Hyperion Records

It is clear from The Lord is king, and hath put on glorious apparel that Purcell had a marvellously talented boy treble at the Chapel Royal, possibly in the early 1680s. The anthem is a relatively recent discovery, found in one of three manuscripts now belonging to Professor Theodore Finney and ascribed at the end by the copyist to ‘Mr Henry Purcell’. The volumes, copied around the turn of the eighteenth century and once in the collection of John Gostling’s son William, contain a large number of anthems by Restoration composers. Dramatic and Italianate, this unique anthem is a splendid vocal tour de force for a treble of stamina and character, full of vigorous words which are skilfully coloured by Purcell.

The triple-time opening is strong, full of confident dotted rhythms: the ‘round world’ is illustrated not only with a roulade but also a time change and wonderfully rich harmony for ‘ever since the world began’. The exultant ‘thou art from everlasting’ is taken up, briefly, by the full choir. The opening of the second section contains powerful music as the floods rise and the waves of the sea rage, yet ‘the Lord who dwells on high is mightier’. After such strong sentiments the main body of the anthem closes with a lilting, contrasting triple-time section ‘Thy testimonies, O Lord, are very sure’, and ends in awe of God’s holiness.

The choral Gloria that concludes the anthem is also written in confident vein, and contains a short phrase for solo treble. Cathedral trebles’ tradition has always been to give such short solos to a ‘debut’ solo treble and, in ending a remarkable anthem, we follow that tradition.

from notes by Robert King ©