Thomas Adès made these four Purcell realisations for medium voice and piano for recitals with the countertenor Iestyn Davies in 2012 and 2017. Four Songs is comprised of two of Purcellâ s Tempest songs â Come Unto these Yellow Sandsâ and â Full Fathom Fiveâ alongside the much-loved â An Evening Hymnâ and â By Beauteous Softnessâ . The whole collection lasts around 12 minutes. Adès described Purcellâ s manner of setting English text as â magnificentâ remarking that â the way that emotion the rhythm of the words is rendered into music is incomparably natural and powerful.â All of these qualities are brought to the fore in these realisations which should prove an invaluableaddition to the repertoire.
