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PURCELL  (1659-1695)
The Complete Odes and Welcome Songs
The King's Consort/Robert King with soloists.
HYPERION CDS44031/8 [9 hrs 5 mins]
Crotchet  £59.95  AmazonUK   £61.99 AmazonUS $104.97

Vol 1 - Welcome to all the pleasures

Arise my Muse (Ode for Queen Mary's birthday, 1690)
Now does the glorious day appear (Ode for Queen Mary's birthday, 1689)
Welcome to all the pleasures (Ode for St Cecilia's Day, 1683)

GILLIAN FISHER, TESSA BONNER soprano, JAMES BOWMAN, MICHAEL CHANCE countertenor, JOHN MARK AINSLEY, CHARLES DANIELS tenor, MICHAEL GEORGE, CHARLES POTT bass, THE KING'S CONSORT / ROBERT KING
HYPERION Compact Disc CDA66314


Vol 2 - Hail, bright Cecilia!

Hail, bright Cecilia! (Ode for St. Cecilia's Day, 1692)
Who can from joy refrain? (Birthday Ode for the Duke of Gloucester, 1695)

GILLIAN FISHER, TESSA BONNER soprano, JAMES BOWMAN countertenor, ROGERS COVEY-CRUMP, JOHN MARK AINSLEY tenor, MICHAEL GEORGE, SIMON KEENLYSIDE bass, CHOIR OF NEW COLLEGE, OXFORD, THE KING'S CONSORT / ROBERT KING
HYPERION Compact Disc CDA66349


Vol 3 - Fly, bold rebellion

Fly, bold rebellion (Welcome Ode for Charles II, 1683)
Sound the trumpet, beat the drum (Welcome Ode for James II, 1687)
Celebrate this festival (Birthday Ode for Queen Mary, 1693)

GILLIAN FISHER, TESSA BONNER soprano, JAMES BOWMAN, JONATHAN KENNY countertenor, ROGERS COVEY-CRUMP, RUFUS MÜLLER tenor, MICHAEL GEORGE, CHARLES POTT bass, THE KING'S CONSORT / ROBERT KING
HYPERION Compact Disc CDA66412


Vol 4 - Ye tuneful Muses

Ye tuneful Muses (Welcome Ode for Charles II, 1686)
From hardy climes and dangerous toils of war (Ode for the wedding of Prince George of Denmark and Princess Anne, 1683)
Celestial music did the gods inspire (Ode for Mr Maidwell's School, 1689)

GILLIAN FISHER, TESSA BONNER soprano, JAMES BOWMAN, JONATHAN KENNY countertenor, ROGERS COVEY-CRUMP high tenor, CHARLES DANIELS tenor, MICHAEL GEORGE, CHARLES POTT bass, THE KING'S CONSORT / ROBERT KING
HYPERION Compact Disc CDA66456 ; Cassette KA66456


Vol 5 - Welcome, welcome glorious morn

Great parent, hail! (Ode for the Centenary of Trinity College, Dublin, 1694)
Welcome, welcome glorious morn (Birthday Ode for Queen Mary, 1691)
The summer's absence unconcerned we bear (Welcome Song for Charles II, 1682)

GILLIAN FISHER, EVELYN TUBB soprano, JAMES BOWMAN, NIGEL SHORT countertenor, JOHN MARK AINSLEY, ROGERS COVEY-CRUMP tenor, MICHAEL GEORGE, CHARLES POTT bass, THE KING'S CONSORT / ROBERT KING
HYPERION Compact Disc CDA66476 ; Cassette KA66476


Vol 6 - Love's goddess sure

From those serene and rapturous joys (Welcome Song for Charles II, 1684)
Laudate Ceciliam (Ode for St Cecilia's Day, 1683)
Love's goddess sure (Birthday Ode for Queen Mary, 1692)
Raise raise the voice (Ode for St Cecilia's Day, c1685)

GILLIAN FISHER, MARY SEERS soprano, JAMES BOWMAN, NIGEL SHORT countertenor, ANDREW TUSA, MARK PADMORE tenor, ROBERT EVANS, MICHAEL GEORGE bass, THE KING'S CONSORT / ROBERT KING
HYPERION Compact Disc CDA66494


Vol 7 - The Yorkshire Feast Song

Swifter, Isis, swifter flow (Welcome Song for Charles II, 1681)
Of old when heroes thought it base (Yorkshire Feast Song, 1690)
What, what shall be done in behalf of the man? (Welcome Song for the Duke of York, 1682)

GILLIAN FISHER, SUSAN HAMILTON soprano, JAMES BOWMAN, NIGEL SHORT countertenor, ROGERS COVEY-CRUMP high tenor, CHARLES DANIELS tenor, ROBERT EVANS, MICHAEL GEORGE bass, THE KING'S CONSORT / ROBERT KING
HYPERION Compact Disc CDA66587


Vol 8 - Come ye sons of Art

Welcome, vicegerent of the mighty king (Welcome Song for Charles II, 1680)
Why, why are all the Muses mute? (Welcome Song for James II, 1685)
Come ye sons of Art, away (Birthday Ode for Queen Mary, 1694)

GILLIAN FISHER, TESSA BONNER soprano, JAMES BOWMAN, MICHAEL CHANCE countertenor, JOHN MARK AINSLEY, MARK PADMORE tenor, ROBERT EVANS, MICHAEL GEORGE bass, CHOIR OF NEW COLLEGE, OXFORD, THE KING'S CONSORT / ROBERT KING
HYPERION Compact Disc CDA66598



Not supplied for review, but a birthday present to me which I wish to share by saying Welcome to all the Pleasures and to recommend it as a peerless bargain in this boxed set re-issue.

The twenty four surviving Odes and Welcome Songs are here collected, and benefit immeasurably by being heard in extenso. The high standard Purcell maintained throughout his prolific output and short life never ceases to amaze, especially as, to modern readers, the texts are so often obsequious and banal. The embarrasse de richesse inevitably means, as has been discovered with other composers, notably Schubert, that there is something a little arbitrary about the few which have become established and are regularly performed.

There is not a one which does not include one or more marvellous vocal settings and there are numerous instrumental Symphonies and ritornelli that are sheer delight. Robert King is the most knowledgeable guide and combines the skills of a historian with the flair of a true performer, and unbounded enthusiasm which ensures that there is never a dull moment or routine reading of any of these occasional works from 1680-95, nine for Royal birthdays, six for welcomes after travel, and a few 'one-offs'.

The enterprise took from 1989 to 1992 and is very much a team effort. The singers and players are all meticulously listed in the booklets, and many of the same names recur constantly. Besides taking some remarkable solo songs, they share in supplying the choruses. Research has shown that the original forces were generally small, with up to a dozen instrumentalists and no more than a double quartet of singers, who covered all the solos and joined forces for the choruses. This is a felicitous and wholly satisfactory arrangement, as has been fully testified in live performance at the Wigmore Hall and latterly the advocacy of a comparable system for presenting Bach cantatas has won increasing support.

The performances are all impeccably stylish and many of the individual items are unparalleled elsewhere, if indeed there are rival recordings. The ambience is well judged and the recordings maintain consistent quality. In connection with the Purcell Tercentenary in 1995, Robert King with his fortuitously eponymous musicians has also recorded the complete sacred Anthems & Services (CDA66585 to CDA66716) and this has, if it is possible, proved even more revelatory. It has to be hoped that Hyperion may be able to see their way towards making those available also in a bargain boxed set?

Peter Grahame Woolf

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