Purcell Choir
Based in Budapest, the Purcell Choir is among Eastern Europe's leading choral ensembles specializing in early music.
Conductor, multi-instrumentalist, and continuo player György Vashegyi formed the Purcell Choir in 1990 for a performance of Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas. He established the period instrument Orfeo Orchestra the following year to accompany a performance of Monteverdi's opera Orfeo, the first such performance in Hungary. Vashegyi's intent was to establish ongoing organizations for the performance of Baroque and Classical-era music in an authentic way. The roughly 30 members of the choir are professional singers, and many are also members of other Hungarian choral groups. The group has performed little-known pieces by early composers such as Benedek Istvánffy, with whom it made its recording debut in 1998 on the Hungaroton label, backed by the Orfeo Orchestra, on the album Istvánffy: St. Benedict Mass; Kraus: Requiem.
The choir specializes in Baroque and Classical-period works, but its repertory stretches as far back as the music of Carlo Gesualdo and as far forward as contemporary music. It has appeared around Hungary and beyond and has often been heard at festivals, including the Hungarian Haydn Society's Haydn Festival, held at the Esterházy Palace in Fertöd, and the Toujours Mozart Festival in Salzburg and Vienna. Vashegyi remains the group's director, but the choir has also appeared with other conductors, such as in a 2004 joint appearance with Capella Savaria under the direction of Nicolas McGegan. The Purcell Choir has mostly recorded with the Orfeo Orchestra, but it has also been heard with the Erdődy Chamber Orchestra on a 2008 recording of works by Georg Lickl, and a cappella, on a 2010 release featuring the Responsories for Holy Week by Gennaro Manna. That was the choir's last recording on Hungaroton; it has since recorded for Glossa and Accent, releasing a recording of Michael Haydn's oratorio Kaiser Constantin I: Feldzug und Sieg on the latter in 2022.
© James Manheim /TiVo
Discography
14 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
-
Jouissons de nos beaux ans !
Cyrille Dubois, Orfeo Orchestra, Purcell Choir, György Vashegyi
Classical - Released by Aparté on Sep 15, 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Leclair: Scylla et Glaucus, Op. 11
Orfeo Orchestra, György Vashegyi, Judith van Wanroij, Cyrille Dubois, Véronique Gens, Purcell Choir
Opera - Released by Glossa on Oct 20, 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brillez, astres nouveaux! (Airs d'opéra baroque français)
Chantal Santon-Jeffery, Orfeo Orchestra, Purcell Choir, György Vashegyi
Classical - Released by Aparté on Jan 31, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Méhul: Adrien
Purcell Choir, Orfeo Orchestra, György Vashegyi
Classical - Released by Bru Zane on Jul 31, 2015
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Gervais: Grands Motets
Classical - Released by Glossa on Oct 14, 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Un opéra pour trois rois
Orfeo Orchestra, Purcell Choir, Chantal Santon-Jeffery, György Vashegyi, Emöke Baráth, Thomas Dolié
Classical - Released by Glossa on Oct 6, 2017
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Michael Haydn: Kaiser Constantin I "Feldzug und Sieg"
Classical - Released by Accent on Nov 18, 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Charpentier: Messe Des Morts / Psalmus Davidis / Salve Regina
Purcell Choir, Orfeo Orchestra, György Vashegyi
Classical - Released by Hungaroton on Jul 15, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lemoyne: Phèdre
Orfeo Orchestra, Purcell Choir, György Vashegyi
Classical - Released by Bru Zane on Apr 10, 2020
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Stölzel: Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld
Classical - Released by Glossa on Apr 5, 2019
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn, M.: Masses
Purcell Choir, Orfeo Orchestra, members, György Vashegyi
Classical - Released by Hungaroton on Jun 24, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn, M.: In Coena Domini / In Parasceve / In Sabbato Sancto
Purcell Choir, Orfeo Orchestra, members, György Vashegyi
Classical - Released by Hungaroton on Jan 1, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Manna: Christus, Responses for Holy Week
Purcell Choir, Csilla Valyi, Levente Gyongyosi, György Vashegyi
Classical - Released by Hungaroton on Oct 8, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gyongyosi, L.: Missa Lux Et Origo / Cantici Fratris Sole
Classical - Released by Hungaroton on Jul 15, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo