Son of England Les Cris de Paris, Le Poème Harmonique & Vincent Dumestre

• Jeremiah Clarke (1674-1707): Ode on the Death of Henry Purcell:
• 1 I. Overture 03:31
• 2 II. Come, Come Along for a Dance and a Song 02:30
• 3 III. Mr. Clarke’s Cebell 01:33
• 4 IV. Hold, Shepherds, Hold! 03:48
• 5 V. No More This Ling'ring Blow 02:03
• 6 VI. Oh, Dismal Day! 05:58
• 7 VII. And See, Apollo Has Unstrung His Lyre 01:42
• 8 VIII. Mr. Purcell’s Farewell 01:26
• 9 IX. All's Untuned, but Yond Diviner Sphere 02:53
• Henry Purcell (1659-1695): Funeral Sentences for the Death of Queen Mary II:
• 10 I. The Queen’s Funeral March Sounded Before Her Chariot 02:45
• 11 II. Man That Is Born of a Woman 02:27
• 12 III. In the Midst of Life 01:31
• 13 IV. Yet, O Lord, Most Mighty 02:46
• 14 V. Canzona 02:10
• 15 VI. Thou Knowest, Lord 02:30
• Welcome to All the Pleasures, Z. 339:
• 16 I. Symphony 02:00
• 17 II. Welcome to All the Pleasures 01:59
• 18 III. Here the Deities Approve 04:45
• 19 IV. While Joys Celestial 03:13
• 20 V. Beauty, Thou Scene of Love 03:08
• 21 VI. In a Consort of Voices 01:07
• Total Runtime 55:45

Info for Son of England

Son of England, the new album from Les Cris de Paris, Le Poème Harmonique and Vincent Dumestre celebrating the work of Henry Purcell and Jeremiah Clarke. Following their acclaimed production of Dido & Aeneas, Vincent Dumestre and Le Poème Harmonique continue their exploration of the world of Purcell and seventeenth-century English music by collaborating with vocal ensemble Les Cris de Paris on a new album Son of England. The album pairs two of Purcell’s most popular works with an exceptional discovery from composer Jeremiah Clarke.

Henry Purcell died on 21 November 1695 at the age of thirty- six. The music he had written for the funeral of Queen Mary only eight months earlier was performed again for his burial service. Soon afterwards, several composers paid tribute to Purcell by writing odes in his memory.

Jeremiah Clarke’s homage to ‘Orpheus Britannicus’ in his Ode on the Death of Henry Purcell is a deeply moving token of the younger composer’s admiration. Alas, Clarke too was destined to die in his prime, and we can only imagine what the destiny of British music might have been if their lives had been prolonged.

After an acclaimed production of Dido and Aeneas, Vincent Dumestre and Le Poème Harmonique continue their exploration of the world of Purcell and seventeenth-century English music. Constantly keeping an ear out for multiple musical ramifications, from Dowland to Lully by way of the Elizabethan masques, this new programme spotlights the genius of Jeremiah Clarke, whose sadly premature death makes us regret all the marvels he might have produced. Here is a collection of masterpieces coupling two of Purcell’s most popular works with an exceptional discovery.

Katherine Watson, soprano
Nicholas Tamagna, alto
Jeffrey Thompson, tenor
Geoffroy Buffière, bass
Le Poème Harmonique
Les Cris de Paris & Geoffroy Jourdain
Vincent Dumestre, conductor

Vincent Dumestre
The founder and Artistic Director of Le Poème Harmonique, Vincent Dumestre and his ensemble specialise in the vocal and instrumental repertoire of the 17th and early 18th centuries. With his loyal band of artists, Dumestre is also a central figure of the revival of Baroque stage-art, and brings together a variety of artistic disciplines in his productions.

Vincent Dumestre was born in 1968. After studying art history at the École du Louvre and classical guitar at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, Dumestre devoted himself to the lute and theorbo under Hopkinson Smith, Eugène Ferré and Rolf Lislevand, before performing in concerts with the Ricercar Consort, La Simphonie du Marais, La Grande Écurie et la Chambre du Roy and Le Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, during which time he made some thirty recordings.

In 1998 he founded Le Poème Harmonique, a musical formation specialising in the Baroque repertoire, of which he is Artistic Director. The ensemble made an immediate impression, and Vincent Dumestre was named “Young Musician of the Year” by Diapason magazine in 1999.

His artistic career has broadly followed the same path as his ensemble, and he occupies a unique place on the international Baroque scene. An enthusiastic pioneer of early opera revival, he has directed such works as Caligula, Egisto and Cadmus et Herimone, sacred music including Lamentations by Cavalieri and Lalande’s Grands Motets as well as chamber music by Briceño, Belli and Tessier among others. He is also one of those rare musicians to direct an ensemble as part of major stage productions, providing a fresh insight into the relationship between music and theatre. This artistic approach has earned broad critical and public acclaim.

Alongside his work as an orchestra conductor, he continues to perform as an instrumentalist with the singers and musicians of his chamber music ensemble. In recent years, Vincent Dumestre and Le Poème Harmonique have enjoyed a spectacular rise to prominence and are frequently invited to perform at the world’s most prestigious venues.

Supported by the Région Normandie in his work with Le Poème Harmonique, Vincent Dumestre is also the Artistic Director of the Baroque Seasons, a series of concerts in Rouen performed at the historic Chapelle Corneille, and Artistic Director of the Festival du Haut-Jura.

Booklet for Son of England