PURCELL: Complete Fantazias – Fretwork – Harmonia mundi 907502, 49:50 ***1/2 [Release date: 5/12/09]:
PURCELL: Fantasias – Les Voix humaines – ATMA 2591, 53:13, **** [Distr. by Naxos]:
In 1660, when the monarchy was restored in England after 11 years of Puritan rule, the “Merry Monarch”, Charles II, wanted to hear the light and flighty music he had been accustomed to while in exile, the newest Italian and French styles. England of course, being a rather staid traditional country, was hesitant to abandon the tried and true, and only reluctantly gave up its long-established musical heritage to the influence of outsiders. The viola da gamba, the string instrument of choice, would soon be replaced by the violin family, but not without a fight, and there was much music written for the instrument as solo or in tandem with other members of the family. The Renaissance, being primarily a time of choral composition, did not know many purely instrumental forms, and the fantasia, evolved from the Franco-Flemish motet, served well the viol consort as well as keyboard and lute.
The attractions of this form were many for the skilled composer, who could revel in his display of the art of counterpoint, from canon to fugue to modulations of extreme nature to static homophonic passages that impressed because of their wandering and irregular key resolutions. At least a composer like Purcell, young and ambitious and also desirous of proving himself in what was rapidly becoming “old school” would want to test his mettle against the masters Tallis, Gibbons, Byrd, and Locke. The works on both of these discs are an extraordinary testament to the native genius of the composer, a set that rightly belongs in the same breath as mention of the Art of Fugue by the soon-to-come master from Leipzig himself.
In 1680 the first set of these works appeared, 15 fantasias and In nominees (so-called because they were based on a specific plainchant melody set by John Taverner in his mass “Gloria Tibi Trinitas” (1530). It appears that he was planning on more, as the manuscript ends with blank pages titled “Here beginneth ye 6, 7, and 8 part Fantazias.” There is also a four-part work from three years later that is incomplete, though the ATMA disc includes it in a finished version. Les Voix humaines also adds two dances from the Fairy Queen and the famous “Dido’s Lament” from Dido and Aeneas. Aside from these, the contents are the same on both discs.
It’s tough to choose between them; Fretwork offers the usual consistency and tonal qualities that we are used to from their many recordings. Few consorts play with such alacrity and overall ensemble unanimity. But there is something I find most attractive about Les Voix humaines—they bring a sense of communicative intimacy that I find lacking in Fretwork’s bolder and perhaps even more dignified approach. Les Voix humaines allows us into the personal side of Purcell’s world, and he never composed music more personal than this. I also like the more varied tonal colors that they get out of their instruments, bolstered but the somewhat recessed recording that allows more space around each instrument as opposed to the space that surrounds Fretwork as an ensemble. I admit these are highly subjective qualifications, but hey, that’s why I get the medium bucks.
You can’t go wrong with either of these releases, and you should have these in your collection. I will give the nod to Les Voix humaines because of the above virtues and the slightly greater playing time, but will certainly understand if you want to stick with the more famous and formidable Fretwork release.
— Steven Ritter
