Purcell / Les Tresors D'Orphee - Sonatas & Cantatas - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Cagnard,Dominique & Testud,Isabelle - Histoires D'animaux Henri Bosco [COMPACT DISCS] date 05/30/2006

The young, virtuoso A Cappella ensemble VOCES8 presents a sumptuous collection of early works by Henry Purcell one of Englands greatest composers. Joined by the specialist early-music ensemble Les Inventions, the group explores Purcell's astoundingly diverse output anthems, odes, funeral music, semi-operas, masques, sonatas, consort-music, songs and catches populate his extraordinarily multifaceted oeuvre.

Mikal Cronin returns with MCIII. Marked by the rich arrangements, stunning melodies, and deeply personal lyrical work for which Cronin is now known, the album is also a deliberate attempt to simply 'go big.' As he did on his self-titled 2011 debut and 2013's MCII, Cronin arranged and played nearly all of the record himself, including the tzouras, a traditional Greek string instrument he heard and subsequently bought while on tour in Athens. There's French horn, saxophone, and trumpet. There are mood-altering crescendos and heartbreaking turns-of-phrase, guitars both gorgeous and pugnacious. No longer satisfied with the sound of 'just one string player,' Cronin arranged parts for a full string quartet instead. 'It's a continuation of what I've been trying to do up until now, but I'm finding a better way to do it,' he says. 'I'm finding a more successful way of working those unexpected elements and textures and instruments into a rock record, of exploring that wormhole and mashing everything together harmoniously. I like riding the line between the two,' he adds. 'I like finding new ways to bring different musical worlds together.'