Purcell's fantasias for viols have been recorded often enough, but this performance by the Montreal group Les Voix Humaines stands out in several respects. First is the set of viols, dating from the eighteenth century and now resident at the University of Toronto. Though not originally a set, they were brought together by a single individual and have a distinctively wiry, intense tone that fits the interpretation offered here. The indefatigable annotator François Filiatrault likens Purcell's fantasias, apparently written ...
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Purcell's fantasias for viols have been recorded often enough, but this performance by the Montreal group Les Voix Humaines stands out in several respects. First is the set of viols, dating from the eighteenth century and now resident at the University of Toronto. Though not originally a set, they were brought together by a single individual and have a distinctively wiry, intense tone that fits the interpretation offered here. The indefatigable annotator François Filiatrault likens Purcell's fantasias, apparently written during a single stretch in 1680, to Bach's Art of Fugue, and they're given a correspondingly weighty treatment here, proceeding from the three-part pieces to those in four parts, the five-part Fantasia upon One Note, and finally In Nomines in six and seven parts before releasing the tension with the rather bizarre "Dance for the Green Men" and Monkey's Dance from the incidental music to The Fairy Queen and a viol version of the famous "Dido's Lament." It's a convincing performance that...
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Add this copy of Fantasias to cart. $13.83, good condition, Sold by Prime Goods Outlet rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Troy, OH, UNITED STATES, published 2009 by ATMA Classique.
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