Search - Henry Purcell, Trevor Pinnock, The English Concert :: Purcell: Dido & Aeneas / King Arthur / Dioclesian / Timon of Athens / 3 Odes

Fine Purcell from Pinnock and EC

Ivan G. Guevara | 07/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I greatly enjoyed this reissue of several Purcell stage works and choral

odes originally released on Archiv Produktion some years back. As is ty-

pical of Pinnock/English Concert the performances and intepretations are

refined and elegant but certainly not without being lively and even fiery

when needed (Listen to King Arthur in particular). My only minor complaint

is that the Performance of Dido and Aeneas could have been a bit more fiery and involved (others may find this approach to their liking) but the

playing and singing are nonetheless glorious esp. Anne Sophie von Otter's

Dido. The other stage works and the odes are given brilliant, extroverted

interpretations (Ex. Come, Ye Sons of Art). My only complaint was the lack of sung texts in the booklet - maybe they assumed it was not needed because of the English texts? Still,this is a shortcoming that betrays the

otherwise fine presenatation. Despite this,however, I heartily recommend

snapping up this issue before it disappears."