Music For Queen Mary-A Celebration Of The Life And Death Of Queen Mary

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Music reviews of Music For Queen Mary-A Celebration Of The Life And Death Of Queen Mary

Music Review: Joy and sadness perfectly combined
Rating: 5 Stars

In the second section, the focus moves onto music written during the mourning period after Queen Mary's death. Purcell continues to prove himself the greatest composer of the time, in his semi-sacred songs (in Latin) mourning her death, and in the music he wrote for her funeral. This section is indeed a highlight of the disc as it attempts, in a very scholarly way, to recreate the funeral in the Abbey as it might have sounded in 1695, with the Funeral Sentences by Thomas Morley interspersed with Purcell's own material and a number of Farewell Marches for trumpets and drums only.

The members of the Abbey Choir under Martin Neary do an admirable job of stepping into the shoes of their forebears under Purcell; accompanied by the period instrument-equipped New London Consort, the sound is truly magnificent. In addition, a number of prestigious soloists appear, including Emma Kirkby and Ian Bostridge (undoubtedly key performers for capturing the purity and delicacy of this music), Michael Chance (who seems a little under-utilised), Stephen Richardson (a rich and profound bass voice if ever I heard one) along with members of the Abbey Choir itself. Of special note- one does not often find a choral CD on which all three senior musical officials at the cathedral (Organist, Assistant Organist and Organ Scholar) are heard playing, but this is one such recording: Martin Baker and Stephen Le Prevost fill in organ continuo parts in various places, as does Dr Neary himself (who also plays the harpsichord for most of the solo pieces).

Arc of Light have done it again- a recording of extreme loveliness, going right down to the packaging which features some beautiful artistry (in fact, the main cover photograph is given an explanation in the booklet notes owing to the special way in which it was produced). A true gem in all respects.

Description of Music For Queen Mary-A Celebration Of The Life And Death Of Queen Mary

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