This collection of Baroque instrumental suites by Henry Purcell is centered around his incidental music for the tragedy Abdelazer, though music for other Restoration plays, such as The Double Dealer, The Gordion Knot Unty'd, Distress'd Innocence, and Bonduca, make up the greater portion of the album. Without doubt the best-known piece here is the stirring Rondeau (track 12), which the 20th century composer Benjamin Britten used for his Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. Yet Purcell's theatrical music was highly varied and innovative, and judging it on the basis of one popular tune is unfair to the composer's genius. Strangely enough, the album is presented twice on two discs, the first including synopses of the plays in German read by Linard Bardill, the second in English read by John Holloway. These spoken sections will be fine for anyone interested in the stories of the plays, but they will be disconcerting to listeners who want the music without interruptions. The performances by Orchester Le Phénix are historically informed and the music is played on original instruments or modern copies, so collectors of period style performances will be satisfied by the authentic string and continuo timbres and the bright sound of the recording.
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