Sarah Connolly, a featured soloist on this album, began her career singing in The Sixteen choir in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Historical Context
Queen Mary, for whom Purcell composed several works on this album, died of smallpox at age thirty-three just after Christmas 1694, leading to an elaborate state funeral.
Interpretation
The reconstruction of the Funeral sentences for Queen Mary on this disc uses 'flat trumpets' as requested by Purcell, which are symbolically funereal but extremely difficult to play.
Interpretation
For this recording, the performers adopted the twelve-string setup of Purcell's time for 'Love's Goddess sure', using three players on each part with bass violins for the cello/bass line.
Compositional Technique
Purcell's 'Miserere mei' is an ingenious double canon between the two upper and two lower voices, published in 1687 as a technical example in a treatise.
Instruments
The bass violin, used in this recording, is only slightly larger than a cello and provides added depth and warm sonority to the string sound.
Composer Biography
Henry Purcell, the composer featured on this album, served as a royal musician throughout his short life, including as a chorister, Gentleman, and Organist of the Chapel Royal.
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