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Purcell - Complete Ayres for the Theatre
Roy Goodman (director)
All these works were published within 18 months of Purcell's death. The 13 suites of choice movements from plays and semi-operas, entitled A Collection of Ayres, compos'd for theTheatre, and...
Purcell - Complete Ayres for the Theatre
Roy Goodman (director)
Purchase product
All these works were published within 18 months of Purcell's death. The 13 suites of choice movements from plays and semi-operas, entitled A Collection of Ayres, compos'd for theTheatre, and...
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Contents and tracklist
Purcell:
The Prophetess, or The History of Dioclesian Suite, Z627
Work length13:13
Suite. Movement 1. Overture
Track length4:01
Suite. Movement 2. Preludio
Track length2:12
Suite. Movement 3. Song Tune 'Let the soldiers rejoice'
Track length1:12
Suite. Movement 4. Trumpet Tune
Track length0:57
Suite. Movement 5. Country Dance
Track length1:28
Suite. Movement 6. Air
Track length0:56
Suite. Movement 7. Hornpipe
Track length1:03
Suite. Movement 8. Air. Trumpet Tune
Track length0:27
Suite. Movement 9. Canaries
Track length0:57
Purcell:
King Arthur, or The British Worthy Suite, Z628
Work length19:52
Suite. Movement 01. Overture
Track length3:38
Suite. Movement 02. Air
Track length1:05
Suite. Movement 03. Air
Track length1:20
Suite. Movement 04. Song Tune 'Fairest Isle'
Track length1:35
Suite. Movement 05. Hornpipe
Track length0:42
Suite. Movement 06. Hornpipe 'Come, shepherds'
Track length0:48
Suite. Movement 07. Song Tune 'How blest are shepherds'
Track length1:29
Suite. Movement 08. Air
Track length1:37
Suite. Movement 09. Song Tune 'Round thy coasts'
Track length1:12
Suite. Movement 10. Song Tune 'Come if you dare'
Track length1:12
Suite. Movement 11. Trumpet Tune
Track length0:45
Suite. Movement 12. Trumpet Tune
Track length1:04
Suite. Movement 13. Chaconne
Track length3:25
Work length27:46
Suite. Movement 01. Overture
Track length2:33
Suite. Movement 02. Hornpipe
Track length0:58
Suite. Movement 03. Air
Track length1:09
Suite. Movement 04. Air
Track length0:53
Suite. Movement 05. Rondeau
Track length1:52
Suite. Movement 06. Preludio
Track length1:54
Suite. Movement 07. Hornpipe
Track length1:03
Suite. Movement 08. Overture. Symphony while the Swans Come Forward
Track length2:00
Suite. Movement 09. Song Tune 'If love's a sweet passion'
Track length1:34
Suite. Movement 10. Jig
Track length1:08
Suite. Movement 11. Dance for the Fairies
Track length0:57
Suite. Movement 12. Air 4 in 2. Dance for the Followers of Night
Track length2:15
Suite. Movement 13. Song Tune 'Sing while we trip it'
Track length1:12
Suite. Movement 14. Air
Track length1:26
Suite. Movement 15. Air
Track length1:32
Suite. Movement 16. Song Tune 'Thus happy and free'
Track length1:02
Suite. Movement 17. Chaconne. Dance for the Chinese Man and Woman
Track length2:39
Suite. Movement 18. Air
Track length1:39
Purcell:
The Indian Queen Suite, Z630
Work length12:59
Suite. Movement 01. Overture
Track length3:17
Suite. Movement 02. Trumpet Tune
Track length0:36
Suite. Movement 03. Trumpet Tune. I come to sing great Zempoalla's story
Track length1:14
Suite. Movement 04. Air
Track length1:13
Suite. Movement 05. Hornpipe
Track length0:50
Suite. Movement 06. Air
Track length0:57
Suite. Movement 07. Hornpipe
Track length1:00
Suite. Movement 08. Air
Track length1:01
Suite. Movement 09. Song Tune 'We the spirits of the air'
Track length1:02
Suite. Movement 10. Rondeau
Track length1:49
Purcell:
The Married Beau, or The Curious Impertinent Suite, Z603
