On her first solo recital for BIS, Gramophone Award-winner Helen Charlston performs a selection of songs by the English composer Henry Purcell, some very well-known, others less so, as well as pieces by other composers of the period such as John Blow, John Eccles, Christopher Simpson and Daniel Purcell, Henry’s son. Her choice focuses on songs that tell stories exploring the struggle between heart and mind: do we fall in love through reason or because fate destined it to be so?

Concerning her special relationship with Purcell, Charlston explains that she finds herself making space for his songs in almost every programme she creates. She adds that his addictive music holds a power over her she cannot and does not want to escape, and this specific programme is a special acknowledgement of the fact that Purcell’s music has become an essential part of her identity as a singer.

For this release, Helen Charlston is joined by the ensemble Sounds Baroque: Jonathan Manson (bass viol), William Carter (theorbo/baroque guitar) and Julian Perkins (harpsichord/organ), three musicians whose expertise and love for this music, she says, overflow in every note they play.

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1

Purcell: I love and I must, Z382
2

Purcell: Oedipus, Z583 (1682): 2. Music for a While
3

Purcell: Tell me, some pitying angel (The Blessed Virgin’s Expostulation), Z196 (pub. 1693)
4

Simpson: The Division Viol (1659): Divisions in D major
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Purcell: What a sad fate is mine, Z428
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Purcell: If music be the food of love, Z379c (1692–95)
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Purcell: The fatal hour comes on apace, Z421
8

Purcell: The History of Timon of Athens, Z632 (1694): 10. The Cares of Lovers
9

Purcell: The Indian Queen, Z630 (1695): I attempt from Love’s sickness (Act III)
10

Eccles: She ventures, and he wins (1695): Restless in thought
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Blow: Morlake Ground
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Purcell: If music be the food of love, Z379a (1692–95)
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Purcell, D: Morpheus thou gentle god (c.1720)
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Purcell: O Solitude, my sweetest choice, Z406 (1687)

Europadisc Review

For her latest album – the second to appear on the BIS label – mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston concentrates on the music of Henry Purcell, a composer whose music she seems to have been destined to perform from a young age. Her rich-timbred yet marvellously focused voice and her clear feeling for the drama of even the shortest songs reveal new facets of this music, and her strong affinity for the composer is everywhere apparent.

Even before opening the accompanying booklet, I’d been reflecting on the striking, unmistakable individuality of Charlston’s voice – something she has in common with a very different voice from the previous generation of British singers, Emma Kirkby. What a pleasant coincidence, then, to discover that the booklet contains an extended conversation between the two, exchanging their experiences of and insights into Purcell’s music. Although there is no explanation of the disc’s specific programme, both singers clearly feel a deep connection to Purcell, realised so differently – Kirkby with crystalline clarity, Charlston with visceral feeling – yet both in their way equally valid.

On this disc, entitled ‘If the Fates allow: Music by Purcell and his contemporaries’, Charlston is joined by Sounds Baroque: gambist Jonathan Manson, William Carter on Baroque guitar and theorbo, and Julian Perkins on harpsichord and organ. They form a close-knit unit, well-balanced and with a singularity of vision in each piece, the phrasing of the instruments sometimes giving the singer clues to her own phrasing, at others throwing up intentional moments of expressive disjunction. The programme encompasses both numbers from Purcell’s stage works and stand-alone songs, each in some way addressing the role of fate in matters of the heart, faith or isolation.

These are subjects which Purcell knows just how to tap into, helped by the natural melancholy bent of music that is often founded on a repeated ground bass. And Charlston, with her richly incisive lower range, verbal clarity and astonishing range allied to a keen engagement with the texts, is just the person to bring these aspects vividly off the page. Take the first number, I love and I must, which dwells on the pain of love. The opening gesture is first heard on the viol, before being taken up unaccompanied by the voice, and the two phrases are then repeated: Charlston’s first utterance is inward and distanced, apparently lost in thought, but on the repeat she is altogether more forthright and bold, as if roused from musings. There’s a similar easing into ‘Music for a While’ from Oedipus, adding to the overarching atmosphere of otherworldly contemplation; and how enthrallingly the snakes ‘drop’ from the Fury Alecto’s hair!

The more extended Blessed Virgin’s Expostulation is a drama in miniature as the Virgin traverses the gamut of emotions while reflecting on the fate of her Son. Here, Charlston inhabits every word of Nahum Tate’s text and Purcell’s staggeringly nuanced music, alternating between heartfelt imploring and desperate invocation. It’s an utterly compelling performance, as is so much on this album. Among other highlights are two distinct settings of If music be the food of love, the earlier one (track 12) strophic and more extrovert, the later (track 6) through-composed and more free-flowing. ‘I attempt from Love’s sickness’ from The Indian Queen has attracted Charlston since an early age, and it shows in her minute attention to expressive vocal details. Most affecting, however, is the bleak inwardness of What a sad fate is mine and The fatal hour come on apace, both setting powerful anonymous texts, with Charlston pushing at the boundaries between song and speech in the latter to thrilling effect.

Four of Purcell’s contemporaries are featured: Christopher Simpson contributes a set of Divisions for viol (which starts like an tuning improvisation before finding its groove), while John Blow is represented by the Morlake Ground, cheerily despatched by Julian Perkins. ‘Restless in thought’ from John Eccles’s She ventures, and he wins gives a flavour of the London theatre scene in the mid-1690s, its snatches of syllabic monotone delivery contrasting with Purcell’s more finely-detailed word-setting. Daniel Purcell’s Morpheus thou gentle god is a five-minute tour de force, full of dramatic intensity in Charlston’s virtuoso performance.

Henry Purcell’s O Solitude, my sweetest choice brings this outstanding recital to a mesmerising close, with a voice made for this music splendidly accompanied by three superb instrumentalists. As with Charlston’s previous albums, it held our attention from first note to last. Enthusiastically recommended!

Reviews

Charlston comes from a new generation, the best of whom – certainly including singers like her and Lucile Richardot – is starting to recognise that there is potentially more to this repertoire than simply singing it perfectly. ... Here are British artists performing English music to as near perfection as one has any right to expect. Brian Robins

Early Music Review 15 May 2025

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Condition	Description
New	Brand new item, only ever sourced from the official UK distributor. Usually seal-wrapped, although a minority of labels do not use seal-wrap.
Used - Mint	Used item in excellent condition. Not usually seal-wrapped.
Used - Good	Used item with some minor signs of wear and tear. Never seal-wrapped.
Used - Acceptable	Used item with obvious scuffs or cosmetic damage to the case or booklet. Never seal-wrapped.

Condition	Description
New	Brand new item, only ever sourced from the official UK distributor. Usually seal-wrapped, although a minority of labels do not use seal-wrap.
Used - Mint	Used item in excellent condition. Not usually seal-wrapped.
Used - Good	Used item with some minor signs of wear and tear. Never seal-wrapped.
Used - Acceptable	Used item with obvious scuffs or cosmetic damage to the case or booklet. Never seal-wrapped.

If the Fates allow: Music by Purcell and his Contemporaries

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Europadisc Review

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