Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noel Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell – Tyrannic Love (2021) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Until the late 1680s, Henry Purcell composed almost exclusively for the royal court. But when the monarchy decided to reduce its expenditure on music in 1690, he joined the United Company, a London theatre company, and devoted himself to composing for its productions. These took varied forms, with operas such as King Arthur (1691), The Fairy Queen (1692) and The Indian Queen (1695) but also spoken plays with music, such as The Virtuous Wife (1695).

Some excerpts from these works are presented in “Tyrannic Love”. Compositions by Purcell’s colleagues or followers John Blow, John Eccles, Jeremiah Clarke and Daniel Purcell complete the programme. This recording marks the beginning of the collaboration between Alpha and the ensemble Les Surprises, founded in 2010, which takes its name from Les Surprises de l’Amour by Rameau, the group’s emblematic composer. Under the artistic direction of Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas, who is also an organist and harpsichordist, the ensemble presents innovative interpretations and explores the rich orchestral sonorities made possible by the use of Baroque instruments.

Tracklist

01. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell: King Arthur, Z. 628: Hornpipe (Second Act Tune)
02. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Eccles: The Comical History of Don Quixote, Pt. II: “I Burn, My Brain Consumes to Ashes”
03. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Blow: Amphion Anglicus: “Poor Celadon, He Sighs in Vain” (Loving Above Himself)
04. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell: The Prophetess, or the History of Dioclesian, Z. 627: Dance of the Furies
05. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell: Rule a Wife and Have a Wife, Z. 587: “There’s Not a Swain on the Plain”
06. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Hornpipe
07. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Dance for the Fairies
08. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Dance for the Green Men
09. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell: The Indian Queen, Z. 630: “Ye Twice Ten-Hundred Deities”
10. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell: The Indian Queen, Z. 630: Symphony
11. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell: The Indian Queen, Z. 630: “Seek Not to Know”
12. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Blow: Venus and Adonis: Saraband for the Graces
13. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell: A Fool’s Preferment, or the Three Dukes of Dunstable, Z. 571: “There’s Nothing so Fatal as Women”
14. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell: The Virtuous Wife, Z. 611: Overture
15. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Eccles: The Comical History of Don Quixote, Pt. I: “Sleep, Poor Youth” (The Dirge)
16. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell: The Virtuous Wife, Z. 611: Slow Air
17. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell: The Virtuous Wife, Z. 611: Air
18. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell: The Yorkshire Feast Song, Z. 333: “So When the Glitt’ring Queen of Night” from “Of Old When Heroes Thought It Base”
19. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell: Anacreon’s Defeat, Z. 423: “This Poet Sings the Trojan Wars”
20. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Clarke: Song on the Assumption: Ground in D Minor
21. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell: Pausanias, the Betrayer of his Country, Z. 585: “My Dearest, My Fairest”
22. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell: Tyrannic Love, or the Royal Martyr, Z. 613: “Hark! My Damilcar”
23. Ensemble Les Surprises, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas – Purcell: King Arthur, Z. 628: Chaconne