Purcell's Schooldays EMS 9 February

[doversoul1]

The birth of Henry Purcell coincided with a hugely turbulent time in English political history, and went almost completely unnoticed. There are no baptismal records and we're not absolutely sure who his parents were, although it's likely that he was born in a house just a few hundred yards from Westminster Abbey, the place were he would eventually make much of his career and reputation. During his early years, the young Purcell came under the influence of several composers and church musicians, who were to shape his musical future. Lucie Skeaping traces the schoolboy years of the man who would grow to be England's greatest composer (R)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00cly7x

[french frank]

I did query the unqualified comment that Purcell grew to be 'England's greatest composer'. There were a few good ones before and after him.

[ardcarp]

This (the immediate post-Restoration) is my favourite period of the history of church music...Cooke, Humfrey, Blow, Purcell; and leading on to Croft, Greene and Bpyce. Alas I only heard a snatch of today's programme, but it made me eager to hear the lot. So I'm going to it right now.......

[ardcarp]

What a fantastic EMS. Well done Lucy....'twa in the best traditions of the prgramme.

Play list:

[I]Henry Purcell
The Fairy Queen (excerpt from First Act)
Choir: The Sixteen. Director: Harry Christophers.
COLLINS CLASSICS : 70132, CD1 TRACK 8

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Image for Pelham Humfrey
00:07
Pelham Humfrey
Lord I Have Sinned
Singer: Christopher Dolby. Performer: Raymond Johnston.
PRIORY : PRCD 372, TRACK 4

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00:10
Pelham Humfrey
O The Sad Day
Singer: Christopher Dolby. Performer: Raymond Johnston.
PRIORY : PRCD 372, TRACK 5

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00:16
Henry Purcell
Funeral Sentences: In the midst of life
Ensemble: Taverner Consort. Choir: Taverner Choir. Ensemble: Taverner Players. Conductor: Andrew Parrott.
EMI : CDC 7 49635-2, TRACK 7

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00:20
Henry Purcell
Funeral Sentences: Thou knowest, Lord
Ensemble: Taverner Consort. Choir: Taverner Choir. Ensemble: Taverner Players. Conductor: Andrew Parrott.
EMI : CDC 7 49635-2, TRACK 9

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00:24
John Blow
Salvator mundi
Ensemble: Red Byrd. Ensemble: The Parley of Instruments.
HYPERION : CDA 66658, TRACK 2

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00:28
Blow / Purcell
Organ voluntary on the 'Old Hundredth'
Performer: Thurston Dart.
EMI : JMSCD 1, TRACK 11

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00:32
Christopher Gibbons
Voluntary for organ (verse for ye single organ in D major)
Performer: Terence Charlston.
DEUX-ELLES : DXL 1124, TRACK 41

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00:36
Henry Purcell
What hope for us remains now he has gone
Choir: The Choir of Christ's College Cambridge. Conductor: David Rowland.
MERIDIAN : CDE 84363, TRACK 13

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00:40
Matthew Locke
Scenes from Act 4 of 'Psyche'
Ensemble: New London Consort. Director: Philip Pickett.
L'OISEAU-LYRE : 444 3362, TRACKS 21-23

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00:47
Henry Purcell
My beloved spake
Ensemble: The King's Consort. Choir: Choir of the King's Consort. Conductor: Robert King.
UNITED RECORDINGS : 88002, TRACK 9

[/I][sorry that's got the producer's little play-overs mixed in]

It was good to hear The Funeral Sentences (well 2 of them anyway) plus Blow's Salvator Mundi not sung the 'Anglican' way. In fact the Blow, done by Red Byrd, came over like one of Monteverdi's late madrigals. I was expecting a trillo at any minute.

But the star piece of the show was surely the wonderful Kings Consort and My Beloved Spake with James Bowman. Robert King really gives it the definitive performance,IMO, and it is treasured on my shelves.

If you have an hour to spare, do catch up with this on i-player.

[Sorry...made a complete cock-up of print sizes. Hope it's decipherable.]

[doversoul1]

It was indeed EXCELLENT. The theme, the selection of the music and the order in which the works were played all made absolute sense, and the music was sublime. To think this was produced in 2008….

Lucie is wonderful as ever but these days there seems to be fewer programmes as focused as this one.

All that besides, yes, do listen.

By the way, to whom does 'Play 30 second sample' in the playlist meant?

[ardcarp]

By the way, to whom does 'Play 30 second sample' in the playlist meant?

This shouldn't have appeared in the playlist, IMO. It refers, I think, to the faint snippets which were played over Lucie's script from time to tome...not a practice widespread on EMS thank goodness!

They were presumably taken straight from the producer's 'menu' without scrutiny. If I'd had time I'd have edited them out myself...but you saw what a hash I made of it.

[jean]

It was a fine programme, but though it was interesting to hear the Blow Salvator mundi done like that, I really didn't care for it.

[ardcarp]

I really didn't care for it.

Although we can't possibly know how it sounded c.1700, it is hard to imagine it like that...and indeed I've never heard it done like that by an Anglicam choir, very fast and ultra-expressive.