Henry Purcell: Fairest Isle (King Arthur), Anna Dennis with Voices of Music 4K UHD

[@petercrosland5502]

Purcell, brilliant English composer almost totally unknown in the UK most people would think he was a washing powder but widely known in Europe. This was a lovely rendering with brilliant notes about the ancient woodwork that made it possible. 5 stars. We used to sing it at school in the 1960's, strange school and it didn't sound like this. Now on 3rd listen.

[@lawrencebrown3677]

Very beautiful soprano voice, a pure deilght for my ears.

[@davidtinker2143]

I play this beautiful rendition regularly and continue to derive the same pleasure as if I was hearing it for the first time.

[@simonroe-ko8yx]

yes so do i . totally agree

[@lonniethomas2649]

What a wonderful voice and performance! Purcell is amazing. Thank you!

[@turtlebayster]

Angelic. I am not expecting to hear a better performance of this piece.

[@nevinkorbett9985]

I wouldn't consider it better, but definitely equal. You should listen to Andrea Haines' Voces8 version. That version and this are my two favorite of this beautiful piece!

[@jaywalker1233]

@@nevinkorbett9985 Absolutely agree with you. There is no video of the players in that KZbin but you do get to see the moving score and it’s interesting to see where the the singer and instrumentalist deviate from the score with their individual embellishments, entirely appropriately and exactly as they would have been expected to in the baroque period. We still get to experience such improvisation at live jazz and pop/rock concerts where the acts are not expected to replicate the “original” recorded versions but, sadly, this skill has long been discouraged in the “traditional” classical performance world where religious adherence to the “sacred score” as written by the composer has been seen as sacrosanct even where improvisation has been indicated such as with cadenzas. Fortunately early music groups such as here have embraced the authentic baroque performance style of embellishments and it is wonderful.

[@meredith218461]

Lovely rendition of Pursell's sublime song.

[@meisamrasouli4269]

I have completely fallen in love with classic music, especially baroque music, due to the superb and excellent performances of "Voices of Music". It has been such a pleasure to watch and listen to these videos.

[@VoicesofMusic]

Thanks so much!

[@martinejaworski9018]

Anna Dennis has the most beautiful resonant soprano voice!

[@VoicesofMusic]

She's amazing.....

[@Digeroo123]

But all wrong for this song.

[@jayakumarkaarikuzhy4713]

@@Digeroo123 I can imagine your state of mind considering that almost all the comments were in favor of the soprano in addition to the applause of the audience. Yes she must have got everything wrong when performing in front of a crowd and conducted by an august organization like voices of music! You must have forgotten to have something. You definitely have some fish to fry in this case.

[@glynnwright1699]

@@jayakumarkaarikuzhy4713 Ms Dennis has a beautiful voice, but I agree with Digeroo, not suited to this composition. Compare this with Gardiner and Gill Ross.

[@HAL011964]

so lovely, and ... what a voice!

[@uppast420am]

What a gem this is.

[@ericpinheiro1378]

I can't help listening to this song all along! It's a real masterpiece that touch deep inside any heart! Thanks a great deal Voices Of Music!!!

[@averayugen7607]

Purcell had the touch. His songs were more modern than modern, if u know what I mean. Just the bare essentials. Who said baroque was about curleycues???

[@mereyeslacalle]

Es tan bello que hace brotar lágrimas de mis ojos. Henry Purcell y John Dryden sin duda , de lo mejor de los ingleses . Gracias a la soprano Anna Dennis y a Voices of Music . Divinos !!

[@alcos2601]

Thank you for the subtitles--an addition to the splendid performance of this splendid work.

[@VoicesofMusic]

Our pleasure!

[@haygraphics]

I've been hoping you people who comprise the Voices of Music would perform this one. You're the perfect match for this sublimely beautiful piece of music. Nothing more need be said.

[@VoicesofMusic]

Brian Hay Thanks, Brian!

[@veritasak9054]

I also think. I've seen other versions, but this is the best.

[@avakroman2079]

Just love it! Such a beautiful song from one of my favorite composers.

[@armgarci]

This is amazing. I'd really love to see one of these performances live. Beautiful.

[@peteacher52]

Bravo! It has been my contention for a great while that even Bach, up to age 37 when Purcell died, scarcely exceeded Purcell in quality of music.

