Château de Versailles Spectacles have produced a really classy period instruments recording of Purcell’s Hail! Bright Cecilia with a bonus of Blow’s Welcome Every Guest.  The band s La Poème Harmonique under the direction of their founder Vincent Dumestre.  It’s a very authentic period sound and the small chorus is precise and sings in excellent English.

The Blow piece is short but but interesting and it gets a sprightly and almost jazzy reading.  Both baritone Tomáš Král and teHugo Hymas are excellent and have perfect English,  “The sacred Nine” is particularly enjoyable.

For the main event Hymas and Krá are joined by soprano Charlotte La Thrope and counter-tenor Paul-Antoine Bénos.  It’s all very nicely done .  The sprightly bits are sprightly but Dumestre gives space to those parts where a sort of langurous beauty dominates.  “In Vain the Am’rous Flute” is a good example.  Bénos is excellent, especially in the duets with the tenor and La Thrope has a really beautiful voice and ornaments elegantly.  It’s really very satisfying.

The recording was made in March 2024 in La Chapelle Royale du Château de Versailles and it’s very detailed for a church acoustic; at least in the high resolution version I listened to.  It’s being released on November 14t as a physical CD, MP3 and lossless digital in 44.1kHz/16bit and 96kHz/24bit versions.  There’s a comprehensive booklet with bios and background and full texts (which you won’t need).

Catalogue information: Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS151