The reissue of this recording may not be
the most momentous event of Purcell’s anniversary year, but
it is very welcome. I listened to it immediately after the
Hyperion/King’s Consort 11-CD collection of the complete Sacred
Music and found that it maintained the high standard set by
that recording on which, of course, James Bowman also figures
prominently.
Three devotional songs here overlap with
that complete set: track 1, ‘We sing to him whose wisdom form’d
the ear’, track 3; ‘How long, great God?’ and the closing track
17, the Evening Hymn. Bowman, however, does not perform them
on the complete set and, good as those performances are, those
on this Helios reissue are at least their equals, if not slightly
preferable. With performances as good as these, duplication
is no problem; even in my over-large collection there is room
for both.
Two other tracks also duplicate material
available from Hyperion and the King’s Consort: track 9, ‘With
him he brings’, is taken from the Welcome Ode for James II,
Ye tuneful Muses, and track 16, ‘Here the Deities approve’,
from the Ode for St Cecilia’s Day, Welcome to all the pleasures.
These were recorded on Volume 4 and Volume 1 respectively of
Hyperion’s Complete Odes and Welcome Songs (set on CDS44031-8,
or you may still find Volume 1 singly on CDA66314, Volume 4
on CDA66456). The soloist on those recordings is none other
than James Bowman, here going head to head with himself. The
interpretation of ‘With him he brings’ is a few seconds more
relaxed on the complete recording from two years later, but
there’s very little in it. The interpretation of ‘Here the
Deities approve’ is even closer – hardly surprisingly, since
both versions were set down in adjacent months in 1988.
You may feel, therefore, that an overlap
of almost 9 minutes out of a total of 58 makes the new reissue
poor value, since Purcell lovers will already possess or wish
to buy the complete versions of these odes, either singly or
on the excellent value 8-CD box set. Against that, however,
offset the very inexpensive cost of these Helios CDs - £6.99
direct from Hyperion, sometimes even less from other suppliers
– and even the purse-proud should be happy.
In every other respect, the reissue is
thoroughly recommendable. It’s hard to imagine a better set
of performances of this delightful music, even twenty years
on. Historically, only Alfred Deller has an equal or better
claim than James Bowman as a Purcell interpreter. Excellent
as is Gill Ross’s rendition of ‘Fairest isle’, for example,
in John Eliot Gardiner’s recording of King Arthur (Erato
4509 96552 2 or 4509 98535 2; excerpts on Apex 2564 61501 2), Bowman and King are their equals:
if Gardiner’s accompaniment has the edge over King’s, Bowman’s
singing marginally outdoes Ross’s. Which is not to say that
you shouldn’t consider buying either the complete 2-CD set or
the very inexpensive highlights from this wonderful music; making
the comparison between the two versions of ‘Fairest isle’ compelled
me to keep the CD on and listen to the rest of Gardiner’s King
Arthur. ‘How blest are the shepherds’ has a fair claim
to be considered Purcell’s most beautiful music and it’s beautifully
delivered by Paul Elliott. The Frost Scene uncannily anticipates
Vivaldi’s depiction of Winter and Stephen Varcoe is an excellent
Cold Genius in this scene.
Other performances of ‘Music for a while’,
‘If music be the food of love’, ‘Fairest isle’ and The Evening
Hymn, such as those which I reviewed on a recent collaboration
between Jette Rosendal and Colin Booth (Restoration,
CDK1002 – see review),
though attractive, are left in the shade by Bowman.
Add to the virtues of the Bowman/King’s
performances the fact that the Helios recording is still fully
competitive with today’s best, unless you demand SACD, and that
the booklet of notes and overall presentation remain as full
as they were originally and you have a first-rate bargain.
I have to mention my one disappointment with Helios reissues
– the under-characterised version of Vaughan Williams’ Five
Tudor Portraits and Mystic Songs on one of their
earliest reissues, CDH55004 – to demonstrate that I don’t have
any vested interest in the product, other than real pleasure
that such wonderful performances are available so inexpensively.
Having played the CD once, I played it
all again immediately, with equal enjoyment. If you have any
lingering doubts, try the samples from three of the highlights,
Music for a while (track 5), Fairest isle (tr.6)
and the Evening Hymn (tr.17) from Hyperion’s website – then
place your order. If you like James Bowman’s singing here and
the support which he receives from The King’s Consort, you should
also consider their version of Bach Cantatas 54, 169 and 170
(CDH55312 – see my review
and Jens Laurson’s slightly less enthusiastic review.)
And don’t forget Emma Kirkby’s Helios CD of Purcell’s Songs
and Dialogue (CDH55056, with David Thomas and Anthony Rooley
– no overlap with the Bowman recital.)
Brian
Wilson
James Bowman (counter-tenor)