[@violjohn]

Absolutely agree. A most remarkable composer!

[@Roheryn100]

He is horribly underrated…

[@OlmoHerediaBlanco]

Best version I've ever heard... Magnificent voice and orchestra. Thanks again, Voices of Music!

[@stevenschuyler9527]

Wow...what a voice! Beauty beyond words.

[@leonardfleet50]

Lovely music and exceptionally clear video, excellent.

[@bellowphone]

Heart-wrenchingly beautiful.

[@Roheryn100]

There is something so wistful about Purcell’s work…😔

[@aucuneideejsp8891]

Incredible sound! Clear voice and great accoustics. A pure delight to both ears & soul!

[@thibaultwermeister400]

Merci pour ce grand moment !

[@marcaurele3115]

Quelle belle Venus , voix posée et profonde , de la couleur et du style ! Et un bel accompagnement ! Une magnifique version de cette " fairest Isle " qui reste l'une des plus belles mélodies que Purcell ait écrite !

[@VoicesofMusic]

Merci!

[@bertcarter6176]

A perfect delight. Thanks so much for sharing such beauty.

[@VoicesofMusic]

Bert Carter You are very welcome.

[@岸均-p3g]

Bert Carter て

[@luisbassooon]

Gorgeous, and that harpsichord is beautiful.

[@palfab962ify]

bravo indeed...wow....great.. and I thought Dame Emma was good!!!!....this is right up there...wonderful stuff.. keep it coming....

[@tatalito]

you are GREAT § bravo bravo bravo , from Normandy,France.

[@febronius1]

Na visokoj razini, očekivano za Voices,sopranisticu prvi put slušam, sviđa mi se...

[@JardinsVerts]

Such a lovable version&performance.

[@andreacareless4141]

Lovely, thank you! I'm just learning this -- the musicality part of it. :-) This is really wonderful in showing where the emphasis should be, and where the lightness....

[@alfredo6159]

Deliciosa interpretación y orquestación, con un gusto musical exquisito. Bravo.

[@staszekmatusik4843]

With great pleasure I voted! A lot thanks for your art and a sharing it with the world.

[@melcadman]

Magnificent performance with Anna Dennis' singing demonstrating her quite unique, multi-layered and rich soprano voice. She performed Handel's Solomon in Glasgow with the SCO recently with an absolutely compelling and commanding performance. Let's hope she returns soon,

[@trishtraynor]

An extraordinary instrument. My favourite soprano of all time. I've been going to concerts from the 1960s,and Anna Dennis has something I've never heard before.

[@jayakumarkaarikuzhy4713]

Oh! What a beautiful voice and style of singing, comparable to which I had heard only from some birds. Wow. People who could enjoy it directly must be the "chosen ones", as given in the Bible!

[@weerobot]

Wow...Stunning...

[@davidtinker2143]

Truly wonderful.

[@jeanmicheljosse4380]

J'adore!!!

[@mikekeyes6102]

A truly beautiful performance in every way.

[@VoicesofMusic]

:)

[@Stedycoach]

Très jolie version... From France

[@pilarizquierdo3542]

Era como estar en el cielo. ¡Wow! Muchas gracias por tanta belleza. 🌈🌟🙏😍🎶

[@joycesul3028]

Beautiful! Best version i"ve ever heard so far

[@VoicesofMusic]

:)

[@071949]

Very nice, I enjoyed this. I only wish that were another camera showing the individual musicians and Anna close up, in addition to the distance view of the entire ensemble!

[@richardmakse164]

Exquisite. Purcell's greatest song and perhaps the greatest English song at the level of Arne's "Rule Brittania". Enjoyed this a long time ago when William Christie visited Brooklyn (BAM) and "conducted" the audience in "Your Hay It Is Mow'd". One of my most memorable musical moments.

[@PM.68]

Oh yes this should be the British anthem

[@TomEvensen-ld9vs]

Beautiful!

[@francobonnisolli4370]

Another beautiful performance from VM. X

[@VoicesofMusic]

Thanks for listening!

[@BattleFeerr23322]

gorgeous

[@francomasiero2019]

Stupenda

[@bdnahomi]

Vraiment beau ! Je la connais parcœur en chantant. ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

[@AlineMayne1]

Nice!

[@ThomasEhbauer]

Brilliant

[@erezk2170]

delightful

[@veritasak9054]

glorious!!!

