For their debut album on Challenge Classics, La Sfera ARmoniosa and it's artistic director have chosen orchestral music and arias from the operas by Henry Purcell. La Sfera Armoniosa, founded in 1992, is a Dutch Baroque ensemble and orchestra specializing in the performance of music from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Artistic director Mike Fentross writes: "I was really moved when I heard my orchestra playing the opening bars of Purcell. I heard a sound that was quite different to what I knew from other present-day baroque orchestras. Was this sound closer to that of Purcell's own orchestra, a sound that he may have had in mind when composing this wondrous music? In the very first chat I had about this project with Lidewij van der Voort, our new concertmaster, we talked about the modern adaptations that are often (and understandably) applied to baroque instruments nowadays, and about the possibility of going back to authentic strings (completely bare gut) and a 17th century bow hold (the French grip) for this Purcell project. As it happens, I'd had a similar conversation not long before that with Lidewei de Sterck, our principal oboist, about authentic reeds (scraped from the inside) and with Graham Nicholson, about 17th century trumpets (natural trumpets with no fingerholes). These aspects, seemingly just details, have a major impact not just on the sound but also the way of playing and therefore on the way we interpret the music. We all felt the need to record this album with these 'experimental' instruments. An orchestral sound with so much transparency and color, a way of playing with such narrative power!"

Tracklist:

The Prophetess: Or, The History Of Dioclesian, Z. 627: Symphony For Trumpets And Violins (Live Recording)
The Prophetess: Or, The History Of Dioclesian, Z. 627: First Music (Live Recording)
The Prophetess: Or, The History Of Dioclesian, Z. 627: What Shall I Do To Show Her How Much I Love Her (Live Recording)
The Prophetess: Or, The History Of Dioclesian, Z. 627: Butterfly Dance (Live Recording)
The Prophetess: Or, The History Of Dioclesian, Z. 627: Dance Of Furies (Live Recording)
The Prophetess: Or, The History Of Dioclesian, Z. 627: Since From My Dear (Live Recording)
The Prophetess: Or, The History Of Dioclesian, Z. 627: Tune For Trumpets (Live Recording)
The Prophetess: Or, The History Of Dioclesian, Z. 627: Canaries (Live Recording)
The Indian Queen, Z.630: Air (Live Recording)
The Indian Queen, Z. 630: I Attempt From Love’s Sickness (Live Recording)
The Indian Queen, Z. 630: Hornpipe (Live Recording)
King Arthur, Z. 628: Overture (Live Recording)
King Arthur, Z. 628: First Act Tune (Live Recording)
King Arthur, Z. 628: Hornpipe (Live Recording)
King Arthur, Z. 628: Fairest Isle (Live Recording)
King Arthur, Z. 628: Trumpet Tune (Live Recording)
King Arthur, Z. 628: St. George, The Patron Of Our Isle (Live Recording)
King Arthur, Z. 628: Chaconne (Live Recording)
The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Preludio (Live Recording)
The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Hornpipe (Live Recording)
The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Air (Live Recording)
The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Rondeau (Live Recording)
The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Symphony While The Swans Come Forward (Live Recording)
The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: If Love's A Sweet Passion (Live Recording)
The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Symphony: Prelude, Canzona, Largo, Allegro, Adagio, Allegro (Live Recording)
The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Ye Gentle Spirits Of The Air (Live Recording)
The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Dance For The Followers Night (Live Recording)
The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: See Even Night Herself Is Here (Live Recording)
The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Air II (Live Recording)
The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Hark! The Echoing Air (Live Recording)
The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Grand Dance (Live Recording)

UPC: 608917278323
Label: Challenge Classics
Release Date: 6.15.18
Format: CD

Purcell / Zomer - Symphony While the Swans Come Forward (CD)