Par PURCELL HENRY. Henry Purcell (1659-1695) held numerous appointments at the Royal court and Westminster Abbey, and is considered by many to be the greatest ever English-born composer. His prolific work covered all fields: orchestral, ecclesiastical, operatic, theatrical, incidental, and chamber music were all enriched by his output. Fantazias And In Nomines is a collection of his 15 Fantasies and 2 In Nomines, Z. 731-747. Purcell is credited with popularising the hitherto arcane form of the Fantasy, perhaps most famously in his Fanstasia Upon One Note, where a middle C is sustained throughout – in live performances this issometimes played by a volunteer from the audience! This full score edition has been edited by the renowned musicologist Robert Thurston Dart. / Rép Classique / Répertoire / Conducteur

Par SCARLATTI DOMENICO. Audi Filia was written for the celebrations for St Cecilia’s Day in Rome in October 1720. It was originally part of a much larger mass setting for the event, which is considered to be one of the finest pieces of music to survive from the Baroque era. This movement, intended for the gradual, is one of the more popular sections and is often performed as a stand-alone piece. It is scored for 2 Oboes, Strings, Organ, and Soprano solo. Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) was an Italian composer in the Baroque style, who mostly wrote for choral groups. He is best remembered for his operas and oratorios, but he also wrote several hundred chambercantatas for solo Voice. / Rép Classique / Répertoire / Conducteur

King Arthur (Arr. Laurie). Par PURCELL HENRY. King Arthur was the only one of Purcell's professionally produced operas to have been designed as a semi-opera - the others were all adaptations of earlier plays. Dryden made a real attempt to integrate the music into the drama, but since he ascribed to the dramatic conventions of the period which virtually confined music to allegorical or supernatural beings and thier worshippers, or servants, shepherds and similar characters, the main action mostly occurs in the spoken sections, and even the two singing characters, Philidel and Grimbald speak more than they sing. / Niveau : Intermédiaire / Rép Classique / Répertoire / Conducteur