The Echoing Air (1995)

performed by Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood (organ), Christopher Hogwood (harpsichord), Crispian Steele-Perkins (trumpet), Laurence Dreyfus (cello), Laurence Dreyfus (viola da gamba), Paul O'Dette (archlute), Simon Standage (violin)
composed by Henry Purcell

Henry Purcell's music receives a sumptuous presentation on Sylvia McNair's 1994 CD The Echoing Air. Arranged in four parts following the scheme of Baroque entertainment, the concert features both vocal and instrumental pieces. Opening with a vibrant performance of the Staircase Overture, an early piece full of youthful vitality, the program is drawn from a variety of stage works and incidental music, most of which were randomly compiled in Orpheus Britannicus shortly after the composer's death. McNair's pleasant, unaffected ... Read More

Henry Purcell's music receives a sumptuous presentation on Sylvia McNair's 1994 CD The Echoing Air. Arranged in four parts following the scheme of Baroque entertainment, the concert features both vocal and instrumental pieces. Opening with a vibrant performance of the Staircase Overture, an early piece full of youthful vitality, the program is drawn from a variety of stage works and incidental music, most of which were randomly compiled in Orpheus Britannicus shortly after the composer's death. McNair's pleasant, unaffected voice is perfectly suited to Purcell's pristine lines, and her rhythmic articulations and ornaments are immaculate. Especially noteworthy are her accuracy and sensitivity in bringing off poignant cross relations, a striking feature in many of Purcell's laments. But all the songs benefit from her pure tone and tasteful phrasing. Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music perform on period instruments, and their sound is clear and subtly shaded to set the appropriate mood... Read Less