Work length12:05
Suite. Movement 1. Overture
Track length2:56
Suite. Movement 2. Slow Air
Track length0:58
Suite. Movement 3. Hornpipe
Track length0:40
Suite. Movement 4. Air
Track length1:21
Suite. Movement 5. Hornpipe
Track length0:38
Suite. Movement 6. Jig
Track length1:17
Suite. Movement 7. Trumpet Air
Track length1:32
Suite. Movement 8. March
Track length1:12
Suite. Movement 9. Hornpipe on a Ground
Track length1:31
Purcell:
The Old Batchelor Suite, Z607
Work length10:06
Suite. Movement 1. Overture
Track length3:25
Suite. Movement 2. Hornpipe
Track length0:57
Suite. Movement 3. Slow Air
Track length1:17
Suite. Movement 4. Hornpipe
Track length0:38
Suite. Movement 5. Rondeau
Track length0:43
Suite. Movement 6. Minuet
Track length0:55
Suite. Movement 7. Borry
Track length0:32
Suite. Movement 8. March
Track length0:56
Suite. Movement 9. Jig
Track length0:43
Purcell:
Amphitryon, or The Two Sosias Suite, Z572
Work length9:36
Suite. Movement 1. Overture
Track length3:35
Suite. Movement 2. Saraband
Track length0:44
Suite. Movement 3. Hornpipe
Track length1:03
Suite. Movement 4. Scotch Tune
Track length0:55
Suite. Movement 5. Air
Track length0:56
Suite. Movement 6. Minuet
Track length0:52
Suite. Movement 7. Hornpipe
Track length0:33
Suite. Movement 8. Borry, or Gavotte
Track length0:58
Purcell:
The Double Dealer Suite, Z592
Work length11:51
Suite. Movement 1. Overture
Track length3:37
Suite. Movement 2. Hornpipe
Track length0:42
Suite. Movement 3. Minuet
Track length0:54
Suite. Movement 4. Air
Track length1:38
Suite. Movement 5. Hornpipe
Track length0:42
Suite. Movement 6. Minuet. Slow Air
Track length1:25
Suite. Movement 7. Minuet
Track length0:41
Suite. Movement 8. Air
Track length1:09
Suite. Movement 9. Air
Track length1:03
Purcell:
Distress'd Innocence, or The Princess of Persia Suite, Z577
Work length9:45
Suite. Movement 1. Overture
Track length2:06
Suite. Movement 2. Air
Track length0:57
Suite. Movement 3. Slow Air
Track length1:38
Suite. Movement 4. Air
Track length0:57
Suite. Movement 5. Hornpipe, or Jig
Track length0:38
Suite. Movement 6. Rondeau
Track length1:34
Suite. Movement 7. Air
Track length0:52
Suite. Movement 8. Minuet
Track length1:03
Purcell:
The Gordion Knot Unty'd Suite, Z597
Work length11:54
Suite. Movement 1. Overture. Grave – Canzona
Track length3:40
Suite. Movement 2. Air
Track length0:41
Suite. Movement 3. Rondeau Minuet
Track length2:04
Suite. Movement 4. Air
Track length0:51
Suite. Movement 5. Jig 'Lilliburlero'
Track length0:40
Suite. Movement 6. Chaconne
Track length1:56
Suite. Movement 7. Air
Track length0:39
Suite. Movement 8. Minuet
Track length1:23
Purcell:
Abdelazar, or The Moor's Revenge Suite, Z570
Work length12:19
Suite. Movement 1. Overture. Grave – Canzona
Track length3:06
Suite. Movement 2. Rondeau. Hornpipe
Track length1:34
Suite. Movement 3. Air
Track length1:20
Suite. Movement 4. Air
Track length1:17
Suite. Movement 5. Minuet
Track length0:54
Suite. Movement 6. Air
Track length1:12
Suite. Movement 7. Jig
Track length0:35
Suite. Movement 8. Hornpipe
Track length0:41
Suite. Movement 9. Air
Track length1:40
Purcell:
Bonduca, or The British Heroine Suite, Z574
Work length13:28
Suite. Movement 1. Overture. Grave – Canzona
Track length4:02
Suite. Movement 2. Song Tune 'Britons, strike home'
Track length1:37
Suite. Movement 3. Song Tune 'To arms, to arms'
Track length1:16
Suite. Movement 4. Air
Track length1:43
Suite. Movement 5. Hornpipe
Track length0:53
Suite. Movement 6. Air
Track length0:45
Suite. Movement 7. Hornpipe
Track length0:52
Suite. Movement 8. Air
Track length1:00
