Songs by Henry Purcell

“A greater musical genius England never had”, Roger North once pertinently remarked about Henry Purcell.

The style of the master is not only varied and original; no other composer has been more proficient in setting his own tongue to music. It has been I Justiniani’s as well as my particular wish to dedicate this recording uniquely to Henry Purcell’s songs in order for you to enjoy the outstanding beauty of his compositions.

His ability in combining rhythm with melody allows him to convey the essence of the poetry, and we have in turn endeavoured to represent this exacting purity by a varying continuo.
My aim was to bring together in one recording the various styles of his songs. I have chosen works from Orpheus Brittanicus as well as from the many songs that Purcelll created for the theatre. Purcell wrote about 250 songs; nearly 150 of these appear in his dramatic works and the rest were mostly published in contemporary songbooks. Amongst these there are gems and masterpieces of a rare tunefulness, covering the widest range: from the simple strophic “lute-song”, over the Italian inspired decorated recitative (Not all my torments can your pity move), to a song on a ground (O solitude).

We have approached Purcell’s music through the texts, where we have found the intricate poise between instrument and song, and where the delicate colours of the continuo have served as a source of inspiration.

I Justiniani and myself have great pleasure in wishing you exactly that!

- Anne Cambier