Purcell: Music for Queen Mary

Coronation on April 11, 1689, early death on December 27, 1694: the English queen Mary II, known as "Queen Mary," sat on the English throne for barely six years before dying of the smallpox at the age of only 33. She was the patroness of one of the most important composers of the United Kingdom: Henry Purcell, the "Orpheus Britannicus", who is one of the greatest masters of English music. As court musician he accompanied the short reign of the sovereign and created his famous late works. His magnificent compositions for Queen Mary now appear in a new recording with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge. In this recording, the most significant musical traditions come together. After all, the Choir of King's College, Cambridge is a highly historic and now world-famous ensemble. No less a person than King Henry VI founded the choir back in the 15th century. Once composed of clergymen, today it is recruited from students of the renowned King's College. The choir also has a tradition within the EMI Classics catalog: the back catalog, which was created under the direction of Stephen Cleobury, includes significant choral music from Gregorian to modern. The new Purcell recording includes several splendidly jubilant birthday odes for the Queen as well as the deeply moving funeral music - examples of tremendous Baroque expressivity. Purcell was to survive "his" Queen Mary for only a scant year. He died on November 21, 1695, at the age of only 36.