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Track(s) taken from CDA66710

My heart, whenever you appear, Z399

composer
1685
author of text

Rogers Covey-Crump (tenor), The King's Consort
Recording details: March 1994
Orford Church, Suffolk, United Kingdom
Produced by Ben Turner
Engineered by Philip Hobbs
Release date: March 1994
Total duration: 1 minutes 46 seconds
 

Reviews

‘An auspicious launch to a project that will probably have no real competiton for years to come; I recommend it heartily’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘An exceptional recording with consummate singing and playing which is worthy of pride of place in any vocal collection’ (CDReview)
My heart, whenever you appear was included in the first edition of The Theatre of Music and reprinted ten years later in The New Treasury of Musick. The poet is sad, despite his love for his lady, and Purcell beautifully captures the mood of ardent melancholy. Although the poet’s heart rises whenever his love appears, finding (with a delicious, bittersweet melisma) ‘something so delightful’, he has nagging doubts that, such is the attraction of his lady, rivals to him ‘ev’ry day increase’. In the second verse he admits that the lady too has problems, for despite the thousand hearts that ‘To you their adoration owe’, she can only pick one of them. The worry that ‘racks me with despair’ is that the poet may not prove to be the chosen one.

from notes by Robert King © 2003

Other albums featuring this work

Purcell: The complete secular solo songs
CDS44161/33CDs Boxed set (at a special price) — Download only
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