The Queen

For his 1694 offering to the Queen, Come ye sons of Art, away, Purcell was on sparkling form, and produced an Ode markedly different to the majority of the twenty-two works which had preceded it. The forces utilized were greater than normal, with an orchestra replacing the more usual single strings, and there was a clearly defined role for the chorus. Recent successes on the stage had led to this more expansive style of composition, and the inspired text (probably by Nahum Tate), full of references to music and musical instruments, was one which gave Purcell’s fertile imagination plenty of source material.

Abolition of the Royal Familia is 17th album from Alex Paterson and his rotating roster of collaborative cohorts. It forms part two of of pair, and a continuation No Sounds Are Out Of Bounds. It’s also the first with Paterson and Michael Rendall as main writing partners, with Rendall having risen-up-the-ranks from a member of The Orb’s touring band. The album features guest turns from Youth, Roger Eno, Steve Hillage, Miquette Giraudy, and a whole lot more.

It took 53 years, but now, at last, The Beatles’ final public performance can be heard – with all the songs complete and uninterrupted. True, a split-screen sequence of the remarkable event on January 30, 1969, was the climax of Peter Jackson’s epic Get Back trilogy. But the film’s fascinating cutaways to the drama unfolding at ground level meant the music on the roof was not always in the foreground. Finally, a new mix by Giles Martin and Sam Okell presents virtually every second from the two reels of tape containing the rooftop session. Listening to this historic audio is a thrilling experience. Although no one knew at the time, this was The Beatles’ last gig. But it’s a perfect live finale – original, humorous and unprecedented: elements that are forever associated with The Beatles.

This programme reflects the full flavour and richness of English music and the instrumental and vocal repertory it inspired in Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The rhythmic impulse of this repertory sometimes making use of ostinato culminates in the grounds, jigs, contredanses and so on that were all the rage at the time and led to the publication of John Playford's collection The English Dancing Master in 1651. Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien, showing their familiarity with early sources from England, Scotland and Ireland, also emphasise the melodic aspect of these dances, which in the course of time became sung airs the soprano Fiona McGown and the baritone Enea Sorini complete a colourful instrumentarium. Finally, the light-hearted dimension of entertainment is present everywhere in this repertory, which was popular in the sense that it was universally practised at the time, achieving a fame that spread far beyond the British Isles.

Purcell’s fourth birthday Ode for the Queen, Love’s goddess sure was blind, was the most intimate of the six, scored for just strings and a pair of recorders. The two-section Symphony is one of Purcell’s finest, especially richly scored. The noble, yet wistful, first part is dominated by a six-note falling scale and a ravishing melody (which comes only once in the violins, but three times in the viola), all wrapped in glorious harmony. The triple-time second section at first glance appears lighter in character, but (as with so much of Purcell’s music, which needs to be played to discover its true riches) in practice still has an underlying current of melancholy, heightened at the end as the opening mood returns.

Happy Days - The Oldies Gold Collection Vol.1 - Vol.13 (2022)
MP3 320 Kbps | Run Time: 02:15:22:40 | 8.50 GB
Genre: Pop/Rock/R&B/Soul/Jazz | Label: In Vinyl We Trust

Gold sets from the Oldies collection.
The greatest hits of the 50's, 60's and 70's!

One might think that with all of the attention that Handel’s music has received over the years and especially since the tercentenary of his birth in 1985, that no stone has been left unturned in the effort to accord the composer his due. Indeed, there have been revelatory and monumental cycles of his operas and oratorios—especially Messiah—as well as numerous releases of Music for the Royal Fireworks, Water Music, the Concerti grossi, ops. 3 and 6—the list goes on and on, almost ad nauseam. As with any composer, though, there are darker recesses in Handel’s œuvre that seemed to have attracted the interest of a multitude of dust bunnies, but few performers. This Hyperion recording, originally recorded in 1988 and released under the title Music for Royal Occasions, holds three such works specifically composed for English courtly festivities of various import between 1713 and 1736.