COMPOSERS: Various
LABELS: Hyperion
WORKS: Ora la tromba; Eternal Source of Light
PERFORMER: James Bowman (countertenor); King’s Consort/Robert King
CATALOGUE NO: KING 3 DDD (1988-93)
Savour highlights from James Bowman’s distinguished collaborations with the King’s Consort in this diverse programme (with music from English 17th-century song to Bach) that both lightens the spirit and stirs deeper emotions. Bowman’s expressive directness in the Purcell numbers and winningly idiomatic Handel performances – most notably in the ravishing solo ‘Eternal source of light’, the lively duet ‘Welcome as the dawn of day’ and the fiery ‘Ora la tromba’ – are especially memorable. Such vividly recorded, beauteous sounds are simply irresistible. Nicholas Rast