These versions of Henry Purcell songs by Benjamin Britten are not often recorded, although there is a competing 1990s set from Hyperion that, like the present item, features multiple singers for variety. Britten wrote them later in his career, between the late 1940s and the early 1960s, primarily to de-stress. Both this and the Hyperion set use the term "realizations" to describe the music, for what Britten did was to use the figured basses of Purcell's pieces to generate new piano accompaniments. Yet even by the historical ...
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These versions of Henry Purcell songs by Benjamin Britten are not often recorded, although there is a competing 1990s set from Hyperion that, like the present item, features multiple singers for variety. Britten wrote them later in his career, between the late 1940s and the early 1960s, primarily to de-stress. Both this and the Hyperion set use the term "realizations" to describe the music, for what Britten did was to use the figured basses of Purcell's pieces to generate new piano accompaniments. Yet even by the historical-performance standards of the middle 20th century, these are not really realizations; "arrangements" would be a better word. Even in fairly simple conceptions of the piano part, such as in the songs from Harmonia Sacra at the beginning of this set, Britten's phrasing on the piano is Romantic, not harpsichord-like. This was of course typical for its time, and this double album is fascinating simply as a period piece recalling the time when contemporary musicians were just...
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