Sylvia McNair, The Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood - The Echoing Air: The Music of Henry Purcell (1995)

Henry Purcell's music receives a sumptuous presentation on Sylvia McNair's 1994 CD The Echoing Air. Arranged in four parts following the scheme of Baroque entertainment, the concert features both vocal and instrumental pieces. Opening with a vibrant performance of the Staircase Overture, an early piece full of youthful vitality, the program is drawn from a variety of stage works and incidental music, most of which were randomly compiled in Orpheus Britannicus shortly after the composer's death. McNair's pleasant, unaffected voice is perfectly suited to Purcell's pristine lines, and her rhythmic articulations and ornaments are immaculate. Especially noteworthy are her accuracy and sensitivity in bringing off poignant cross relations, a striking feature in many of Purcell's laments. But all the songs benefit from her pure tone and tasteful phrasing. Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music perform on period instruments, and their sound is clear and subtly shaded to set the appropriate mood for each number. Along with Laurence Dreyfus on cello, Hogwood provides an understated continuo on harpsichord and organ, though Paul O'Dette also plays accompaniment on the archlute. Recorded at St. John's, Smith Square, London, the building's live acoustic lends resonance to McNair's clear, ringing tones and the strings' silvery timbre.