Purcell: Evening Hymn

[@gideonvanderwatt]

Now, now that the sun hath veil’d his light And bid the world goodnight; To the soft bed my body I dispose, But where shall my soul repose? Dear, dear God, even in Thy arms, And can there be any so sweet security! Then to thy rest, O my soul! And singing, praise the mercy That prolongs thy days. Hallelujah!

[@Oswald_Anthony]

The Best Music never dies ...

[@paulmatthews6608]

Oooh, those flattened 7ths. Especially the one at 3:47 where she closes her eyes!

[@theblazndiamondsword]

Good ear!! It sounds out of place enough to notice, yet it's so musical and expressive!

[@j.markbaker2172]

Thank you, dear, Helen. Your flawless, sincere singing brings to mind the likes of Kathleen Ferrier, Dame Janet Baker, and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson... but not in any imitative manner. Your art is marvelously all your own.

[@JonathanBrown1]

Oh my god. I think only a singer can understand how wonderful that performance is. All the work was worth it!

[@Oswald_Anthony]

Your observation is PERFECT. This singer is wonderful, she sings so that I can understand the words...

[@veselanacheva5222]

Or Musician...😊

[@janeflute8694]

One of those 'stopped in your tracks' moment when I heard your glorious voice Helen. Absolutely stunning :)

[@richie3408]

Last time heard her was in the recordings with trinity college choir- she's gone so far since that. Absolutely amazing.

[@lifensk]

Спасибо вам за эту красоту, за прекрасное исполнение! Всех вам благословений.

[@royaboagyedjan4632]

She's so deep. Even deeper than the countertenors I've heard perform this piece.

[@sandyy6054]

I agree - I was thinking that before I read your post.

[@KarenRClark]

Gorgeous. Beautiful. Centered, embodied, humble singing. Thank you.

[@rocky7173]

I sung along ......i was in the choir in my senior school Sacred Heart of Mary Upminster Convent Essex in the 70s we preformed this song, i remembered it word for word Love and strength from IRELAND xx

[@MarkdavinObenza]

What an incredible sound.

[@andrewmildinhall8210]

OMG what a voice. Flawless diction and breath control in what is a difficult song with it's long melismatic line. One of Purcell's most magical settings exquisitely sung.

[@ladym4445]

This is incredibly beautiful. Perfectly done! Brava!

[@johncorban7583]

Thank you, that was wonderful! I enjoyed it so much! I didn’t know Purcell composed this - accidentally found your performance today. I’m so glad I did!!

[@quillpen815]

Wonderful. Made me a bit weepy, actually. The way she sang gave a reed instrument quality to her voice, which almost always taps onto that part of my brain that make cry at things. 😭 Just so beautiful, dynamic and elegant!

[@janesmith9024]

I love this one and enjoy singing it. I remember when I was about 20 I put my younger sister, brother and me in for grade 8 singing exam in the UK and we accompanied each other and did pretty well and this was one of the songs my 15 year old brother chose (he got the highest mark of the 3 of us - we are very competitive siblings). He did sing it beautifully with a lovely bass voice and I accompanied him on the piano. All these years later I remember it so well and this lovely performance on KZbin reminds me. It etches into your soul, this kind of beautiful music of Purcell, one of my favourite composers. I loved the voice control at the ending here. Wonderful.

[@sylvias.5936]

Der wunderbare Vortrag hat mich zu Tränen gerührt.

[@brandonacker]

Amazing.

[@hellaschuenemann]

Welch eine Stimme, welche Freude, ihr zuhören zu dürfen.

[@fitzwilliamontour]

Lived music. Many Thanks

[@obasmichael7876]

One of my favourite go-to songs whenever I find it hard to fall sleep. I sleep off before the song even finishes! Such a magical gift this song is!

[@jaredoaks]

So gorgeous. And she takes an evening hymn tempo. What beautiful technique and care.

[@mollymcguire8957]

Breathtaking. So so beautiful.

[@michellhommme5440]

beautiful music , great singing and great playing !!!

[@davidwilder7542]

Pure diamond voice.🎉

[@Rog5446]

Checked all the comments, and can't believe I'm the only one to declare, Magnificent!

[@RobertoDiaz-od4zq]

Bellísimo

[@owenramkeesoon4224]

Too good!

[@jellyfish4341]

Such a stunning voice, wow!

[@moonbeamchaos]

What a magnificent voice!❤❤❤

[@joanalabi2080]

So beautiful🥰👏🏾

[@2222LINDSAY]

So exquisitely beautiful and extremely moving. Mere words are not sufficient to express the deep pleasure that this performance gives.

[@mariahelenastracke9760]

Lindíssimo timbre desta Contralto, executando de forma magnífica os sons graves da melodia. Gesualdo Six sempre nos presenteando e nos surpreendendo com vozes de timbres refinados e diferenciados. 👏👏👏

[@doerthemanahan9912]

Heavenly music, perfect to sooth a weary soul.

