Purcell - Birthday Odes for Queen Mary - The King's Consort - Carolyn Sampson, Iestyn Davies

In April 2021, following their much-lauded recent recording of Purcell “Royal Odes”, The King’s Consort assembled the same world-class vocal and instrumental ensemble to record three more of Henry Purcell’s odes written to celebrate the birthday of Queen Mary. Filmed during those sessions, conductor and Purcell expert Robert King provides background to the music and its historical setting.
Purcell’s odes written for his royal employer, Queen Mary II, show him at his finest. A glorious succession of overtures, choruses, arias and delicious ritornelli display astonishing imagination and ingenuity: whilst overtly celebratory, never far beneath the surface lies the sense of melancholy which is the hallmark of Purcell’s greatest music. “Arise my Muse” (1690), “Love’s goddess sure” (1692) and “Celebrate this festival” (1693) are amongst his finest works.
For more than three decades The King’s Consort has been renowned across the globe for its performances of the music of Henry Purcell. In 1988, TKC recorded its first disc of Purcell’s odes: that ground-breaking series of the complete odes (most of them at that time largely unknown) was followed by similar series of the sacred music and the secular songs, and changed the musical world’s perception of Purcell. Since then there has been hardly a year in which the odes haven’t appeared in TKC’s concert programmes: this is music which runs through the ensemble’s veins.
TKC’s return to the studio in Spring 2021 saw them record three substantial odes written for the birthday of Queen Mary. An outstanding team of soloists (led by Carolyn Sampson, Iestyn Davies, Charles Daniels and Matthew Brook) included one member of the ensemble who took part in that first recording, alongside others who have been performing these works with TKC for twenty years. On the other hand, three of the singers were not even born when TKC first recorded Purcell odes. A superlative instrumental ensemble provides equally outstanding contributions.
The recording was made in the spacious surroundings of the recently restored Fairfield Halls, Croydon, whose warm, clear acoustic is perfect for this music.
REPERTOIRE
Arise, my Muse (Ode for the birthday of Queen Mary, 1690)
Love’s goddess sure was blind (Ode for the birthday of Queen Mary, 1692)
Celebrate this festival (Ode for the birthday of Queen Mary, 1693)
THE KING’S CONSORT
Carolyn Sampson, Emily Owen soprano
Iestyn Davies, Hugh Cutting countertenor
Charles Daniels, David de Winter tenor
Matthew Brook, Edward Grint bass
Kati Debretzeni, Huw Daniel violin
Dorothea Vogel, Rose Redgrave viola
Sarah McMahon, Timothy Smedley bass violin
Frances Norbury, Mark Baigent oboe
Rebecca Miles, Ian Wilson recorder
Neil Brough, Adrian Woodward trumpet
Lynda Sayce theorbo
Mark Williams harpsichord & organ
Robert King conductor
The CD recording was released on the VIVAT label on 24 September 2021.
Catalogue: VIVAT 122
Also in high-resolution download from www.vivatmusic.com