Purcell - Birthday Odes for Queen Mary / Burrowes · Bowman · Brett · Lloyd · The Early Music Consort of London · Munrow

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
One of the advantages of being Queen Mary of England between 1689 and 1694 was the opportunity of having birthday odes composed in your honor by Henry Purcell, the court composer and--in the opinion of most experts--the greatest English composer before the 20th century. He wrote six birthday odes. "Come ye sons of art," composed in 1694, is the best and most often-recorded one--splendid, high-baroque ceremonial music with a brilliant orchestra, virtuoso singing, and no hint that before long Purcell would be composing the queen's funeral music. And he, too, would die pitifully just one year after the queen. "Love's goddess sure" (1692) is less brilliant, more intimate, and totally charming. The high point in each work is a duet for countertenors--most spectacularly "Sound the trumpet," in which the voices imitate trumpet fanfares while the trumpets sit silent, perhaps in amazement. Munrow, who died young like Purcell, leads beautifully styled performances. --Joe McLellan

Tracks:

Come Ye Sons Of Art: Symphony: Largo - Allegro - Adagio
Come Ye Sons Of Art: Ritornello, Verse & Chorus: Come Ye Sons Of Art
Come Ye Sons Of Art: Verse: Sound The Trumpet
Come Ye Sons Of Art: Ritornello & Chorus: Come Ye Sons Of Art
Come Ye Sons Of Art: Verse & Ritornello: Strike The Viol
Come Ye Sons Of Art: Verse & Chorus: The Day That Such A Blessing Gave
Come Ye Sons Of Art: Verse: Bid The Virtues
Come Ye Sons Of Art: Verse: These Are The Sacred Charms
Come Ye Sons Of Art: Verse And Chorus: See Nature, Rejoicing
Love's Goddess Sure: Symphony
Love's Goddess Sure: Verse And Ritornello: Love's Goddess Sure
Love's Goddess Sure: Verse: Those Eyes, That Form, That Lofty Mien
Love's Goddess Sure: Verse: Sweetness Of Nature
Love's Goddess Sure: Verse And Chorus: Long May She Reign
Love's Goddess Sure: Verse And Ritornello: May Her Blest Example
Love's Goddess Sure: Verse And Ritornello: Many Such Days
Love's Goddess Sure: Chorus: May She To Heaven
Love's Goddess Sure: Verse And Chorus: As Much As We Below Shall Mourn

Amazon.com

One of the advantages of being Queen Mary of England between 1689 and 1694 was the opportunity of having birthday odes composed in your honor by Henry Purcell, the court composer and--in the opinion of most experts--the greatest English composer before the 20th century. He wrote six birthday odes. "Come ye sons of art," composed in 1694, is the best and most often-recorded one--splendid, high-baroque ceremonial music with a brilliant orchestra, virtuoso singing, and no hint that before long Purcell would be composing the queen's funeral music. And he, too, would die pitifully just one year after the queen. "Love's goddess sure" (1692) is less brilliant, more intimate, and totally charming. The high point in each work is a duet for countertenors--most spectacularly "Sound the trumpet," in which the voices imitate trumpet fanfares while the trumpets sit silent, perhaps in amazement. Munrow, who died young like Purcell, leads beautifully styled performances. --Joe McLellan

Customer Reviews:

Simply Glorious.......2007-04-27

Henry Purcell had for years been my No. 2 favorite baroque composer, second only to Haendel (J S Bach and A Scarlatti were certainly great, but since I do not speak German or Italian, I opt for Haendel and Purcell).
More recent recordings of Purcell's works, however, prove not as satisfying as those in the 1970's. This recording of the two odes on Queen Mary's birthday were simply immaculate.
I've always found counter-tenor voices special and intriguing. The two counter-tenor soloists in this recording sang gloriously. Their voices were superb - not savouring of mezzo-sopranos' timbre, but definitively that of counter-tenors. I wonder why the more recent counter-tenor big names do not seem to own as qualities any more.
The soprano soloist here was great, too. In one aria in which the tune was taken by Purcell from a Scottish folk song, the soloist did come up with an airy interpretation that savoured of the Highlands!
I find this recording very satisfying in all respects.

