Released to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the birth of “Henry Purcell: Ten Sonata’s in Four Parts”, is performed by Retrospect Trio, a group formed under the umbrella of the larger Retrospect brand. The release date will coincide with the launch of Retrospect, formerly known as The King’s Consort. • This recording explores the timeless beauty of Purcell’s first set of sonatas including the magnificent Sonata IX, known as 'The Golden Sonata'. • The Ten Sonata’s in Four Parts (published after Purcell's death in 1697) provide a fascinating insight into the cosmopolitan and often conflicting stylistic tastes of English musicians in the latter part of the seventeenth century. • Purcell blends the significant French, Italian and English influences including unique use of counterpoint, unusual and exotic dissonances and strikingly abrupt melodic changes of direction. • The name Retrospect Trio acknowledges the common practice of not recognising the continuo presence in either the title of the pieces or the performing group. • The four members of the group, Sophie Gent (violin), Matthew Truscott (violin), Jonathan Manson (bass viol) and Matthew Halls (harpsichord / organ, are all distinguished international performers in their own right with a shared passion for historically-informed music-making. • Matthew Halls was Associate Director (2005-2007) and Artistic Director (2007-2009) of The King’s Consort before taking up his position as Artistic Director of Retrospect Ensemble. “Henry Purcell: Ten Sonata’s in Four Parts” is a fitting tribute to Purcell by four superstar baroque instrumentalists and the first recording in the highly anticipated Retrospect Ensemble series. Track Listing: 1. Sonata I in B minor - Adagio 2. Sonata I in B minor - Canzona 3. Sonata I in B minor - Largo 4. Sonata I in B minor - Vivace 5. Sonata II in E-flat major - Adagio 6. Sonata II in E-flat major - Canzona: Allegro 7. Sonata II in E-flat major - Adagio 8. Sonata II in E-flat major - Largo 9. Sonata II in E-flat major - Allegro 10. Sonata III in A minor - Grave 11. Sonata III in A minor - Largo 12. Sonata III in A minor - Adagio 13. Sonata III in A minor - Canzona 14. Sonata III in A minor - [Allegro] Grave 15. Sonata IV in D minor - Adagio 16. Sonata IV in D minor - Canzona 17. Sonata IV in D minor - Adagio 18. Sonata IV in D minor - Vivace 19. Sonata IV in D minor - Largo 20. Sonata V in G minor - [...] 21. Sonata V in G minor - Canzona 22. Sonata V in G minor - Largo 23. Sonata V in G minor - Adagio 24. Sonata V in G minor - Presto 25. Sonata V in G minor - Allegro 26. Sonata V in G minor - Adagio 27. Sonata VI in G minor - Adagio 28. Sonata VII in C major - Vivace 29. Sonata VII in C major - Largo 30. Sonata VII in C major - Grave 31. Sonata VII in C major - Canzona 32. Sonata VII in C major - Allegro 33. Sonata VII in C major - Adagio 34. Sonata VIII in G minor - Adagio 35. Sonata VIII in G minor - Canzona 36. Sonata VIII in G minor - Grave 37. Sonata VIII in G minor - Largo 38. Sonata VIII in G minor - Vivace 39. Sonata IX in F major - [...] 40. Sonata IX in F major - Adagio 41. Sonata IX in F major - Canzona Allegro 42. Sonata IX in F major - Grave 43. Sonata IX in F major - Allegro 44. Sonata X in D major - Adagio 45. Sonata X in D major - Canzona: Allegro 46. Sonata X in D major - Grave 47. Sonata X in D major - Largo 48. Sonata X in D major - Allegro Total Running Time 72 minutes Reviews 10 June 2009 Classic FM Magazine Rick Jones Fiddlers Matthew Truscott and Sophie Gent, bass viol Jonathan Manson and harpsichordist Matthew Halls are the group ‘formerly known as the King's Consort'. A tragic mood pervades the disc. The first sonata shares an almost identical first chord with that of Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas. The ornaments slither dangerously and the dances tread with guilty lightness. The highpoint is Sonata No.6, a long, single-movement adagio consisting of fiddles intertwining with ever-increasing invention above an untiring ground bass. 08 June 2009 BBC Online Charlotte Gardner It seems almost impossible now to imagine a time when the word "sonata" was a racy, new-fangled Italian invention, or when the idea of a violin playing solo rather than within an instrumental consort was close to indecent. Well, welcome to the London of Henry Purcell. This recording marks the debut of the Retrospect Trio, an offshoot of the Retrospect Ensemble, the early music group known until recently as the Kings Consort. The aim of the trio - violinists Sophie Gent and Matthew Truscott, bass violist Jonathan Manson and harpsichordist Matthew Halls - is to explore the rich trio sonata repertoire of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The CD also marks the 350th anniversary of Purcell's birth, and a fitting tribute it is. These sonatas provide a wonderfully performed, fascinating snapshot of late 17th century English cultural life, and how Purcell operated within it. London musical life in the 1680s had a whiff of controversy around it. While at court, French-style instrumental ensembles reigned supreme, elsewhere the traditional English consort style was in vogue. Meanwhile, various Italian violinists were also arriving in London, introducing the idea of the solo virtuoso violinist. Opinion was polarised; the composer Thomas Mace scathingly talked of "scoulding violins", but others embraced the idea. Purcell, therefore, was stuck in the middle of a musical diplomatic conundrum; did he want to be a racy Italian, a courtly Frenchman, or a traditional Englishman? His decision was to plump for all three; the sonatas on this disc, published in 1697, two years after his death, show how he drew from all their sensibilities and styles whilst staying true to his own predilection for almost-shocking dissonance, intricate contrapuntal textures, and melodic invention. Retrospect's debut performance combines this French grace, Italian vivacity, and British grit. Technically, the faster virtuosic sections are nimbly and neatly executed, and musically their beautiful shaping of the slower, chordal passages has yielded maximum emotional punch. With a sound this satisfying and addictive, they've set the bar very high for future recordings. Bravo. 31 May 2009 Sunday Times Hugh Canning Retrospect is a newly formed period-instrument ensemble comprising former members of the King's Consort under their erstwhile acting director, Matthew Halls. With Sophie Gent and Matthew Truscott (alternating as first violin in five sonatas each) and the bass violist Jonathan Manson, Halls shows his prowess, on both harpsichord and organ, as a chamber musician. Most of Purcell's 10 Sonatas are latish works, posthumously published by his widow in 1697, but some may even predate a collection he released in 1683. Whatever their date, they are magnificent works, offering a fusion of Italian sonata, French suite and English viol consort music styles. Only No 1 in B minor emulates the slow-fast-slow-fast-slow movement structure of the typical Italian sonata da chiesa, while No 6 is an extended Adagio in G minor. Only the "Golden Sonata", No 9 in F major, is widely known, but the entire set counts as one of the pinnacles of baroque chamber music - adagios and largos are tinged with a uniquely Purcellian melancholy, while the many vivace numbers show the composer revelling in the spirit of baroque dance. The playing is immaculate - expressive and alert to all the nuance and variety of this superb music. An absolute winner for the Purcell year. |
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