The People's Purcell Michael Slattery & La Nef

• Henry Purcell (1659-1695):
• 1Now That the Sun Hath Veiled His Light, Z. 193 "An Evening Hymn on a Ground" (Arr. M. Slattery)04:53
• 2She Loves and She Confesses Too, Z. 413 (Arr. G. Jeay)04:31
• 3More Love or More Disdain I Crave, Z. 397 (Arr. M. Slattery)03:07
• 4Oedipus, King of Thebes, Z. 583: Music for a While (Arr. G. Jeay)05:11
• 5The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Prelude (Arr. S. Dagher & A. Keesmaat for Chamber Ensemble)03:07
• 6The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Come All Ye Songsters of the Sky (Arr. G. Jeay)02:31
• 7The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: Hornpipe (Arr. S. Dagher & A. Keesmaat for Chamber Ensemble)02:49
• 8Let Each Gallant Heart, Z. 390 (Arr. M. Slattery)03:43
• 9Ah! How Pleasant 'Tis to Love, Z. 353 (Arr. S. Dagher)02:29
• 10Abdelazer, Z. 570: IX. Jig (Arr. G. Jeay for Chamber Ensemble)03:16
• 11King Arthur, Z. 628 "The British Worthy": Fairest Isle (Arr. M. Slattery)04:52
• 12King Arthur Suite (Arr. A. Keesmaat for Chamber Ensemble)04:42
• 13The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: When I Have Often Heard (Arr. M. Slattery)02:35
• 14The Indian Queen, Z. 630: I Attempt from Love's Sickness (Arr. M. Slattery)03:15
• 15The Fairy Queen, Z. 629: If Love's a Sweet Passion (Arr. G. Jeay)04:11
• 16Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: When I Am Laid in Earth (Arr. M. Slattery)05:07
• Total Runtime01:00:19

Info for The People's Purcell

The People’s Purcell reunites tenor Michael Slattery and La Nef to perform some of the most beautiful music by Henry Purcell (1659-1695).

Though grounded in the baroque tradition, the vast body of work by Purcell is fertile ground for musical explorations. The People’s Purcell invites listeners to hear this music in a new way.

Set with shruti box, archlute, cittern, flute, nyckelharpa, baroque violin, viola, cello, and viola da gamba, Purcell’s baroque songs take on a different flavour in these new arrangements by Michael Slattery, Grégoire Jeay, Seán Dagher, and Amanda Keesmaat.

As with their previous album, Dowland in Dublin (ACD2 2650), La Nef and Michael Slattery take inspired creative liberties with Purcell’s music. “Over time, I have learned to hear the profundity in the subtleties as well as the sheer variety of Purcell’s musical language, each time with renewed pleasure. With this album, we invite listeners to discover Purcell in a light that we believe he would have appreciated,” says Sylvain Bergeron, Artistic Director of La Nef.

Founded in 1991 in Montreal, La Nef creates, produces, and distributes concerts, multidisciplinary and multimedia shows, physical and digital albums, musical tales, and CD-books. Its wide-ranging repertoire includes ancient and early music, the music of oral traditions, world music, and experimental and contemporary approaches to musical creation.

Michael Slattery, tenor, shruti-box
La Nef
Sylvain Bergeron, archlute
Seán Dagher, cittern
Grégoire Jeay, flute
Amanda Keesmat, baroque cello
Alex Kehler, nyckelharpa, baroque violin
Ellie Nimeroski, viola, baroque alto
Elin Soderstrom, viola da gamba

Michael Slattery
made his New York Philharmonic debut singing the Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings on Benjamin Britten’s 100th birthday. He rejoined the Philharmonic the following season as the tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah. His critically acclaimed English translation of J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion was performed this season at Carnegie Hall to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Robert Shaw’s Collegiate Chorale, now MasterVoices. Career highlights include the title role in Bernstein’s Candide at Royal Festival Hall in London; J.S. Bach’s B-minor Mass with Iván Fischer and the National Symphony Orchestra; Peter Sellars’ Tristan Project with Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Philip Glass’s Akhnaten with John Adams- both with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; the title role in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris; and the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 at the Berlin Staatsoper. He has recorded an impressive number of Handel’s works: Saul with Rene Jacobs for Harmonia Mundi; and Acis and Galatea, Atalanta, Samson, and Solomon with Nicholas McGegan. Recent projects include Robert Carsen’s production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and Olivier Py’s production of Britten’s Curlew River with Opéra de Lyon.

La Nef
Founded in Montréal in 1991, La Nef creates, produces, and distributes concerts, multimedia and multidisciplinary shows, physical and digital albums, musical tales, and CD-books. Its activities are aimed at audiences of all ages. Its wide-ranging repertoire includes early music, the music of oral traditions, world music, and experimental and contemporary approaches to musical creation. According to the approach chosen, its performances integrate theater, movement and dance, visual arts, video, and now, with advances in technology, digital arts. All these elements contribute to the high artistic quality, stylistic diversity, and distinctive character that are the company’s unique signature. Over the course of years, La Nef has presented its shows in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Often nominated or listed as a finalist for its concerts, shows, discs, and CD-books, La Nef counts Opus, ADISQ, and CFMA prizes among its many awards and distinctions.

Booklet for The People's Purcell