Purcell, Henry - Hail! Bright Cecilia! - Herreweghe, Philippe (conductor)
'If there are 'two bars of Purcell' which melt marble then 'one perfect harmony' at the close of 'Soul of the world' reveals an intrinsic care in Collegium Vocale's exquisitely conceived vocal line, a blooming legato where Herreweghe inspires passion from the power of the minimum dose. The long opening instrumental music is contained and noble, juxtaposing light-footed articulation with intimate asides. The whole is infectiously fresh and never rushed...For beauty of sound, Herreweghe is your man.'
(Gramophone)
Two Odes composed for the Feast Day of Saint Cecilia in 1683 and 1692; two very different was of treating the glorification of an art form in which Purcell was the master. Welcome to all the pleasures calls for a relatively small formation and seems to have been concieved entirely in the Italian style (if not for Italian use). Eight years later, Hail! bright Caecilia turned out to be a fabulous hymn to music, as rich and varied as the act of an opera – a veritable Baroque fireworks which is among Purcell’s greatest achievements.
Siri Thornhill, sopran
Robin Blaze, countertenor
Mark Padmore, tenor
Peter Harvey, bass
Collegium Vocale Gent/Philippe Herreweghe
Henry Purcell
Hail! bright Cecilia!
1 Symphony Maestoso - Canzona. Allegro - Adagio - Allegro - Grave
2 Hail! bright Cecilia!
3 Hark! hark! Each Tree
4 ‘Tis Nature’s Voice
5 Soul of the World!
6 Thou tun’st this World
7 With that sublime Celestial Lay
8 Wondrous Machine!
9 The airy Violin
10 In vain the Am’rous flute
11 The fife and all the Harmony of War
12 Let these among themselves contest
13 Hail! bright Cecilia!
Welcome to all the pleasures
14 Symphony
15 Welcome to all the pleasures
16 Here the deities approve
17 While joys celestial
18 Then lift up your voices
19 Beauty thou scene of love
20 In a consort of voices