Customer Reviews

Purcell: Full Anthems & Organ Music

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In addition to Henry Purcell's edifying choral anthems, this CD also contains his music composed on the occasion of Queen Mary's death. Listen to this music with your eyes closed and imagine the royal funeral procession to Westminister Abbey on that cold March morning in 1695 (a place that a 36 year old Purcell himself would rest 8 months later); it is an epiphany! For movie buffs, the funeral march (Z. 860A; played wonderfully by the Oxford Camerata brass) was featured in Anthony Burgess' "A Clockwork Orange". If you enjoy Purcell's works or choral music in general, you should definitely make a modest purchase and get this wonderful CD for your collection!

This is a fantastic collection of Purcell's greatest choral works, wonderfully sung by the Oxford Camerata. My favourites: 'Jehova, quam multi sunt' (a fine example of Renaissance-inspired Baroque choral writing), 'Lord, how long wilt thou be angry?', and the more well-known 'Hear my prayer, O Lord'. However, the entire album is full of authentic little treasures which continue to marvel. A great recording for any classical collection.

This compilation of music is enough to get an atheist to believe in a higher power -- it's that amazing.

The music and lyrics are awe-inspiring, and this performance is made all the better by the Oxford Camerata.

I've had an opportunity to listen to other versions of this music (by Choir of Clare College and by Arcadia Players), and I am convinced that the performance by the Oxford Camerata is by far the best. Their timing and their voices are perfect.

I've been wearing out this album both on my laptop and in my car for the last six months or so, and I see no signs of stopping.

From the opening in the warm acoustic of Hertford College, Oxford, the beautifully blended voices of the Oxford Camerata, led by Andrew Carwood and Michael McCarthy in this piece, radiate a serene compassion, and an almost certain redemption. Whether you believe or not, music this beautiful caresses away the stress and disappointment of our lives. The album is really in two parts: a collection of Purcell's Anthems and Organ Music, followed by his Music on the Death of Queen Mary. The latter obviously is the more integrated and developed piece, and burns with a grave and stately sincerity, crowned by the radiant singing of Carys-Anne Lane in the Queen's Epicedium. This is a memorable and generous collection of Purcell's work, beautifully arranged by Jeremy Summerly, and a real bargain.

Jeremy Summerly's fine choir is to be commended for beautiful, exceptionally refined singing of this music. I first became acquainted with these works written for the funeral of Queen Mary from a wonderful recording made at King's College, Cambridge. That acoustic is more reverberant than the venue used here, but the Oxford Camerata has the advantage of fully matured voices on every part and a masterful command of intonation.

Some of the best singing on this recording comes in the various anthems. The harmonic adventure of Purcell's Late Baroque writing is best heard in the supplicant's plea, "Hear My Prayer, O Lord." Dissonance, sung perfectly in tune, and held over a long line. It is in works such as this where one appreciates the kind of blend that can be achieved when boy trebles are replaced with women. This is, of course, a matter of preference. Suffice it to say that if you have only heard these works sung by a traditional English choir of men and boys such as the wonderful choir of King's College, Cambridge, you will notice a different timbral balance here where the treble voices have a richer -- if somewhat less "pure" -- sound. I find both approaches pleasing, but Summerly's choir has consistently more reliable pitch than most men-and-boys choirs are able to maintain.

Tempos are again a very personal choice, but I did find myself wishing for a quicker pace in some of the works. In no case did the singing seem rushed.
In fact, Summerly has struck a nice balance between modern voicing and expansiveness and the often exciting but occasionally breathless tempos popular among Period Performance specialists. Setting analysis aside, the recording is simply a pleasure to hear, and this is the judgment that finally counts.

Mention must be made of the fine engineering, the warm, clean, and sensitive playing of the brass ensemble, and the clean diction of the choir, which was aided by the well-suited performance space: not too dry, but not too reverberant. Indeed, I have come to expect very good sound from Naxos, and this disc does not fail to deliver.

I warmly recommend this recording to all lovers of fine Baroque singing. A real treat for the ears.

If you like choral music, or even if you don't, buy this CD. Purcell's music is made more beautiful then ever by the Oxford Camernata. The feeling and flow of the songs effects you in many ways. This is a great CD.

Excellent music (*****) and delivery speed (*****).
Unfortunately, the CD case was badly damaged.
This too is part of the overall purchase experience.
It is annoying, but not worth the time & trouble to return.

Let's face it. Love of this kind of music, like the works of later Baroque composers is an acquired taste in most cases. But for those of us with, dare I say it, the good taste to favor music such as this over the rumble of Beethoven or the pitifully simplistic works of the Romantics, this disc is a real find. Crisp notes and sensitive vocal performances make this a disk to own for the Purcell aficionado.