CD 1
Arise, my muse, Z320 (Queen Mary’s Birthday, 1690) [21:32]
Welcome to all the pleasures, Z339 (St Cecilia’s Day, 1683)
[15:32]
Now does the glorious day appear, Z332 (Queen Mary’s Birthday,
1689) [23:39]
CD 2
Hail! bright Cecilia, Z328 (St Cecilia’s Day, 1692) [52:31]
Who can from joy refrain? Z342 (Duke of Gloucester’s Birthday,
1695) [24:45]
CD 3
Fly, bold rebellion, Z324 (Welcome Song for Charles II,
1683) [19:15]
Sound the trumpet, beat the drum (Welcome Song for James
II, 1687) [23:28]
Celebrate this Festival, Z321 (Queen Mary’s Birthday, 1693)
[32:49]
CD 4
Ye tuneful Muses, Z344 (Welcome Song for James II, 1686)
[24:09]
Celestial music did the gods inspire, Z322 (Ode for Mr
Maidwell’s School, 1689) [17:51]
From hardy climes and dangerous toils of war, Z325 (Wedding
of Prince George of Denmark and Princess Anne, 1683) [17:19]
CD 5
Welcome, welcome, glorious morn, Z338 (Queen Mary’s Birthday,
1691) [27:07]
Great Parent, Hail to Thee! Z327 (Ode for the Centenary
of Trinity College, Dublin, 1694) [24:19]
The summer’s absence unconcerned we bear, Z337 (Welcome
Song for Charles II, 1682) [18:12]
CD 6
Love’s goddess sure was blind, Z331 (Queen Mary’s Birthday,
1692) [21:31]
Raise, raise the voice, Z334 (St Cecilia’s Day, c.1685)
[12:22]
Laudate Ceciliam, Z329 (St Cecilia’s Day, 1683) [10:22]
From those serene and rapturous joys, Z326 (Welcome Song
for Charles II, 1684) [23:16]
CD 7
Of old, when heroes thought it base (‘The Yorkshire Feast
Song’), Z333 (1690) [36:09]
Swifter, Isis, swifter flow, Z336 (Welcome Song for Charles
II, 1681) [14:56]
What, what shall be done in behalf of the man? Z341 (Welcome
Song for the Duke of York, 1682) [14:38]
CD 8
Come ye sons of Art, away, Z323 (Queen Mary’s Birthday,
1694) [25:40]
Welcome, vicegerent of the mighty King, Z340 (Welcome Song
for Charles II, 1680) [14:02]
Why, why are all the Muses mute? Z343 (Welcome Song for
James II, 1685) [27:46] Gillian Fisher, Tessa Bonner, Evelyn Tubb,
Susan Hamilton (sopranos); James Bowman, Michael Chance, Jonathan
Kenny, Nigel Short (counter-tenors); Rogers Covey-Crump, Mark
Padmore (high tenors); Charles Daniel (tenor, alto); John Mark
Ainsley, Rufus Müller (tenors); Michael George, Charles Pott,
Simon Keenlyside, Robert Evans (basses)
The King’s Consort/Robert King
Purcell’s Odes and Welcome Songs may be
marginally less inspired in general than his Sacred Music, but
they’re not far behind and they’re well worth hearing. Having
recorded the Complete Sacred Music, now assembled in
an 11-CD set (CDS44141-51 – see
review), The King’s Consort and Hyperion turned their attention
to this 8-CD complete set of these 24 works. Whereas the Sacred
Music CDs are housed in individual cardboard envelopes inside
a box, these 8 CDs remain in their original housings inside
a slip case. Volume 3 (CDA66412) is available separately, though
with limited stocks, as is Volume 6 (CDA66494); the other individual
discs may be ordered from Hyperion’s archive service at £13.99
each.
Peter Graham Woolf recommended the complete set
in 2001 as a peerless bargain – see review
– but Purcell’s anniversary year seemed a good excuse, if one
were needed, for taking another look. This may be hack music,
produced to commission, but it isn’t the music of a hack composer
any more than Bach’s church cantatas, which were also produced
to order.
James Bowman figures largely in these Hyperion
recordings, of both the sacred and the secular music, as also
on a recently reissued CD on their inexpensive Helios label
of Mr Henry Purcell’s Admirable Composures (CDH55303
– see review)
and a full-price CD of counter-tenor duets (CDA66253, with Michael
Chance). These were not, however, his first recorded forays
into the music of Purcell, since he appeared on a fine 1975
recording of two of Queen Mary’s Birthday Odes, Come Ye Sons
of Art and Love’s Goddess Sure, with the Early Music
Consort of London directed by the much lamented David Munrow
– still available on the very inexpensive Classics for Pleasure
label, though short value (5 86050 2).
By mere coincidence, I presume, Munrow and King,
on Volume 8, take exactly the same 3:36 for the opening Symphony
of the 1694 Ode, Come ye sons of Art away, which seems
to me near ideal. Thereafter King is mostly a little faster
than Munrow; though I never thought his tempi too fast, the
Munrow also sounds perfectly ‘right’ in its own context. EMI
track Sound the trumpet and the ritornello and
chorus Come ye sons of Art separately (tracks 3 and 4)
whereas Hyperion join the two on track 3.
