Ayres & Songs from Orpheus Britannicus Harmonia, Sacra & Complete Organ Music Box Set

Description

The moment when a singer finally shows the ability to tackle the standard repertoire is an important step in their career! After studying for years theater and music in Shakespeare's England under the direction of musicologist Philip Brett, Jill Feldman recorded in 1992 two programs dedicated to the music of Henry Purcell, reissued here on double CD.
Many of the Ayres and Songs from Orpheus Britannicus are linked to the English theatrical tradition. In the first piece of this CD, “From Silent Shades,” and in the last, “From Rosy Bow'rs,” we hear this theatrical tradition that places the voice of truth in the mouth of a fool. In the same way, we hear the wisdom of Touchstone (the fool) in As You Like It, of Feste (the clown) in Twelfth Night, and of the fool in King Lear. This program, superbly accompanied by lutenist Nigel North, is from start to finish in search of this wisdom. In the Harmonia Sacra recording, Purcell's sacred hymns alternate with the complete works for organ played by Davitt Moroney, with whom Jill Feldman has collaborated since their meeting in 1975 within Philip Brett's ensemble, in Berkeley, California.