Suite. Movement 9. Minuet
Track length1:20
Purcell:
The Virtuous Wife, or Good luck at last Suite, Z611
Work length12:55
Suite. Movement 1. Overture. Grave – Canzona
Track length2:43
Suite. Movement 2. Song Tune 'Ah, how sweet it is to love'
Track length2:41
Suite. Movement 3. Slow Air
Track length1:40
Suite. Movement 4. Air
Track length0:42
Suite. Movement 5. Preludio
Track length1:34
Suite. Movement 6. Hornpipe
Track length0:39
Suite. Movement 7. Minuet
Track length1:01
Suite. Movement 8. Minuet
Track length0:51
Suite. Movement 9. Air 'La Furstenburg'
Track length1:04
Work length8:11
- Crispian Steele-Perkins (trumpet), Stephen Keavy (trumpet)
- The Parley of Instruments
- Roy Goodman
Act IV Sonata 'while the sun rises'. Movement 1. [Allegro]
Track length1:06
Act IV Sonata 'while the sun rises'. Movement 2. Canzona
Track length2:33
Act IV Sonata 'while the sun rises'. Movement 3. [Adagio]
Track length1:40
Act IV Sonata 'while the sun rises'. Movement 4. [Allegro] – [Adagio] – [Allegro]
Track length2:52
Purcell:
Dido and Aeneas Suite, Z626
Work length3:15
Act 1 Scene 1 No 01. Overture in G minor
Track length3:15
Purcell:
Sir Anthony Love, or The Rambling Lady Suite, Z588
Work length3:48
I. Overture
Track length3:48
Purcell:
Timon of Athens Suite, Z632
Work length9:17
Suite. Movement 1. Overture. Grave – Canzona – Adagio – Canzona
Track length5:25
Suite. Movement 2. Curtain Tune on a Ground
Track length3:52
Purcell:
The Indian Queen Suite, Z630
Work length5:10
Act III. Symphony
Track length5:10
Awards and reviews
2010
All these works were published within 18 months of Purcell's death. The 13 suites of choice movements from plays and semi-operas, entitled A Collection of Ayres, compos'd for theTheatre, and upon other occasions, may well have been the editing work of Purcell's brother, Daniel.
Whoever it was had a rare combination of musical integrity and commercial flair: the pieces lifted from Purcell's interpolations to plays are often reordered and arranged with a deftness and charm which conveys the spirit of the theatre as well as heightening the loss and poignancy of Purcell's passing. How moving the Rondeau Minuet from The Gordian KnotUnty'd must have seemed to those who knew and loved Purcell.
As a major retrospective of Purcell's life in the theatre, the Ayres for the Theatre mainly comprise instrumental dances from their original sources, though there are several movements readapted from sung airs, such as 'Fairest isle' from King Arthur and 'If love's a sweet passion' from The Fairy Queen. The tunes are wonderful and varied, the inner part-writing skilful and the rhythmic imagination knows no bounds.
Even so, this isn't music where more than a suite at a time can be recommended for ultimate satisfaction: stop while you still want more. And more you'll most certainly want with Roy Goodman's alert and distinctive direction. If a few of the movements sound a touch mundane and lack dynamism as one follows on from another, the positive side is that the performances are never forced and rarely mannered. For the semi-opera 'suites', Goodman employs a full orchestra. What The Parley of Instruments has in abundance is a cordiality of expression which seems so absolutely right, especially in the slower airs.
Ayres for the Theatre is a wonderful collection of rich and varied, tuneful music and has been marvellously well recorded
2011 edition
The performances by Goodman and the authentic Parley of Instruments are thoroughly alive, stylish and responsive to the composer's ready invention. The recording is in every way pleasing, clear, yet full-bodied.
