A good deal of ink is spilled in the booklet to this Alpha release on the question of what instruments were popular in England during Henry Purcell's lifetime at the end of the 17th century. But none of it deals with the music heard on the album, or the conditions in which it was played (some of the songs were part of dramatic works, which would have made the mixed chamber groupings here unlikely), or who might have used these instruments in performances of this kind. Thus the performance falls into the class of those that ...
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A good deal of ink is spilled in the booklet to this Alpha release on the question of what instruments were popular in England during Henry Purcell's lifetime at the end of the 17th century. But none of it deals with the music heard on the album, or the conditions in which it was played (some of the songs were part of dramatic works, which would have made the mixed chamber groupings here unlikely), or who might have used these instruments in performances of this kind. Thus the performance falls into the class of those that use written music merely as a stimulus to further creativity. As such, it's a bit hard to evaluate. The program is the strongest point: the arrangements (for that is really what they are) by the Belgian group Scherzi Musicali and its leader, Nicolas Achten, shed light on the various layers of 17th century music, from several national origins, that came together to generate Purcell's unique style. Consider the attractive performance of O solitude! (track 3), which bends a long...
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