Purcell: Hail! Bright Cecilia | Ensemble La Fenice

A highlight of English Baroque. Henry Purcell’s “Hail! Bright Cecilia” is a ceremonial ode to the patron saint of sacred music: Saint Cecilia. It is performed here by the Ensemble La Fenice under the direction of Jean Tubéry. The concert took place in 2012 in the Chapelle de la Trinité in Lyon.

(00:00) I. Symphony (overture)
(02:11) II. Recitative (bass) and chorus: Hail! Bright Cecilia
(06:08) III. Duet (treble and bass): Hark! hark! each tree
(10:20) IV. Air (countertenor): Tis nature's voice
(14:19) V. Chorus: Soul of the world
(16:38) VI. Air (soprano and chorus): Thou tun'st this world
(19:49) VII. Trio (alto, tenor and bass): With that sublime celestial lay
(22:52) VIII. Air (bass): Wondrous machine!
(25:11) IX. Air (countertenor): The airy violin
(26:38) X. Duet (countertenor and tenor): In vain the am'rous flute
(30:32) XI. Air (countertenor): The fife and all the harmony of war
(33:49) XII. Duet (two basses): Let these among themselves contest
(35:39) XIII. Chorus: Hail! Bright Cecilia, hail to thee

Henry Purcell (1659-1695) is viewed as the most important English composer of the Baroque period and enjoyed great fame and fortune during his lifetime. He was engaged as the organist at the Chapel Royal and Westminster Abbey. In the early years of his career, Purcell mainly composed sacred music and odes for royal ceremonial occasions. Many of his later works were inspired by the plays of William Shakespeare. One of the most famous of these is his opera “Dido and Aeneas“. Henry Purcell died in his mid-30s at the zenith of his creative life.

The choral ode “Hail! Bright Cecilia” (Z.328) was written to mark the memorial day of Saint Cecilia, initially celebrated in France and then in England from the late 17th century. For more than 30 years, the Musical Society of London commissioned a different composer every year to write a new ode to Cecilia. The piece would then be played on 22 November after a major celebratory mass. Henry Purcell was the first to fulfil the commission with the “Laudate Ceciliam“ in the year 1683. But his ode “Hail! Bright Cecilia“ from 1692 was a much bigger success. The work was sung twice at its premiere.

Of Purcell's 20 choral odes, "Hail! Bright Cecilia" is the last and most extensive. The work is characterized by a great variety of timbres and forms. Purcell changes the instrumentation in each movement: arias, duets, ensembles and choirs alternate. The piece is therefore not only an ode to Saint Cecilia but also to music in general.

The Ensemble La Fenice specializes in music of the Baroque era played on period instruments. The ensemble was founded in 1990 by cornetist, flautist and conductor Jean Tubéry in Auxerre, France.

© Karl More Productions/Festival de Musique Baroque de Lyon 2012

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