The English musical Renaissance reached it's apogee with Henry Purcell. Inspired by French pomp and Italian melodies, he forged a unique style, blending royal splendour with an authentic British spirit. His masterpiece, Dido and Aeneas, is a timeless lyrical gem, exploring the eternal tragedy of love and abandonment. The majestic Sonya Yoncheva plays Dido, the queen in love betrayed by fate, while Halidou Nombre gives voice to the passions of Aeneas, torn between his love and the call of Rome, who is caught up in an intrigue hatched by dark forces. At the Opera Royal of Versailles, the music of the Orpheus britannicus resonates with eternal splendour, magnified by the dreamlike staging of Cecile Roussat and Julien Lubek. Their masterful approach, combining mime, dance and acrobatics, transforms every moment into a magical tableau, sublimated by the fervour of the young soloists from the Academie de l'Opera Royal.

Henry Purcell, also known as Orpheus Britannicus for his ability to enchant the public with his music, is the most celebrated English composer of the Baroque period. He was largely appreciated for his dramatic works, but he also wrote a significant number of instrumental compositions such as A Choice Collection of Lessons for The Harpsichord or Spinnet. The title of the collection indicates the intended instruments: "for the Harpsichord or Spinnet". At that time in England, spinnet was a widely used instrument. Due to it's modest size, it became a privileged instrument for the domestic learning, especially in wealthy families. This practice can be traced in multiple artistic representations, where the typical performer was typically young and female. Their composed appearance is very far from the flamboyant virtuosity or exuberance. The Lessons have the same courteous attitude, but they are rich in emotional nuances. Gentleness emerges through an elegant musical style that is never overly sentimental.. Music sometimes can be vigorous, but it's never bold. Two centuries passed before a new composer could rival Purcell's reputation: when Benjamin Britten chose some of Purcell's works and published them in a modern arrangement, he declared that he wanted to maintain that mix of clarity, brightness, tenderness and originality that shines through all his music.

DIDO & AENEAS (DAW 50)

SOMM Recordings is pleased to release the first-ever recording on piano of the eight keyboard suites by one of England's greatest creative artists, Henry Purcell (1659�-1695). Making his SOMM debut is the Romanian-British pianist Cristian Sandrin, who is building a career in the UK as�a rising young artist following his debut solo recital at Wigmore Hall in 2017. Reviewers have noted "Sandrin's generous sonorities issue forth in marvellous diversity," Fanfare Magazine; and "An immaculately played recital," Music Web International. Henry Purcell was at the height of his powers at the time of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which saw King William III and his wife Queen Mary II crowned as joint British monarchs. Queen Mary was an avid lover of dance, which led to it being a regular and expected part of Restoration theatrical productions. Purcell's first great operatic work, Dido and Aeneas from the late 1680s, included no less than seventeen original dances. Purcell wrote in every form-ranging from theatre and church to concerts and balls-and his music dominated public demand in almost every genre. His success led to requests for music of all kinds, particularly dance movements, either singly or forming parts of suites for the keyboard. At the time, there was a growing fashion for French keyboard music, and Purcell willingly accepted the structural influences from that school. And yet, his music remained infused with the individual expression of an undoubtedly English composer. Tragically, Purcell died at the peak of his career on 21 November 1695 at his home in London. He is believed to have been 35 or 36 years old at the time.�A year after his death, Purcell's widow, Frances, posthumously published A Choice Collection of Lessons for the Harpsichord or Spinet. These eight suites, long overshadowed by his more celebrated theatre works, are the core of Purcell's keyboard output, shifting from major to minor keys, from humour to seriousness, to create a uniquely expressive musical world. The suites incorporate French dance forms like the Almand, Corante, and Minuet, and the Spanish Saraband, which Purcell imbued with a quintessentially British idiom. This finds particular expression in movements like a Corante that deftly incorporates tunes from Ireland and Scotland; a brilliant Jigg that seems to catch the listener unawares; and a burly Hornpipe that draws on earlier incidental music. Cristian Sandrin intersperses Purcell's posthumously published eight keyboard suites with occasional additions from other works, and his recital concludes with the beautiful Sefauchi's Farewell. Purcell was deeply impressed on hearing one of the greatest of all castrati, the Italian 'Sefauchi' (Giovanni Francesco Grossi), in London. This keyboard work is a tribute from one noble musician to another.

