This is the fourth in the planned eight-volume set of Purcell's complete odes and welcome songs performed by The King's Consort; and it brings three unfamiliar works of which at least two remind us how much absolutely top-drawer music of Purcell is all but ignored.
From hardy climes marks the wedding of the future Queen Anne to Prince George of Denmark in 1683. It is a ravishing piece, full of the angular lines and chromatic touches that so fascinated the young Purcell. Its florid text runs through many moods, explaining that the prince's valour has long been known in Britain, describing the gifts brought by ''The sparrow and the gentle dove'' (in a wonderful ground eloquently sung by Charles Daniels) and finally stating that ''So shall the race from your great loins to come/ prove future kings and queens of Christendom''. It is a stunning example of Purcell's early full-blown maturity.
In an entirely different way, Purcell produced magical ideas in Celestial music, setting a text full of classical allusions credited to one of the pupils at Mr Maidwell's school. Each paragraph of the poem stimulates him in a different way, with the weight of the work put in two alto arias that neatly show two different sides of James Bowman's voice: if Bowman's earlier bloom has gone, these performances witness his continuing musical growth and stylistic range.
Beside those works, Ye tuneful Muses, of 1686, is decidedly less intriguing. It sounds in many places as though Purcell is writing on automatic pilot, recycling old ideas that have worked well enough in the past; but Robert King and his musicians enter into the spirit of the work and perform with their now familiar taste and zest.
With single strings and a well balanced team of soloists, The King's Consort are strong and musical throughout, with an effortless sense of ensemble. If it is possible to regret the lack of a full chorus, the elegance of the performances and consistently stylish tempos more than compensate.'