Munrow takes Strike the viol (tr.5) a
little faster than King (tr.4) but here, too, there is really
very little to choose between the performances, especially as
both are sung by James Bowman. If I marginally prefer Munrow’s
tempo, Bowman’s voice fifteen years on sounds more mature. Two
excellent performances; the 1975 ADD recording still held its
own well in the 1989 Eminence reissue against the excellent
Hyperion and, I presume, still does in its CFP transfer.
The Munrow recording has the 1692 Birthday Ode
Love’s Goddess sure as its coupling. Here the soloists
are different but they also give a good account of themselves.
After an opening Symphony where the tempi are very close to
each other, King (Volume 6) again takes most of the sections
of this ode slightly faster than Munrow. Otherwise, apart from
the fact that the Munrow recording divides the final section,
May she to Heaven (tr.8 on Hyperion, trs 17 and 18 on
CFP), which is neither here nor there for most listeners, there
is, again, almost nothing to choose between the two. Heard one
after the other, I might marginally prefer the Hyperion. Considering
its inexpensive price, you might well consider purchasing the
Munrow as an adjunct to the King set.
There’s a more recent rival than Munrow to the
King’s Consort recording of Hail! Bright Cecilia, Z328
(Hyperion Volume 2), from Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Consort
and Players on a mid-price Archiv reissue, 471 7282, coupled
with My beloved spake, Z28 and O sing unto the Lord
a new song. Where Munrow was mostly slower, McCreesh’s tempi
are generally faster than King’s. Some may prefer the faster
tempi, but this is ceremonial music and King brings out that
aspect extremely well, without sounding leaden-footed, starting
with the opening Sinfonia. Of course, if you followed
my advice and bought the Hyperion complete set of Purcell’s
sacred music, you’ll prefer the Hyperion coupling of Who
can from joy refrain? to McCreesh’s coupling. This ode for
the birthday of the Duke of Gloucester is not one of Purcell’s
greatest achievements, but it’s well done and it brings the
CD to a generous playing time of almost 77 minutes. Both works
are so well performed that it would be invidious to single out
individual contributions.
An even more recent contender directed by Diego
Fasolis (Arts Red Label 473752) has the advantage of being available
singly and inexpensively, but his tempi really do seem hurried:
6:15 for the opening Sinfonia against McCreesh’s 8:42
and King’s 9:27. The stateliness is still (just) there but it
all sounds a bit hurried after listening to King; perhaps it
would have sounded better if I hadn’t been making comparisons.
Other sections of the Fasolis recording, including the final
chorus, sound much better – he’s just marginally faster than
King and slightly slower than McCreesh here. If the coupling
appeals – Jehova quam multi sunt, Beati omnes
and the Funeral Music for Queen Mary – this version is
worth considering. Again, however, you’ll find excellent performances
of these works on the Hyperion Sacred Music set.
The Arts CD sells for around £7.50 in the UK,
or it’s available to download from passionato.com in mp3 and
flac versions. An even better bargain is offered by a 2-CD Virgin
Veritas twofer coupling Hail! Bright Cecilia with Welcome
to all the pleasures and the Funeral Music for Queen
Mary for around a pound more: Emma Kirkby and the Taverner
Consort under Andrew Parrott (5 61582 2). Parrott’s tempi are
sometimes more measured than even King’s – a whole 9:52 for
the opening Sinfonia – a little too slow, I thought,
without any gain in stateliness. Very often they are in close
agreement, as in the eleventh section, The fife and all the
harmony of war, where there’s very little too choose. Sometimes
Parrott is faster. I don’t want to sound too critical; this
inexpensive set remains a highly viable alternative. Its bargain
price is somewhat mitigated, however, by the shortness of the
second disc, containing just Hail! Bright Cecilia.
Yet another competitor in the major ode Hail!
Bright Cecilia comes from Philippe Herreweghe on Harmonia
Mundi, coupled with Welcome to all the pleasures. After
another very slow account of the opening Sinfonia – surely
a little too slow – this, too, offers strong competition, slightly
mitigated by a slowish, but never droopy, account of the thirteenth
and final section, Hail! Bright Cecilia. Another disc
with a generous playing time, at 72:44, but King’s excellent
version of Herreweghe’s coupling, Welcome to all the pleasures
(Volume 1 of the Hyperion series) just tilts the balance against
it.
I’ve made only a few detailed comparisons with
other versions, but, when all these are made, King emerges as
the most consistently satisfying and this remains the only set
to offer all the Odes and Welcome Songs. Go for the Sacred
Music set first, but few listeners are likely to regret
the expenditure on both; little is likely to outshine them in
Purcell year. When you’ve obtained those two box sets and the
Admirable Composures CD, the delights of Hyperion’s complete
Secular Songs (CDS44161/3) still await, described by
Jonathan Woolf as ‘an authoritative, comprehensive and intelligent
set, performed by musicians of character and discernment, and
backed by a company that knows the value of the enterprise’
– see review.
If you haven’t yet followed the advice which
I gave in my February,
2009, Download Roundup to go for the new Chandos
recording of Purcell’s Dido and Ĉneas (CHAN0757, Download
of the Month), a recommendation reinforced by Michael Greenhalgh
in his recent review
(Recording of the Month), you should do so. That’s probably
the most urgent Purcell recommendation of all.
Brian Wilson
soloists The King’s
Consort/Robert King 
