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Henry Purcell|A Painted Tale

A Painted Tale

Nicholas Phan

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The songs of late Renaissance and early Baroque England have been sliced and diced in various ways in concert and recorded programming, but the configuration here seems to be unique. The tenor Nicholas Phan, from Ann Arbor, Michigan, devised the program himself: pointing out "how little human experience has changed over the centuries" and that Dowland's melancholia had much in common with the Romantics' veneration of the lovesick solitary hero (both debatable ideas, but both stimulating), he assembles what he calls a pastiche song cycle from compositions by Purcell, Dowland, John Blow, and other lesser-known lights. Phan's reflections on how he came to this repertory as a student at Michigan's Interlochen summer music camp ought to be exemplary for other artists who too often simply submit prize lists in lieu of biography. He convinces listeners of his emotional investment in the music, and his voice is attractive indeed. Phan's other two recordings thus far have been of music by Britten, and he's to be commended for picking chamber-sized repertory that fits his voice; this recording really makes you want to hear him tackle Schubert. The album's title comes from the "meta" madrigal by Thomas Morley that opens the program; the song cycle follows, modeled loosely on Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (boy meets girl, boy sort of gets girl, boy loses girl to guy with gun, boy commits rather abstract suicide). The pastoral themes readily find counterparts in the music of the 17th century, and really Phan succeeds brilliantly in stripping away the conventions in the music and poetry and getting you to hear it with some of the directness its original audiences might have experienced. Phan goes beyond simply ordering songs; he puts together music (Purcell is the outlier) that wouldn't have been put together in its own time, and although he's correct that both lute and viola da gamba were used to accompany this music, using both at the same time is an ahistorical step, and one wonders whether it was necessary. But the impact of the whole is such that listeners will have to cut him some slack. A major step in the interpretation of early English song, beautifully recorded by Avie at Skywalker Studios in California.
© TiVo

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A Painted Tale

Henry Purcell

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1
A Painted Tale
Nicholas Phan
00:02:41

THOMAS MORLEY, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

2
O Solitude, My Sweetest Choice!, Z. 406
Nicholas Phan
00:05:44

Henry Purcell, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

3
Have You Seen But a Bright Lily Grow
Nicholas Phan
00:01:56

Robert Johnson, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

4
Fairest Work of Happy Nature
Nicholas Phan
00:03:25

John Blow, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

5
The Self Banished
Nicholas Phan
00:02:03

John Blow, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

6
Fire, Fire
Nicholas Phan
00:01:54

Nicholas Lanier, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

7
O Turn Not Those Fine Eyes Away
Nicholas Phan
00:03:19

John Blow, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

8
Sweeter Than Roses, Z. 585, No. 1
Nicholas Phan
00:03:23

Henry Purcell, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

9
She Loves and She Confesses Too, Z. 413
Nicholas Phan
00:02:18

Henry Purcell, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

10
No More Shall Meads be Deck’d With Flowers
Nicholas Phan
00:07:02

Nicholas Lanier, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

11
My Thoughts are Winged With Hopes
Nicholas Phan
00:02:36

John Dowland, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

12
Of All the Torments, All the Cares
Nicholas Phan
00:03:59

John Blow, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

13
Can She Excuse My Wrongs
Nicholas Phan
00:02:33

John Dowland, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

14
Not All My Torments Can Your Pity Move, Z. 400
Nicholas Phan
00:02:51

Henry Purcell, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

15
So, So, Leave Off This Last Lamenting Kiss
Nicholas Phan
00:02:51

Alfonso Ferrabosco, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

16
In Darkness Let Me Dwell
Nicholas Phan
00:03:52

John Dowland, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

17
Now, O Now I Needs Must Part
Nicholas Phan
00:04:37

John Dowland, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

18
Come, Heavy Sleep
Nicholas Phan
00:03:46

John Dowland, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

19
Stay, Silly Heart, and Do Not Break
Nicholas Phan
00:03:33

Nicholas Lanier, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

20
Evening Hymn, Z. 193
Nicholas Phan
00:05:11

Henry Purcell, Composer - Michael Leopold, MainArtist - Nicholas Phan, MainArtist - Ann Marie Morgan, MainArtist

(C) 2015 Nicholas Phan (P) 2015 Nicholas Phan

Album review

The songs of late Renaissance and early Baroque England have been sliced and diced in various ways in concert and recorded programming, but the configuration here seems to be unique. The tenor Nicholas Phan, from Ann Arbor, Michigan, devised the program himself: pointing out "how little human experience has changed over the centuries" and that Dowland's melancholia had much in common with the Romantics' veneration of the lovesick solitary hero (both debatable ideas, but both stimulating), he assembles what he calls a pastiche song cycle from compositions by Purcell, Dowland, John Blow, and other lesser-known lights. Phan's reflections on how he came to this repertory as a student at Michigan's Interlochen summer music camp ought to be exemplary for other artists who too often simply submit prize lists in lieu of biography. He convinces listeners of his emotional investment in the music, and his voice is attractive indeed. Phan's other two recordings thus far have been of music by Britten, and he's to be commended for picking chamber-sized repertory that fits his voice; this recording really makes you want to hear him tackle Schubert. The album's title comes from the "meta" madrigal by Thomas Morley that opens the program; the song cycle follows, modeled loosely on Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin, D. 795 (boy meets girl, boy sort of gets girl, boy loses girl to guy with gun, boy commits rather abstract suicide). The pastoral themes readily find counterparts in the music of the 17th century, and really Phan succeeds brilliantly in stripping away the conventions in the music and poetry and getting you to hear it with some of the directness its original audiences might have experienced. Phan goes beyond simply ordering songs; he puts together music (Purcell is the outlier) that wouldn't have been put together in its own time, and although he's correct that both lute and viola da gamba were used to accompany this music, using both at the same time is an ahistorical step, and one wonders whether it was necessary. But the impact of the whole is such that listeners will have to cut him some slack. A major step in the interpretation of early English song, beautifully recorded by Avie at Skywalker Studios in California.
© TiVo

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