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GRAMOPHONE (07/2014)
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 SIGCD375



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Reviewer: Lindsay Kemp

Voces8 here make use of their intermediate size – neither a choir nor strictly a one-toa-part ensemble – to bring together what would normally be an unlikely Purcell vocal anthology of church anthems inter-strewn with choruses and solo numbers from the stage works and court odes. Their vocal blend and solid ensemble have been praised before, and rightly too; here they score well in more intimate unaccompanied choral pieces (O God, thou art my God or Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts) and in theatre choruses from Dido and Aeneas, Dioclesian and The Tempest. But while in bigger, orchestrally accompanied pieces such as Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem and My heart is inditing there are gains in agility and contrapuntal clarity (always a plus in Purcell), there are losses in grandeur and weight compared to performances by larger groups; My heart is inditing, an eight-part piece, also suffers from palely defined textural contrasts.

The group’s individual voices are equal to their tasks in the solo numbers, if not always as characterful as might be expected from singers more used to standing out front. Emily Dickens’s ‘Bid the graces’ from Come, ye sons of art is poised and lofty (if slightly lisped), while countertenor

Barnaby Smith’s two numbers include a rollingly assertive version of the too-often dirge-like ‘Strike the viol’, joyfully ornamented in its orchestral refrain by the stylish strings and recorders of the French ensemble Les Inventions.

There are times when I feel that interpretative tricks are missed – the deceptively plain but ardent word-setting of O God, thou art my God is carelessly run through, while the heart-stopping simplicity of ‘Fairest isle’ does not gain anything by being heavily ornamented almost from the start – but there is no doubting that this disc still offers a rich and enjoyable demonstration of Purcell’s genius.

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