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Purcell: Ode for St. Cecilia's Day - Te Deum

Chandos' featured release is a new recording of the first English operatic masterpiece, Purcell's tragedy Dido and Aeneas. Starring Sarah Connolly, Gerald Finley, with the Orchestra and Choir of the Age of Enlightenment, it is released to commemorate the 350th anniversary of Purcell's birth. Directed from the keyboard by Steven Devine and Elizabeth Kenny as in recent concert performances, the ensemble presents the opera in a version that incorporates other dance works by Purcell, a version which Sarah Connolly performed at Teatro alla Scala in 2006. There have been two revolutions in scholarly thinking about Dido and Aeneas and both had serious implications for historically inclined performers, and demand a creative response today. The musicological backdrop to this recording results in a performance closer to the court entertainment of Purcell's day, in which musical dramas evolved from the English theatre tradition. Sarah Connolly, the quintessential Dido of the early twenty-first century, has been the driving force behind this recording. She writes of the project, 'It seems I have known Purcell's Dido all my life and feel able to express myself in this music like no other... As a character, Dido fascinates me to the point of obsession'. Connolly has performed with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment on many occasions, including two productions at Glyndebourne - Giulio Cesare and St Matthew Passion - as well as Dido and Aeneas at the Proms, the South Bank Centre and Tetbury Festival. One recent review of Connolly's Dido had the following to say: 'It was the sheer depth of emotion Connolly infused in her portrayal of Dido that was truly remarkable. Emotion flowed off the stage from the intensity in her voice and through her actions. Her final aria, one of the most beautiful in English baroque music, brought a tear to the eye in a hall so quiet you could hear a pin drop... a moving portrayal of this tragic heroine' (MusicalCriticism.com). This impressive performance by an extraordinary group of musicians makes for a significant addition to the catalogue. Sarah Connolly and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment will perform Dido and Aeneas at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in March 2009.

Includes verse(s) for organ by Anonymous. Soloist: Gustav Leonhardt.

This is a splendid reissue. The suite from King Arthur shows that tight, stylish Baroque playing wasn’t unknown thirty years ago, and the other items, recorded ten years later, come up perfectly fresh, with real rhythmic spring and life. The singers include some famous names, and every musical line has personality: Ian Partridge and Paul Esswood in particular provide wonderful solos. A pity that texts aren’t provided, and that the booklet notes don’t give more information about the lesser-known works. Performance: 5 (out of 5), Sound: 4 (out of 5)

-- Martin Cotton, BBC Music Magazine

Dido and Aeneas is Henry Purcell’s only opera, and was written in the later portion of the seventeenth century, when there was no opera tradition in England. The libretto for this work is based on Virgil’s Aeneid. This album was originally recorded in 1970, and has been remastered for re-release. The performing ensembles are Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and the John Alldis Choir under the capable direction of Sir Colin Davis.

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Countertenor James Bowman (b.1941) enjoyed a long association with early English song, an interest which bore fruit with this 1972 recording of Elizabethan lute songs, here making it's first appearance on CD. Together with the lutenist Robert Spencer, Bowman arranged the programme to reflect the repertory of the theatre and court and the career of John Dowland, with a final homage to Italy, the cradle of early song. The recordings of Purcell's Birthday Odes date from 1975. Between 1689 and 1694, Henry Purcell produced an annual ode for the celebration of Queen Mary's birthday. The last and best known is Come, Ye Sons of Art, which drew on the composer's recent successes in the theatre by employing a larger orchestra than usual (with trumpets, oboes and recorders) and giving the chorus a more prominent role. From the late 1960s the countertenor James Bowman was at the forefront of the early music revival. He made his London debut at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in 1967 and enjoyed a decade of work with David Munrow and the Early Music Consort, later collaborating with Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music. In the early 1970s Bowman and the Early Music Consort made ground-breaking recordings of Medieval and Renaissance music, also pioneering historically accurate practice in music of the 17th century, notably with the album 'Monteverdi's Contemporaries' (1976).

Guttler, Ludwig: Trumpet & More

This disc combines some of Henry Purcell's most powerful masterpieces. Love's Goddess Sure Was Blind, an exuberant tribute to the young Queen Mary, and some of his most eloquent compositions, written for her funeral. Love's Goddess Sure was Blind, written in exuberant and florid style for the birthday of the much loved young Queen Mary ends, extraordinarily, with a reflection on the grief her eventual death would provoke. It was less than six years later that the prophesied mourning became a reality, when, in her early thirties, she succumbed to smallpox. Purcell's eloquent compositions for her funeral are acknowledged as some of his most powerful masterpieces marrying a genuine of expression of grief (Purcell greatly admired the witty, musical Mary) with a characteristic sophistication of style.

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