Purcell: Ten Sonatas in Four Parts (1697)

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HENRY PURCELL
Purcell: Ten Sonatas in Four Parts (1697)
The King's Consort

[ Vivat / CD ]

Release Date: Monday 23 June 2014

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Sixth release on the VIVAT label features Henry Purcell's brilliant yet melancholic "Ten Sonatas in Four Parts".

The King's Consort holds a worldwide reputation as leading performers of Purcell. This new release adds to TKC's 25 recordings of the composer's music, which have won numerous international awards and been central in restoring Purcell's music to prominence.

The international performer line-up includes Italian-Dutch violinist Cecilia Bernardini, Gramophone award-winning German viol player Susanne Heinrich, Welsh violinist Huw Daniel, and English organist Robert King and theorbo player Lynda Sayce.

Purcell's extraordinarily inventive, highly individual music combines Italian vigour, French elegance and delicious English melancholy with harmonic daring, extraordinary contrapuntal technique and unique melodic inventiveness.

Recorded in the well-nigh perfect acoustic of The Menuhin Hall, Surrey.

Extensive presentation includes 44 page booklet with authoritative liner note in three languages by renowned Purcell expert and biographer Robert King, session photographs and reproductions from the 1697 first edition.

NZ LISTENER BEST CLASSICAL Recordings 2014

"He's ingeniously rethought Mrs Purcell's arbitrary ordering, and ends with the magnificent chaconne-driven G minor Sonata Z807, using the so-called 'Golden Sonata' as a central pivot with sonatas in rising fourths before it, and descending thirds after. It's a cogent call, creating a satisfying set." BBC Music Magazine, September 2014 ****

"There is no hint in them of anything approaching the formulaic: each sonata has its own distinctive personality...Purcell's inventiveness is consistent throughout the programme, and its spirit is alive in these performances." Daily Telegraph, 26th June 2014

"The recording...has crisp clarity of detail, and these performances have direct impact in quick music...yet frequently the defining characteristic of these compelling performances is when Heinrich's viol and the continuo group reach down towards their lowest bass notes." Gramophone Magazine, August 2014

"Cecilia Bernardini and Huw Daniel dazzle with glittering virtuosity in the mighty Chaconne which constitutes the G minor Sonata, Z807 and ooze pathos in the gracefully agonized dissonances of the opening Adagio from the D minor Sonata, Z805." International Record Review, June 2014

"[King] brings out the brilliantly quirky and utterly English way Purcell had with harmony and counterpoint...Such outrageously good music is something one can return to over and over again, especially in these very fine accounts." Limelight Magazine, December 2014

"all show Purcell at his most ingenious, the counterpoint combining cerebral device and ear-tickling charm in equal measure." Sunday Times, 22nd July 2014

"Exquisitely performed by The King's Consort the sonatas possess a sweet, winning melancholy." The Independent, 21st June 2014 ****

"This recording is worth hearing for the amazing crunchy harmonies at the end of track six alone!...Violinists Cecilia Bernardini and Huw Daniel are expert in all the counterpoint, and the continuo group is poised and fresh." The Observer, 22nd June 2014 ****

Tracks:

Purcell: Ten Sonatas in Four Parts (1697)