A word about the title “The Unknown Purcell”. Daniel
Purcell was the younger brother or first cousin of the great Henry.
Well-known in his time, he was a composer of incidental music and
something of a bon-vivant. Henry’s incomplete
Indian Queen
was completed by Daniel. He composed in most forms of the time and
a fair amount of his music has been recorded (
review
review).
Since most of the pieces on this disc are premiere recordings (
see
exception) we can perhaps ascribe the title “unknown”
to these pieces rather than to Daniel.
Purcell published two sets of six “solos” or sonatas each
for violin or recorder in 1698 and 1710. This disc contains all the
1698 sonatas and three of the 1710. I found the 1698 pieces more interesting
than the later ones, especially the lovely Sonata in A major [tracks
23-27] and the more reflective Sonata in D major [tracks 41-44]. This
last is perhaps the highlight of the disc. The 1710 D major Sonata
[tracks 3-7] is the most attractive of the three from that year, although
a little less interesting than its predecessor.
This disc also contains the majority of Purcell’s pieces for
harpsichord, all but one of them deriving from incidental music. The
free-standing Toccata [track 1] is brisk and lively. The enjoyable
Suite from 1708 [tracks 17-22] is an arrangement of music from a play
by George Farquhar and the other harpsichord pieces are arrangements
of songs from various plays - all are quite appealing.
Hazel Brooks is technically very proficient and has a real understanding
of Baroque violin practice. However, I found her tone on this recording
to be rather shrill and her interpretations sometime lacked vitality.
David Pollack does very well with the solo harpsichord works, although
his accompaniment to Ms. Brooks in the sonatas
et al is somewhat
tentative. The sound in the Church of St. Michael and All Angels is
very dry and this could not have helped the strings in the case of
Ms. Brooks and Mr. Pollack’s instruments. This rewarding disc
will appeal strongly to wishing to expand their Baroque or English
music horizons.
William Kreindler
see also review by Johan
van Veen
Complete track-listing
(All are first recordings except those marked *)
1 Toccata 0:56
in A minor • in a-Moll • en la mineur
for harpsichord
Published in The 2d Book of the Lady’s Entertainment
(1708)
2 Chaconne 3:48
in A minor • in a-Moll • en la mineur
Arrangement for violin (or recorder) and continuo of a piece
from The Unhappy Penitent (1701)
Published in The Second Part of the Division Violin (1705)
Solo 7:09
in D major • in D-Dur • en ré majeur
for violin (or recorder) and continuo
Published in Six Sonatas, three for two Flutes and a Bass, and
three Solos for a Flute and a Bass (c. 1710)
3 Adagio 1:47
4 Largo 1:52
5 Allegro 1:07
6 Adagio 1:22
7 Giga 1:00
Solo 6:14
in B minor • in h-Moll • en si mineur
for violin (or recorder) and continuo
Published in Six Sonatas, three for two Flutes and a Bass, and
three Solos for a Flute and a Bass (c. 1710)
8 Vivace 1:52
9 Largo 1:28
10 Allegro 1:04
11 Adagio 1:08
12 Allegro 0:41
Solo 4:24
in A major • in A-Dur • en la majeur
for violin (or recorder) and continuo
Published in Six Sonatas, three for two Flutes and a Bass, and
three Solos for a Flute and a Bass (c. 1710)
13 Vivace - 1:44
14 Largo 0:44
15 Adagio 1:06
16 Allegro 0:51
Suite 7:19
in D minor / major • in d-Moll / D-Dur • en ré mineur
/ majeur
from A Collection of Lessons and Aires for the Harpsicord or Spinett
(1702)
17 Allemand 2:11
18 Gavott 0:52
19 Hornpipe 1:02
20 March 1:01
21 Aire 1:30
22 Minuett 0:41
Sonata 6:10
in A major • in A-Dur • en la majeur
for violin (or recorder) and continuo
Published in Six Sonatas or Solos, three for a Violin and three
for the Flute (1698)
23 [Largo] - 0:58
24 Allegro 1:21
25 Adagio - 1:27
26 [Allegro] 0:39
27 Largo 1:42
Sonata 6:25
in B minor • in h-Moll • en si mineur
for violin (or recorder) and continuo
Published in Six Sonatas or Solos, three for a Violin and three
for the Flute (1698)
28 [Adagio] 2:11
29 Vivace 1:07
30 Largo 2:19
31 Allegro 0:45
Sonata 6:40
in D major • in D-Dur • en ré majeur
for violin (or recorder) and continuo
Published in Six Sonatas or Solos, three for a Violin and three
for the Flute (1698)
32 [Adagio] 1:48
33 Largo 1:20
34 Allegro 1:08
35 Grave 1:28
36 [Allegro] 0:55
37 Rondeau 1:09
in B flat major • in B-Dur • en si bémol majeur
Probably an arrangement, for harpsichord, of a piece for four-part
strings, copied in two early-eighteenth-century manuscripts
38 Lovely charmer 2:47
Arrangement for harpsichord of a song from The Island Princess
(1699), copied in an Oxford manuscript
39 What ungrateful devil moves you 1:50
Arrangement for harpsichord of a song from Love’s Last Shift
(1696),
copied in an Oxford manuscript
40 Alass when charming Sylvia’s gon 1:05
Arrangement for harpsichord of a free-standing song (not dated),
copied in an Oxford manuscript
Sonata 5:15*
in D major • in D-Dur • en ré majeur
for violin (or recorder) and continuo
Published in Six Sonatas or Solos, three for a Violin and three
for the Flute (1698)
41 Poco largo 1:38
42 Vivace 1:05
43 Grave 1:38
44 Allegro 0:54
Sonata 4:57*
in A major • in A-Dur • en la majeur
for violin (or recorder) and continuo
Published in Six Sonatas or Solos, three for a Violin and three
for the Flute (1698)
45 Adagio 1:50
46 Allegro - 0:35
47 Largo 0:49
48 Grave - 1:00
49 Allegro 0:40
Sonata 8:22*
in F minor • in f-Moll • en fa mineur
for violin (or recorder) and continuo
Published in Six Sonatas or Solos, three for a Violin and three
for the Flute (1698)
50 Adagio 2:52
51 Allegro 1:05
52 Adagio 3:08
53 Allegro 1:15
