This is a quiet, chamber performance of a magnificent group of
Henry Purcell's sacred works, originally issued on the Columns Classics label in 1997; listener reactions to it will likely depend on how the individual listener feels about the trend toward the downsizing of Baroque performance forces. The
Clare College Choir, Cambridge, is a youthful mixed-voice ensemble that sounds a bit like an all-boy group. There are no featured vocal soloists, just individual singers of modest vocal dimensions drawn from the choir. Here the choir consists of 24 singers, with one player on each part in the string accompanimental ensemble, plus a continuo of theorbo and organ. The strings are often joined by a small brass group in antiphonal structures. These forces are perfectly balanced, and the beautiful text articulation of the choir -- no texts are provided, and none are needed -- is balanced by the smooth playing of some leading lights of English early music:
Andrew Manze on violin and
Crispian Steele-Perkins, to name two. The only question is whether these forces are enough to balance the big spaces of these
Purcell pieces, which were ceremonial, splendid, and architecturally impressive. One possible answer might be that the concluding Funeral Music for Queen Mary, with its somber atmosphere, works better than the works earlier in the program. The choir is expressive and admirably engaged with the text throughout, and they offer a memorable execution of the agonizing dissonances in the "In the midst of life" section, track 10. In any event, this is an unusual
Purcell performance that displays the considerable musical skills so often possessed by Britain's venerable university choirs.