The Sixteen – Purcell: Royal Welcome Songs for King Charles II (2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

The Sixteen – Purcell: Royal Welcome Songs for King Charles II (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:04:51 minutes | 1,10 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Coro

Charles II’s formal Restoration in 1660 marked both an end and a beginning: the end of England’s republican experiment and the beginning of a long process of monarchical reconstruction; and with a politically accident-prone king on the throne, Charles’s public relations machine could never rest. Purcell joined its small team of composer operatives just as the wave of Stuart propaganda swelled massively, and he surfed the wave with breathtaking panache, from his first court ode – the simple but rousing Welcome, Vicegerent of the mighty King – to the ambitious Fly, bold rebellion involving verse settings in up to seven parts and a six-part chorus.

Following the sinister puritan religious dictatorship of Oliver Cromwell and the succession attempt by his son Richard during a few months, the King’s return from exile on his birthday in 1660 was celebrated as a breath of fresh air. Because under Cromwell, music and joy were banned, it was all about religion, only religion, always religion, along with war. It therefore comes as no surprise that the advent of the new king was celebrated with music. With that said, the present works by Purcell weren’t originally conceived for this particular return – the composer, albeit a young prodigy, was only one year old at the time – and in 1680 Welcome, vicegerent of the mighty King celebrated another royal return. Three years later, Purcell wrote Fly, bold rebellion to celebrate the king’s return following the failed Rye House Plot, a plan to assassinate the King as well as his brother, the future James II. The other works on the album, authored by Harry Christophers and his sumptuous ensemble The Sixteen, also offer other pieces by Purcell, including the stunning 1688 O sing unto the Lord, which is not directly related to any royal return, but whose essence perfectly encapsulates the spirit of artistic (and even, in a way, religious) freedom that prevailed in England at the time.

Tracklist:
1-01. The Sixteen, Harry Christophers – Catch – Since the Duke is Return’d, Z. 271 (01:51)
1-02. The Sixteen, Harry Christophers – Welcome, Vicegerent of the Mighty King, Z. 340: Welcome, Vicegerent of the Mighty King (04:19)
1-03. The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers – Welcome, Vicegerent of the Mighty King, Z. 340: Ah! Mighty Sir (04:55)
1-04. The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers – Welcome, Vicegerent of the Mighty King, Z. 340: When the Summer in His Glory (02:07)
1-05. The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers – Welcome, Vicegerent of the Mighty King, Z. 340: Music the Food of Love (03:36)
1-06. The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers – Let Mine Eyes Run Down With Tears, Z. 24 (07:25)
1-07. The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers – Sleep, Adam, Sleep and Take Thy Rest, Z. 195 (01:49)
1-08. The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers – Beati omnes qui timent Dominum, Z. 131 (04:31)
1-09. The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers – O Sing unto the Lord, Z. 44: Symphony / O Sing unto the Lord a New Song (03:31)
1-10. The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers – O Sing unto the Lord, Z. 44: Sing unto the Lord, and Praise His Name (02:30)
1-11. The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers – O Sing unto the Lord, Z. 44: The Lord is Great (02:00)
1-12. The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers – O Sing unto the Lord, Z. 44: O Worship the Lord (01:18)
1-13. The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers – O Sing unto the Lord, Z. 44: Tell it Out Among the Heathen (02:31)
1-14. The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers – Great God, and Just, Z. 186 (03:37)
1-15. The Sixteen, Harry Christophers – Fly, Bold Rebellion, Z. 324: SymphonyThe Sixteen (01:59)
1-16. The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers – Fly, Bold Rebellion, Z. 324: Fly, Bold Rebellion (02:24)
1-17. The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers – Fly, Bold Rebellion, Z. 324: Rivers From Their Channels Turn’d (04:02)
1-18. The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers – Fly, Bold Rebellion, Z. 324: If Then We’ve Found (04:20)
1-19. The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers – Fly, Bold Rebellion, Z. 324: Come Then, Change Your Notes (01:20)
1-20. The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers – Fly, Bold Rebellion, Z. 324: Be Welcome Then, Great Sir (02:55)
1-21. The Sixteen Orchestra, Harry Christophers – Fly, Bold Rebellion, Z. 324: Welcome to all Those Wishes Fulfill’d (01:41)

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