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Purcell: The Fairy Queen; Incidental Music
Benjamin Britten; Anthony Lewis
Label
Decca
Catalogue No.
4825063
Barcode
00028948250639
Format
2-CD
About
TRACK LISTING / ARTISTS

HENRY PURCELL
CD 1
The Fairy Queen (Ed. Benjamin Britten, Imogen Holst & Peter Pears)

Part I: Oberon’s Birthday
Part II: Night and Silence
Part III: The Sweet Passion

CD 2
Part IV: Epithalamium

Jennifer Vyvyan, Mary Wells & Norma Burrowes, sopranos
Alfreda Hodgson, mezzo-soprano
James Bowman & Charles Brett, countertenors
Peter Pears & Ian Partridge, tenors
John Shirley-Quirk & Owen Brannigan, basses
Ambrosian Opera Chorus
English Chamber Orchestra
Benjamin Britten

SONGS & INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
The Tempest (excerpts)*
Sonata for Trumpet and Strings (ed. Dart, Tilmouth)*
The Virtuous Wife*
What shall I do? (Dioclesian)*
Ciacona in G minor (ed. Dart)*

Jennifer Vyvyan, soprano
William Herbert, tenor
Hervey Alan, bass
Dennis Egan, trumpet
Philomusica of London
Anthony Lewis

*FIRST CD RELEASE ON DECCA

Track previews
Ciaccona in G Minor, Z.730 - Ed. Thurston Dart
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act I: "Hail! Great Parent Of Us All"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act III: "If Love's a Sweet Passion.I Press Her Hand"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act III: "O Let Me Weep, For Ever Weep"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act III: "Now the Maids and the Men Are Making Of Hay"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act III: A Dance Of Haymakers
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act I: "Thus the Ever Grateful Spring"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act I: "Here's the Summer, Sprightly Gay"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act I: "See, My Many-Coloured Fields"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act I: "Next, Winter Comes Slowly, Pale"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act II: Prelude."Come, All Ye Songsters Of the Sky"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act II: Dance For the Followers Of Night
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act II: "The Songsters.May the God Of Wit Inspire"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act II: "Echo.Now Join Your Warbling Voices All"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act II: "Fill Up the Bowl"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act II: "See, Even Night Herself Is Here"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act I: Symphony
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act I: "Now the Night Is Chas'd Away"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act I: "Let the Fifes and the Clarions.Dance"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act I: "When a Cruel Long Winter"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act III: Overture
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act II: "Hush, No. More"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act IV: "They Shall Be As Happy"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act III: "A Thousand, Thousand Ways"
The Tempest, Z.631: "Arise ye subterranean winds"
The Tempest, Z.631: "Aeolus, you must appear"
The Tempest, Z.631: "Your awful voice I hear"
The Tempest, Z.631: "Halcyon Days"
The Tempest, Z.631: "See, see the heavens smile"
Sonata for Trumpet & Strings, Z.850 - ed. Thurston Dart & Michael Tilmouth
The Virtuous Wife, Z.611: March (Hornpipe) - Minuet I - Minuet II
Dioclesian, Z.627: "What shall I do?"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act III: Hornpipe and Rondeau
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act II: "One Charming Night"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act IV: Symphony
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act IV: "Hark! Hark the Echoing Air"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act IV: "Sure the Dull God Of Marriage"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act IV: "See, I Obey"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act IV: "Turn Then Thine Eyes"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act IV: "My Torch Indeed.They Shall Be As Happy"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act IV: Chaconne
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act II: "I Am Come To Lock All Fast"
The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears), Act I: "Hail! Great Parent Of Us All" (Reprise)
Recording information

Recording Producers: David Harvey (The Fairy Queen); unidentified (The Tempest, Sonata, The Virtuous Wife, Dioclesian, Ciacona)
Recording Engineers: Kenneth Wilkinson, Peter van Biene (The Fairy Queen); unidentified (The Tempest, Sonata, The Virtuous Wife, Dioclesian, Ciacona)
Recording Locations: Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh, UK, 18–21 September 1970 (The Fairy Queen); London, UK, 1958 (The Tempest, Sonata, The Virtuous Wife, Dioclesian, Ciacona)
Remastering Engineer: Craig Thompson

Reviews

‘A most enjoyable disc, showing two aspects of Purcell at his best… presented with considerable skill by the singers and with vitality by the conductor and his men.’ High Fidelity, March 1960 (The Tempest, etc)

‘The cast and orchestra under Britten’s inspired and inspiring direction certainly give of their best. Jennifer Vyvyan and Peter Pears took part in the L’Oiseau Lyre recording of the 1950s under Anthony Lewis, and now as then are perfect Purcell stylists.’ Opera, April 1972 (The Fairy Queen)

‘Britten has a clear concept of this music and manages to convey it to all concerned, with a resultant remarkable stylistic unity… this beguiling music comes through gloriously-there is not one dull moment in it.’ High Fidelity, July 1973 (The Fairy Queen)