Early period performance.......2005-01-21

In the mid-70’s two recordings of Purcell’s Ode “Come Ye Sons of Art” were made in London, with a number of musicians from the burgeoning early music scene appearing in both productions. David Munrow’s version, plus “Love’s Goddess Sure”, was produced at the Abbey Road studios in June 1975, being performed with period instruments. John Eliot Gardiner recorded the ode and the Funeral Music for Queen Mary for Erato Records at Rosslyn Hill Chapel in February 1976 (the disc has been re-released at budget price on Warner’s new Apex label). Among the soloists, it was countertenor Charles Brett who sang at both sessions, joining James Bowman on the Munrow disc and taking the role of the first countertenor (assisted by John Williams) on the Gardiner. The choir of the Early Music Consort includes well-known names such as David James, Rogers Covey-Crump and Paul Elliott (all to become regular members of the Hilliard Ensemble); the choir has countertenors instead of altos and sings without a good deal of vibrato, in contrast to Gardiner’s Monteverdi Choir, which at that time was not the period performance choir it is famous as today. Both recordings both wonderful instrumentalists: the Munrow has Simon Standage, Monica Huggett, Catherine Mackintosh, Duncan Druce and Micaela Comberti among the violins; Trevor Jones is one of three viola players, and Munrow uses bass viols (and a violone) instead of Gardiner’s double bass and has Christopher Hogwood marvellously playing the organ in the continuo (and some lovely oboe playing by Anthony Camden and Tess Miller). On the Gardiner, the Monteverdi Orchestra, not yet become the English Baroque Soloists, uses modern instruments, but with players such as Trevor Pinnock, harpsichord, and Barry Guy, double bass. Gardiner’s “Funeral Music” is performed with the Equale Brass Ensemble which includes Michael Laird on the trumpet and David Corkhill on the timpani (as on the Munrow recording).

Taken as a whole, there is little to choose between both recordings, despite some considerable differences. Gardiner takes the opening symphony at a very relaxed tempo, but then proceeds to outstrip Munrow on all the sung numbers. The modern instruments and the rather obvious vibrato of choir and soloists dampen my enthusiasm for the Gardiner somewhat, although I think he has the edge as far as sound quality is concerned. But Munrow’s soloists are definitely more appropriate, and James Bowman’s countertenor is here unbeatable. Personally, I also prefer Norma Burrowes as soprano here, because her voice seems lighter and more airy than Felicity Lott’s. The basses on both recordings (Robert Lloyd on the Munrow, Thomas Allen on the Gardiner) are rather stentorian; I would have preferred a less aggressive baritone.

All in all, if I had to choose, I think I would go for the Munrow rather than the Gardiner, but it is certainly worth making the comparison. In any case, both recordings are now nearly 30 years old, so one cannot expect them to sound quite like what they would do if they had been recorded a quarter of a century later.

Transcendental interpretation and performance.......2004-11-03

I have three other recordings of this piece of music, however, this is the best. I heard it first on vinyl in my father's record collection in the late seventies I think. The counter-toner duet on 'Come Ye Sons Of Art' and bass-soprano on 'Nature Rejoicing' are just superb and 'The Day That Such A Blessing Gave' is incredible too. All recordings have their merits, yet elements of this recording from the artistry to direction meld so well it is the best balanced in my opinion. A recording to lift the spirit and satisfy the soul. The very best 'sing-along' music.

Purcell en su máxima expresion.......2000-03-29

Este disco fue en el que originalmente conocí la obra de Henry Purcell (a pesar de que sin duda alguna su obra más conocida es la música para los funerales de la reina María); sin embargo, este disco resulta sensacional debido a la interpretación fenomenal que Munrow imprime a la obra. El papel que hacen Bowman y Brett en "Come ye sons of art" es fabuloso, y hasta la fecha he escuchado pocos contra-tenores de esa calidad interpretativa. No sé por qué la música de los cumpleaños de la reina María no tiene tanta difusión, ya que resulta uno de los ejemplos más claros del temprano barroco

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