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There are certainly more powerful countertenors on the scene than Tim Mead, yet this release landed on classical best-seller charts in the spring of 2023. The appeal is not hard to see: countertenors who seek to emulate the power of the operatic castrati often fail to serve smaller-scale 17th century English music well, but Mead offers a different approach, marked by restraint and dramatic persuasiveness. The songs of Henry Purcell contain some of his best music, but they are comparatively little recorded. Here Mead, with a variety of freestanding songs and theatrical music of various kinds, is lyrical and poetic. His diction is impeccable, and what one hears in his rendering of the texts is not conventional pastoral imagery but a singer who means what he sings. Sample O let me weep, from The Fairy Queen, or one of the songs about sleep, where Mead's delivery is quite affecting. The program is not restricted to Purcell, and another draw here is the music by other Restoration-era composers like Pelham Humfrey, who is even less well-exposed than Purcell. The historical instrument group La Nuova Musica under David Bates gets exactly the low-key note needed to bring out Mead at his best, and PentaTone's church sound, if not atmospherically appropriate, is at least clear. This is a Baroque countertenor release where the artist meets repertory especially successfully.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Henry Purcell, Composer - Tim Mead, MainArtist, Countertenor - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
Tim Mead, MainArtist, Countertenor - John Blow, Composer - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
Henry Purcell, Composer - Tim Mead, MainArtist, Countertenor - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
Tim Mead, MainArtist, Countertenor - Pelham Humfrey, Composer - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
John Blow, Composer - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
Henry Purcell, Composer - Tim Mead, MainArtist, Countertenor - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
Henry Purcell, Composer - Tim Mead, MainArtist, Countertenor - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
Tim Mead, MainArtist, Countertenor - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist - William Webb, Composer
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
Henry Purcell, Composer - Tim Mead, MainArtist, Countertenor - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
Henry Purcell, Composer - Tim Mead, MainArtist, Countertenor - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
Tim Mead, MainArtist, Countertenor - John Blow, Composer - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
Henry Purcell, Composer - Tim Mead, MainArtist, Countertenor - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
Henry Purcell, Composer - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
Henry Purcell, Composer - Tim Mead, MainArtist, Countertenor - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
Henry Purcell, Composer - Tim Mead, MainArtist, Countertenor - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
Tim Mead, MainArtist, Countertenor - John Blow, Composer - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
Henry Purcell, Composer - Tim Mead, MainArtist, Countertenor - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
Tim Mead, MainArtist, Countertenor - Pelham Humfrey, Composer - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
Henry Purcell, Composer - Tim Mead, MainArtist, Countertenor - La Nuova Musica, Orchestra, MainArtist - David Bates, MainArtist
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
Album review
There are certainly more powerful countertenors on the scene than Tim Mead, yet this release landed on classical best-seller charts in the spring of 2023. The appeal is not hard to see: countertenors who seek to emulate the power of the operatic castrati often fail to serve smaller-scale 17th century English music well, but Mead offers a different approach, marked by restraint and dramatic persuasiveness. The songs of Henry Purcell contain some of his best music, but they are comparatively little recorded. Here Mead, with a variety of freestanding songs and theatrical music of various kinds, is lyrical and poetic. His diction is impeccable, and what one hears in his rendering of the texts is not conventional pastoral imagery but a singer who means what he sings. Sample O let me weep, from The Fairy Queen, or one of the songs about sleep, where Mead's delivery is quite affecting. The program is not restricted to Purcell, and another draw here is the music by other Restoration-era composers like Pelham Humfrey, who is even less well-exposed than Purcell. The historical instrument group La Nuova Musica under David Bates gets exactly the low-key note needed to bring out Mead at his best, and PentaTone's church sound, if not atmospherically appropriate, is at least clear. This is a Baroque countertenor release where the artist meets repertory especially successfully.
© James Manheim /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 19 track(s)
- Total length: 01:09:49
- Main artists: David Bates La Nuova Musica Tim Mead
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: PENTATONE
- Genre: Classical
2023 Pentatone Music B.V. 2023 La Nuova Musica
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