Purcell: Harmonie Sacra - Gabrieli Consort, Paul McCreesh

Henry Purcell
Harmonie Sacra
Gabrieli Consort & Players, Paul McCreesh
Archiv 445 829-2

In memoriam Ranasphenocephala.

This is one of the finest Purcell discs around, but it isn't one of the most cheerful. It's an anthology of pieces for one to four voices with continuo on spiritual themes--pieces such as "With sick and famish'd eyes," "The earth trembled," "In the black, dismal dungeon of despair," and the famous "O solitude." It really is top-notch Purcell, with much better texts than he usually had to work with, and it's performed to Paul McCreesh's usual high standard, but Baroque-for-Brunch it is not. The highlights are the deeply comforting meditation "Close thine eyes and sleep secure," and the riveting "In guilty night," effectively an eight-minute chamber opera enacting Saul's visit to the Witch of Endor, with a sensational performance by Charles Daniels as Saul.


Matthew Westphal, Amazon.com