Le Poem Harmonic: Hello! Bright Cecilia Album Review – Purcell’s poem shines in a luxurious French recording | classical music

IIt is encouraging to see European groups exploring the works of Henry Purcell, Britain’s Baroque national treasure. This album, written by the French band Le Poème Harmonique and conductor Vincent Deumestre, focuses on one of his absolute masterpieces: Hail Mary! Bright Cecilia, a sumptuous celebratory ode to the patron saint of music.

Composed in 1692, it is full of allusions to musical instruments, including the idea that Saint Cecilia invented the organ. Purcell’s fertile imagination responded with a dazzling array of declarative arias, duets and choruses filled with lively violins, flutes and military drums. With added harpsichord in the sustained and distinct woodwinds, Dumestre leads one of the most sumptuous accounts on the disc, full of delightful detail and theatrical flair.

British tenor Hugo Hymas is a particular delight, his feather-light tone complemented by imaginative word graphics. The rest of the soloists use perfectly acceptable English accents. Countertenor Paul Antoine Pinos Djean swirls around Hymas in the sensual flute In Vain the Am’rous Flute, before rising to the aggressive challenge of The Fife and All the Harmony of War. Vlad Crosman is suitably transfixed by the roaring organ in a magnificent instrument! John Blue’s “Every Guest Welcome,” recorded in its entirety for the first time, is a nice bonus.