[1] Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem
[2] To the Hills and the Vales
[3] By beauteous softness mix’d with majesty
[4] O God, thou art my God
[5] How Happy the Lover
[6] ‘Cold Song’ (What Power Art Thou...)
[7] Behold, O mightiest of Gods
[8] My heart is inditing of good matter
[9] Bid the Virtues
[10] Hail! Bright Cecilia
[11] Strike the Viol
[12] Second Dirge Anthem (Morley)/Thou Knowest Lord
[13] Fairest Isle
[14] Full Fathom Five

A PURCELL COLLECTION It is said that Henry Purcell never set foot outside England, in the same way that Johann Sebastian Bach hardly left his native Saxony. Yet, both have become pinnacles of our Western music culture to an extent they could have little imagined in their own lifetime. In terms of style, they were well-versed in their respective native traditions while being permanently on the lookout for all that was foreign. Bach emulated Vivaldi and admired Couperin. Purcell fed on Italian models and drew inspiration from the courtly manner of Lully. The corpus of Purcell’s music, although not as large as Bach’s, easily rivals it in terms of diversity. There is hardly a genre in which he did not express himself: anthems, odes, funeral music, semi-operas, masques, sonatas, consort-music, songs and catches populate his extraordinarily multifaceted oeuvre. It is this astonishing diversity that we wish to celebrate by inviting the listener for a stroll through the world of one of England’s greatest composers.

The young, virtuoso A Cappella ensemble VOCES8 return to disc on Signum with a sumptuous collection of early works by Henry Purcell. Joined by the specialist early-music ensemble ‘Les Inventions’, the group explores Purcell’s astoundingly diverse output – there is hardly a genre in which he did not express himself: anthems, odes, funeral music, semioperas, masques, sonatas, consort-music, songs and catches populate his extraordinarily multifaceted oeuvre. It is this astonishing diversity that we wish to celebrate by inviting the listener for a stroll through the world of one of England’s greatest composers.