When Purcell published his 12 Sonnatas in three parts in 1683 he made dear his intentions in the preface to the Ingenuous Reader: to emulate the Italian style and promote it among English musicians. Written categorically for ''two viollins and basse to the Organ or Harpsecord'', these Sonnatas spelt the end for the viol fantasia which Purcell himself had cultivated up to that time, and they must indeed have sounded modern in their own day. There is an airy melodiousness and balance of phrasing, combined with an altogether more extrovert virtuosity, that patently belong to the early Corellian idiom, even though in terms of contrapuntal ingenuity and density of texture the Sonnatas hark back to the fantasia, and the Purcell Quartet successfully bring out these Italianate qualities. Sonnatas Nos. 1–7 were reviewed in January (page 1181) and this release now completes the set.
The two violins (Catherine Mackintosh and Elizabeth Wallfisch) are perfectly matched, from parity of attack and exactitude of intonation to their self-contained but precisely mirrored phrasing and ornamentation, and they spin their lines as competely equal partners. They have elected the chamber organ (Robert Woolley) to provide firm but unobtrusive support, its mellifluous tones gaining in definition from the more astringent quality of the gamba (Richard Boothby), and the whole blends in a luscious sound that lacks nothing in clarity. The short, contrasted sections of each Sonnata are subtly characterized, the canzonas lively and well pointed as a snippet of an idea is thrown from one player to another in a flurry of activity, while the other fast movements are equally fleet of foot.
Again, in the preface to the 1683 volume, Purcell specifies that Adagio and Grave should indicate a very slow tempo, Allegro and Vivace ''a very brisk, swift or fast movement'', while Largo implied a 'middle' speed. Justifiably, then, the Purcell Quartet take these short movements which are invariably in triple time, faster than one might be used to and they acquire a very attractive dance-like impetus. Paradoxically the two Pavans included here revert to the more involved, introverted style of the fantasia. The Quartet are joined by Risa Browder for the D major Ground and the famous G minor Chacony which, stripped of even the slightest indulgence, emerges as fresh and intense as a newly-restored painting.'