[@richardwoods5873]

Jn Wesley wrote the hymn "Love divine, all loves excelling" as a sort of riposte to this poem, and it was originally sung to this tune.

[@mariogirard1221]

beautiful,what more can i say

[@VoicesofMusic]

Many thanks!

[@Turitea]

just lovely😁

[@giovmin]

Complimenti a tutti i Musicisti !

[@panzerabwerkanone]

Y'all need to not work Hanneke so hard! She played about ten instrument in this piece? All y'all need to help her out more. Ha! Love the performance!

[@ratona6367]

Hahahha :D

[@futuristica1710]

If it’s not baroque, don’t bother. Purcell is amazing ❤

[@Teofane]

My favorite version of this lovely aria. Anna Dennis and the instrumentalists are absolutely perfect.

[@marinapegrisch1305]

Bravo!! , indeed😊🙃

[@dennistregellis9162]

Wonderful

[@VoicesofMusic]

Thank you

[@floridante15]

Vi ho scoperti da poco...dove eravate? O meglio: dove ero io per non accorgermi di voi. Grazie per le vostre esecuzioni al limite della perfezione stilistica, per la qualità del suono e dei video e per la vostra incredibile bravura. Da amante della musica barocca non posso che ringraziarvi per aver arricchito la mia esperienza di questo repertorio musicale bellissimo. Grazie!!

[@ThomasEhbauer]

Amazing,especially the ladies

[@Djurberg74]

Very lovely!

[@VoicesofMusic]

Thank you! 😊

[@lundbeckoffice5488]

очень красивая музыка

[@kingdavidapple]

Fabulous! (Dr. David Crystal would make a case for Elizabethan pronunciation in which "love, grove, prove & remove" all rhyme. )

[@VoicesofMusic]

Dr. David Tayler says they are eye rhymes.

[@Обама-т7н]

God bless you

[@Jill-jb1jg]

Ravishing.

[@VoicesofMusic]

Tx.

[@averylittle7350]

And I get to live in that very Isle.

[@VoicesofMusic]

:)

[@annieamourous9326]

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@antoninopirrone2541]

👏👏👏🌺💐❤️💕💕

[@AnnetteMurphyger]

Trying to learn this on recorder at the moment.

[@zsofiarosta5018]

❤☀️☀️☀️

[@jangiertsen750]

Ypperlig ❤🌷🍀🌞❤️

[@TayamniPa]

Is that Corpus Christi in NYC?

[@VoicesofMusic]

No, St. Mark's, SF. But many nice memories of Corpus Christi.

[@alehamdro]

What church, castle or palace is this?

[@VoicesofMusic]

St. Mark's Lutheran, San Francisco, California.

[@alehamdro]

Thanks :-)

[@philbates7975]

Looks and sounds wonderful.

[@karitikka317]

This is perfekt

[@AlamoCityCello]

Elisabeth Reed on cello. Nice one!

[@VoicesofMusic]

ER!

[@leannayearwood8826]

What key is this?

[@VoicesofMusic]

G

[@PM.68]

Shouldn´t this be the British anthem?

[@VoicesofMusic]

:)

[@gordonleyster1108]

😊

[@Digeroo123]

I notice the Early Music ensemble, but the voice is all wrong. Vibrato came later. It would have been a castrati so a much purer singing style.

[@VoicesofMusic]

Since we are musicologists, we are happy to write that vibrato appears in the medieval period, centuries before this performance. In the 16th century, still well before the time of Purcell, it is described in detail, and by the 17th century references to vibrato of different types is common. Your statement about castrati is not correct. You may read about Henry Purcell's soprano singers, for example Arabella Hunt and Charlotte Butler here, there is extensive documentation. www.jstor.org/stable/963282?seq=1 We will shortly be doing a webinar on historical vocal techniques, it's available on our web site and will detail the current state of research.

[@Digeroo123]

@@VoicesofMusic I still thinks she sounds awful. Ruins a fabulous song.

[@melcadman]

@@Digeroo123 Well I've heard this superb singer now numerous times in Glasgow and she is always exceptional in whatever repertoire. I can't begin to understand how you could describe this supreme musicianship and beautiful voice as 'awful' ...

[@Roheryn100]

@@Digeroo123”Awful” ?? What an obnoxious remark ….!