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Track(s) taken from CDA66656

We sing to him whose wisdom form'd the ear, Z199

composer
1688; Harmonia Sacra 1
author of text

Susan Gritton (soprano), Michael George (bass), The King's Consort, Robert King (conductor)
Recording details: April 1993
St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Ben Turner
Engineered by Philip Hobbs
Release date: June 1993
Total duration: 1 minutes 27 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

James Bowman (countertenor), The King's Consort, Robert King (conductor)

Reviews

‘I continue to be grateful for King's recordings of these works, recordings which those readers interested in Purcell will cherish’ (Fanfare, USA)
Purcell’s short setting of Nathaniel Ingelo’s We sing to him, whose wisdom form’d the ear dates from 1688 and was published in volume 1 of Harmonia Sacra. Once again the composer demonstrates his responsiveness to the text, pointing important words and phrases. The imperative ‘hear’ leaps up an octave, the ‘spring of mirth’ curls down the scale, and ‘harmony’ is richly scored. The ‘humble sonnets’ rise as they ‘that praise rehearse’, and Purcell’s harmony ingeniously sorts itself out for ‘music’. For the chorus the soprano is joined by a bass, and they dance ‘whilst we sing’ and ‘consecrate our art’: the music rises gloriously as they ‘offer up with ev’ry tongue a heart’.

from notes by Robert King ©

La courte mise en musique du poème de Nathaniel Ingelo, We sing to him, whose wisdom form'd the ear, date de 1688 et fut publiée dans le premier volume d'Harmonia Sacra. Le compositeur démontre une fois encore sa profonde empathie avec le texte, en accentuant d'importants mots et phrases. L'impératif 'hear' (qu'il entende) saute un octave, la 'source de joie' (spring of mirth) descend la gamme en ondoyant, et 'harmony' (l'harmonie) est somptueusement orchestré. Les 'humbles sonnets' s'élèvent quand ils 'répètent cette louange' (that praise rehearse) et l'harmonie de Purcell s'arrange ingénieusement pour le mot 'music'. Pour le choeur, une basse se joint au soprano, et elles dansent 'pendant que nous chantons' (whilst we sing) et 'consacrons notre art' (consecrate our art); la musique s'élève de façon splendide, tandis que les voix 'offrent leur amour dans toutes les langues' (offer up with ev'ry tongue a heart).

extrait des notes rédigées par Robert King © 1993

Purcells kurze Vertonung von Nathaniel Ingelos We sing to him, whose wisdom form 'd the ear [Wir singen ihm, des Weisheit schuf das Ohr] entstand 1688 und wurde im I. Band der Harmonien sacra veröffentlicht. Wieder einmal stellt der Komponist seine Fähigkeit unter Beweis, auf den Text zu reagieren, indem er wichtige Wörter und Redewendungen hervorhebt. Das gebietende 'hear' [höre] führt einen Oktavsprung nach oben aus, der 'spring of mirth' [Quell der Freude] wallt die Tonleiter hinab und der Begriff 'harmony' wird üppig untermalt. Die bescheidenen Sonette erheben sich, wenn sie bei 'that praise rehearse' ihr Loblied üben, und Purcells Harmonik ordnet sich genial beim Wort 'music'. Zum Refrain gesellt sich der Baß dem Sopran zu, worauf sie singend tanzen und mit 'consecrate our art' ihre Kunst weihen. Und glorreich schwillt die Musik an zu 'offer up with ev'ry tongue a heart' [bieten dar mit jeder Zung' ein Herz].

aus dem Begleittext von Robert King © 1993
Deutsch: Anne Steeb/Bernd Müller

Other albums featuring this work

Purcell: Mr Henry Purcell's Most Admirable Composures
CDH55303Download only
Purcell: The Complete Sacred Music
CDS44141/5111CDs Boxed set (at a special price) — Download only
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