Alison Balsom – Sound the Trumpet: Royal Music of Purcell and Handel (2012/2014) [HighResAudio 24bit/96kHz]

Alison Balsom – Sound the Trumpet: Royal Music of Purcell and Handel (2012/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96kHz | Time – 01:06:19 minutes | 1,14 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: highresaudio.com | © Warner Classics

In the year of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, Alison Balsom celebrates the heroic era of the Baroque trumpet in works by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) and Henry Purcell (1658 or 1659-1695), whose anthems, odes, sinfonias and operas have provided the music for numerous royal celebrations from their own day to the present.

Joining forces with Trevor Pinnock, harpsichordist, conductor and pioneer of historical performance, and with the English Concert orchestra that he founded, Balsom demonstrates the versatility and expressive power of her valve-less instrument in original works and new arrangements. These include Purcell’s Sound the trumpet and Handel’s Eternal Source of light divine in duet with countertenor Iestyn Davies and Purcell’s The Plaint from The Fairy Queen in duet with soprano Lucy Crowe. Further repertoire includes suites from Purcell’s semi-operas King Arthur (1691) and The Fairy Queen (1692) in new arrangements by Balsom and Pinnock, Handel’s Water Piece in D Major HWV 341 and his Oboe Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Major HWV 301 transposed into C Major.

Alison Balsom is one of today’s most popular classical musicians. Having managed to break through to the mainstream without abandoning her musical integrity, she continues to draw ever-wider audiences for her performances and recordings of diverse repertoire.

British trumpeter Alison Balsom has been popular from the start, and she seems to gain strength as she tackles each new project and expands her range. Here she plays a Baroque trumpet (apparently a natural trumpet with finger holes but no keys) and is accompanied by the period-instrument English Concert under its veteran conductor Trevor Pinnock. They worked together on most of the arrangements of pieces by Handel and Purcell, and the results in this well-worn British musical ground are nothing short of stunning. The variety of timbres that emerge from Balsom’s instrument is nothing short of stunning, and the place to start in sampling it is with the three vocal duets, two with the fine countertenor Iestyn Davies and one with soprano Lucy Crowe. These give the uncanny effect of almost hearing two vocal parts that so many instrumentalists aim for in arrangements like this, but that so few actually achieve. Balsom has always been a charismatic player with an attractive tone, and an anthology of her earlier recordings is available. But the way she’s going, it makes sense to keep up with the state of her art. -James Manheim

Tracklist:
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Amidigi di Gaula, HWV 11
1. Act 3: Sento la goia 04:45
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
King Arthur Suite, Z. 628
2. Act 1: Overture 03:37
3. Act 1: Come if you dare 03:02
4. Act 5: Symphony 01:56
5. Act 2: Shepherd, Shepherd, Leave Decoying 01:48
6. Act 5: Round thy shores 01:11
7. Act 5: Trumpet Tune 00:47
8. Act 5: Fairest isle 02:03
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Atalanta, HWV 35
9. Overture 04:02
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Birthday Ode for Queen Anne, HWV 74
10. Eternal Source of Light Divine (countertenor) 03:35
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
The Fairy Queen, Z. 629 – Suite of Musicks and Dances
11. Act 4: Symphony 06:28
12. Rondo (Second Musick) 01:41
13. Act 1: Jig 01:07
14. Act 5: Prelude 01:03
15. Act 5: Chaconne and Chorus 03:58
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Come Ye Sons of Art, Z. 323
16. Sound the trumpet (countertenor) 02:36
Handel / Arr Pinnock
Water Music, Suite in D Major, HWV 349
17. I. Overture 01:44
18. II. Gigue (Allegro) 01:47
19. III. Minuet (Aria) 01:50
20. IV. Bourrée 00:60
21. V. March No. 2 (Partenope, HWV 27) 01:07
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
The Fairy Queen, Z. 629
22. Act 5: The plaint 07:45
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Oboe Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Major
23. I. Adagio 01:59
24. II. Allegro 01:41
25. III. Siciliana (Largo) 02:13
26. IV. Vivace 01:39