In Vain The Am’rous Flute

The central figure on this disc is Henry Purcell, the main composer in England in the last quarter of the 17th century. The recorder is one of the key instruments, alongside the harpsichord. That makes much sense, because Purcell gave the recorder – and often a pair of recorders – important roles in his compositions, especially in his Odes and semi-operas. These are the thread in the programme that Jan Devlieger put together. The title of this disc is taken from Purcell’s best-known Ode for St Cecilia’s Day, Hail, bright Cecilia.

One may criticise that we get extracts from longer works here, but there is a good historic argument for that: a number of solos from Purcell’s vocal works were posthumously published as independent pieces in two volumes under the title of Orpheus Britannicus. These were a token of the great popularity of these pieces and the great esteem in which Purcell was held.

It was John Blow, his teacher, who recognized the young Purcell’s genius. He gave up his post as organist of Westminster Abbey in 1679 in favour of his pupil, only to succeed the latter after his early death in 1695. Unfortunately, he has remained in the shadow of Purcell in modern times; only a relatively small part of his oeuvre is available on disc. It is nice that Jan Devlieger included some of his keyboard works, which are of excellent quality and have a character of their own.

Purcell’s keyboard music is not that well-known either; that particularly concerns his suites. His best-known pieces are transcriptions of vocal items, such as the Ground in d minor, after ‘Crown the altar, deck the shrine’ from Celebrate this festival, an Ode for the birthday of Queen Mary II. Another one is A New Ground in e minor, a transcription of the song ‘Here the deities approve’ from Welcome to all the pleasures, an Ode for St Cecilia’s Day of 1683. For this recording the vocal line was mixed with the harpsichord transcription. The practice of making transcriptions inspired Devlieger to do the same: from the semi-opera The Fairy Queen he transcribed ‘Next, winter is coming slowly’.

The combination of voice and recorder was common at the time. John Evelyn, the author and gardener mentioned in the liner-notes of the previous disc, is quoted here in the booklet as well, writing in his diary: “There was also a Flute douce now in much request for accompanying the voice”. Devlieger, in his liner-notes, states: “The recorder was often introduced to provide a musical depiction of specific events or emotions (…). Purcell often chose to use two recorders and employed them with great invention and a variety of techniques (…)”. The recorders were especially used to depict birdsong, not only by Purcell, but across Europe in opera arias and chamber cantatas. They were even used as such in instrumental music, for instance in the Sonata in immitation of Birds, the virtually only well-known piece by William Williams.

The ground cannot fail to appear in a programme with English music of the 17th century. The use of a basso ostinato as the foundation of a composition was immensely popular, and Purcell seems to have liked it very much, as he used it time and again in vocal and instrumental music. No wonder, then, that we get quite a number of grounds here. In Two in One upon a Ground, Purcell combined this technique with that of the canon: the two recorders play in canon above an ostinato bass. The opular tune Greensleeves was also the subject of a piece over such a bass; the anonymous piece included here was first conceived for violin, and later reissued in a version for recorder, taking advantage of the popularity of this instrument, in particular among amateurs.

This disc offers a perfect picture of musical life in late-17th-century England, as it documents the status of Purcell, the recorder and the ground. Some items are performed in arrangements by Jan Devlieger; there could have been more information with regard to the nature of these arrangements. Overall, it is my impression that they all remain within what is historically tenable. The performances are generally very good. The playing of the various instruments and of the ensemble as a whole is excellent; Devlieger is a fine player of both recorder and harpsichord. As far as the singers are concerned: Clint van der Linde is particulary good; he adds some nice ornamentation. Ann De Prest and Nele De Soete are new names to me; I like their voices, and they sing well, but should have reduced their vibrato. As that is not wide, it didn’t bother me too much. It certainly does not compromise my appreciation of this disc, which is varied and entertaining. How could a disc with so much Purcell be not entertaining? The man never put a foot wrong in his music.

Johan van Veen (© 2021)

HIDE

ZOETE AMOUREUZE KLANKEN UIT VERVLOGEN TIJDEN VAN PURCELL & CO

written by Knopskaya januari 12, 2021

Zacht hunkerend, zo kan men het spel van Jan Devlieger en Les Goûts-Authentiques het best omschrijven, samengevat in een cd vol liefdevolle verleiding waarin fluit en stemmen de hoofdrol spelen.
De muziek van de veel te jong overleden Engelse barokcomponist Henry Purcell (1659-1695) zou omschreven kunnen worden als een muzikale creatie van de zoete minnekunst. Als geen ander wist hij de brandende vlam van de ware liefde, die verheugt en soms vreselijk pijn doet te omschrijven. U kunt ze ervaren als die avond bij kaarslicht in een verlaten ruïne, wanneer de fluit der liefde voor u zong en u vervulde met zoveel meer. Purcell liet zich beïnvloeden door componisten uit het Europese vasteland. Zonder twijfel moet Claudio Monteverdi daar een van geweest zijn, wiens gevoelswereld zonder twijfel opborrelt bij het horen van dit album.
Hoewel ook Purcell in zijn leven heel wat kerkmuziek en opera’s schreef, draait het niet om die grootste magistrale aria of het meeste lof, wel om het juiste gevoel, datgene dat zacht uit de ziel ontspringt en als een oprecht en warm gevoel uitgroeit. Dit was het wat Devlieger ook voor ogen had met deze opname. Hij combineerde muziek van Purcell met tijdgenoten en vrienden van de componist, zoals John Blow, met wie hij nauw samengewerkt heeft. Ook minder courant opgevoerde componisten die echt de moeite waard zijn te ontdekken, en vooral te beleven zijn William Croft, Giovanni Battista Draghi en Gottfried Finger.
Het tastbare achter de muziek wordt echt. Purcell laat fluit en hoge zangstemmen de magie van one charming night bezingen, en de viool letterlijk aanraken. De diepere klanken van de viola da gamba, theorbe en klavecimbel vormen de donkere hemel waaraan heldere zachtgele sterrengloeden schijnen. Iedere letter en klank telt. De ongeschreven h die na de t van “touch” komt, werkt zinnenstrelend echt in. Weemoedige klaagzang om wat verloren ging, zoet verlangen naar wat komt. In Vain of the Am’rous Flute. U kunt het trouwens allemaal via het tekstboekje volgen indien u hier nood aan heeft.

U weet alvast wat uw Valentijn zal doen slagen.

HIDE