature in his output. In between official Odes, the semi-operas and instrumental music is a profusion of wonderfully intimate, sometimes bawdy and explicit songs. Written for his circle of friends the texts are from a variety of sources – Shakespeare and Dryden understandably loom large among the poets whose words were set by Purcell. In 1698 his songs were published complete in Orpheus Britannicus .

Purcell composed only one true opera, and the form known as ‘semi opera’ was the most popular in England at the time. In these works the actors did not sing. Musical interludes either of vocal numbers or instrumental music punctuated the action. The second half of this CD contains examples of the instrumental music Purcell provided for Dioclesan and Timon of Athens.

There is no record of how Purcell's unprecedented youthful genius was received by his contemporaries, though it seems logical that it must have caused considerable wonder in the musical world centred around Westminster. The reality of London musical life was in fact difficult, frenetic, and grossly underfunded, and, along with the whole city, was thrown into confusion with the outbreak of the plague, the war with the Dutch and the catastrophic fire of London. Suffice it to say that a lifelong friendship developed with John Blow, who relinquished his post as organist at Westminster Abbey to the 20-year old Purcell in 1679.

Blow's music in the Ode on Purcell's death is probably the most coherent melodious and inventive, outside his beloved Church music. It is also his most Purcellian. The choice of two countertenor voices was fundamental in this respect, and this conscious evocation of the Purcellian sound world is extended in the use of the two recorders, stressing both the funerary and other-worldly associations of the instrument. With this collaboration in memory of Purcell however, he achieves the highest level of expression. Early death, in his time was an unremarkable commonplace, and Dryden and Blow are deploring something rather different, the catastrophe of losing a friend who represented both their own hopes, and the energy and potential of English music in full flood.

Daniel Taylor is one of the most sought-after countertenors in the world today. This album represents a compilation taken from the almost twenty recordings Taylor has made for the ATMA label since 1997, and includes music by Bach, Handel, Purcell, Dowland and Buxtehude, among others. Taylor is heard performing solo, as well as with such singers as Suzie LeBlanc and Jan Kobow, in what promises to be the definitive portrait of this gifted artist.

Two of the most accomplished vocal artists Canada has produced share their love of English song from Purcell's time: solo pieces and duets written for the theatre and for celebratory odes by the Orpheus Britannicus himself, as well as some tasty morsels by his greatest "disciple," John Eccles. John Blow and Henry's younger brother, Daniel, also add more than their two-pence worth. A very worthy band of instrumentalists complete the programme with a choice selection of "ayres" (in truth, instrumental suites) from two theatrical works to which Henry Purcell contributed.

Known as the ‘English Orpheus’, Henry Purcell, born in London in 1659, began his career as a chorister in the Chapel Royal, an appointment that was to mark the start of his life‐long commitment to the monarchy. Today his music occupies a central position in British culture and is celebrated for its exquisite word‐setting, abundant use of expression and attractive melody; comprising 16 CDs, this compilation pays homage to a composer who, in spite of assimilating the then predominant French and Italian styles, was able to create a uniquely English form of Baroque music.

The collection effectively traces the length and breadth of Purcell’s output, from the many sacred works he was required to provide for state occasion and worship (‘Hear My Prayer, O Lord’ and ‘Hail! bright Cecilia’, among others) to secular instrumental and vocal music, written for domestic pleasure as well as the theatre.

Semi‐operas, anthems, odes, suites, songs, fantasias: Purcell’s oeuvre was a vast and pioneering one – all the more impressive in view of his untimely death – and the collection presents a selection of his most famous creations (Dido and Aeneas, for example whose first known performance was at a girls’ boarding school in Chelsea) alongside works which are not so widely known.

With its veritable Astar list of performers and ensembles, this is the perfect compilation for anyone wishing to explore Purcell’s music in greater depth. Who knows what else Purcell may have achieved, had he lived beyond the tender age of 36: this collection is a testament to his indefatigable genius, one which Britain lacked until the arrival of Elgar two centuries later.