[@NathanPStark]

Such gorgeous vocal artistry!

[@jclneto]

wonderful, I weep a lot!

[@samkirkhammusic]

Incredible, thank you!

[@caribrackett9381]

WHAT a VOICE!!!!!

[@DelphianRecords]

Stunning 🙏

[@diekevanwijnen2116]

Truly lovely. A joy to hear.

[@gracefulpatientlove]

Simply heavenly!

[@zacharylavender1568]

Lovely!

[@michaelskelton8516]

Very beautiful singing and playing

[@fredwalker1733]

Spookily brilliant.

[@lindamccubbin5841]

Bless her. Wonderful music.

[@cordeliav3055]

Magnificent!

[@georgebanksesq]

Sublime.

[@monicacall7532]

Glorious.

[@gbrinch]

so much detail....positively therapeutic.

[@tecaarantes]

goosebumps!!!! so marvelous!!!!

[@andrastotfalusi8182]

Excellent!

[@Sazy_blest]

So beautiful ❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@juliodubini4867]

... stunning!!

[@jacobfitzgerald9883]

Already been said... but this is truly stunning

[@markbrown4955]

Thank you, gorgeous

[@ninaayres1]

Perfect!!

[@Heather-hg8qh]

Love the earrings

[@briansimons9472]

In the madness of the war in Ukraine, a reminder of the beauty of which humanity is capable.

[@mh605]

Sublime!

[@micahblauer777]

First let me say, i love this song, i love the music and i love the musicians performing it, and thank you for uploading and sharing this art. My next comment is not meant to take away from the beauty, but to just mention something i notice happen frequently. She has a beautiful voice, i just wish she didn't cover it so much. If she let the natural overtones shine and not use altering musculature it would be unbelievably more beautiful than it already is. Because her breathe control, phrasing, and control is top notch,but she is pulling her tongue back to achieve this "warmer" and more rounded tone, you can see this at 4:20 - 4:25.

[@dickhogenbirk3059]

Prachtig gezongen en gespeeld. HULDE

[@lonniethomas2649]

What a gorgeous contralto (I guess she’s a mezzo?) voice - so rich ❤

[@Oswald_Anthony]

❤. Helen Charlston, I'm in love with you...

[@davidwilson4180]

❤️

[@madilynhunter3961]

What is the instrument?

[@lauramolnar8039]

It's a theorbo

[@fenham]

Lovely voice. Nice theorbo playing. Only Purcell for me. Stuff Mozart 🖖

[@paulwusteman1094]

Got to agree with you. Everything pales after the mid-baroque (except for some Russian music and Puccini). Purcell's quality is revealed in how many versions are created of his hundred show-stoppers. A day without some Purcell is a day incomplete.

[@juliodubini4867]

A beautiful rendering! I' just suggest a faster tempo to honor the Hallelujah intention of the piece. Cheers!

[@royaboagyedjan4632]

I agree with you

[@davidferguson3981]

I disagree. It’s not an excited joy, it’s a comfortable joy that is relaxing and serene

[@vinegarhillhomestead265]

It's called Evening hymn, the alleluia is a serene lullaby.

[@febronius1]

Naravno, odmah asocijacija na Dame Emmu Kirkby, i dobro je

[@gigibudjonila1596]

Perfect interpretation, beautifull but vocal sound tiring , to much on the throat.

[@violinstar5948]

Sounds more like a male countertenor

[@violinstar5948]

@@thesaucegroup1877 Countertenor is a male voice. Did you need that explanation? Do yourself a favour and research it 🙄🙄🙄

[@chrisrouth5306]

@@thesaucegroup1877 Thats a lot of emotion for a word choice. Why labor over the verbiage when you can just listen to the beautiful singing instead?

[@AnjaHuebel1]

I beg to differ: it is a very warm female alto sound.

[@j.markbaker2172]

No. No, she does not. What a STUPID comment. (Sorry... or not.) She sounds like a velvet-voiced lyric mezzo soprano.

[@cricciethcastle5077]

Well, what a lot of "hot air" Violin Star's comment seems to have provoked. VS uses "male" as a redundant descriptor, because not everyone knows that "countertenor" is used to describe a male voice type - a male voice which sings in a higher register using falsetto. Women can also sing higher using falsetto. See the Wikipedia entry on Falsetto. Then he compares Helen's voice in this piece to a countertenor voice - presumably the countertenor voices he's heard. He is quite entitled to do this, and it's an interesting comparison - a female voice without falsetto versus a male voice with falsetto. There is a wide range of female voice styles and a wide range of countertenor styles, depending on the performer and the genre. VS is saying that in his opinion Helen's voice in this piece has characteristics which are shared with at least one of the countertenor voices he's heard. I do not think anything he has said can remotely be considered "stupid", and I would have hoped that people commenting on the finer points of classical music would feel able to do so with more restraint.