Purcell, Henry & Ades, Thomas – Four Songs (voice and piano)

Description

Thomas Adès made these four Purcell realisations for medium voice and piano for recitals with the countertenor Iestyn Davies in 2012 and 2017. Four Songs is comprised of two of Purcell’s Tempest songs ‘Come Unto these Yellow Sands’ and ‘Full Fathom Five’, alongside the much-loved ‘An Evening Hymn’ and ‘By Beauteous Softness’. The whole collection lasts around 12 minutes. Adès described Purcell’s manner of setting English text as ‘magnificent’ remarking that ‘the way that emotion, the rhythm of the words, is rendered into music is incomparably natural and powerful.’ All of these qualities are brought to the fore in these realisations, which should prove an invaluableaddition to the repertoire.