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| Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace |
The Music Extra Full Than It Was: Christopher Gibbons, Matthew Locke, Pelham Humfrey, John Blow, Purcell, Handel, Maurice Greene; Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen; Wigmore Corridor
Reviewed 30 October 2026
Exploring sacred music from the Restoration by way of to early Handel with a give attention to the Chapel Royal, Arcangelo give us vibrant performances of lesser-known gems, music crying out to be heard
Histories of English music generally tend to leap from Purcell to Handel as in the event that they have been the one main figures on the time. In truth, Purcell’s buddy and instructor, Blow, had as nice a repute because the youthful composer throughout his lifetime and there have been loads of different composers whose music deserves to be a part of the story.
At Wigmore Corridor on Friday 30 October 2026, Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo offered The Music Extra Full Than It Was, the primary occasion within the ensemble’s multi-concert English Baroque Journey. For this primary instalment we targeting sacred music with the programme that included music by Christopher Gibbons (1615-1676), Matthew Locke (c.1621-1677), Pelham Humfrey (1647-1674), John Blow (1649-1708), Henry Purcell (1659-1695), George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) , and Maurice Greene (1696-1755), taking us from the revival of the Chapel Royal after the Restoration by way of to Handel writing within the early years of his residency in England.
There have been eight singers – Hilary Cronin, Daisy Livesy, James Corridor, Jeremy Budd, Hugo Brady, Matthew Lengthy, Malachy Body, Will Gaunt – and an instrumental ensemble of six strings, oboe (in Handel’s Chandos Anthem), organ, theorbo and harpsichord (play by Jonathan Cohen). The singers fluidly moved between solo and ensemble and solely in Handel’s Chandos Anthem, O reward the Lord with one consent have been there distinct arias. Equally, the instrumental forces used moved between simply continuo to full ensemble with a diverse line up (oboe solely in Handel, however no viola in some).
The music of the primary half explored works that arose after the Restoration, Christopher Gibbons’ Not unto us, O Lord, Matthew Locke’s How doth town sit solitary, Pelham Humfrey’s O give thanks unto the Lord and John Blow’s God spake generally in visions, the music relationship from the interval 1664 to 1685.
Christopher Gibbons, because the son of Orlando Gibbons, was effectively positioned to take up the problem of writing for the restored Chapel Royal. Not unto us, O Lord began low within the voices and devices (no violins), and progressively constructed, creating gradual, severe counterpoint. Wealthy, slightly beautiful, gradual transferring textures given a vibrant sound. Matthew Locke was concerned within the early pre-Purcell semi-opera and theatrical experiments. As a Catholic, he wrote for the chapel of Queen Catherine (of Braganza), however wrote for the Chapel Royal too. How doth town sit solitary is a verse anthem, solos and small teams interweaving with tutti, accompanied by simply continuo. The complete ensemble acquired little to do, and we may think about Locke taking care to not tax the trebles (the Restoration discovered itself slightly missing in skilled treble voices), and solo groupings centered on the lads, although there have been soprano solos. It was a severe and slightly transferring setting, with the kind of detailed consideration to the phrases that we get from Purcell.
We then had an instrumental interlude, Purcell’s Pavan in G minor Z752, which started with a considerable gradual motion, intense and really chromatic, adopted by a floor bass dance.
Pelham Humfrey was one of many boys introduced in to be skilled as a treble for the Chapel Royal. His skills went past that and King Charles despatched him to France to coach as a composer, although the very best identified reality about that’s Samuel Pepys’ well-known put down. O give thanks unto the Lord started with a really civilised string introduction earlier than a vigorous choral dance. String ritornellos linked the varied sections collectively in order that all the things flowed fantastically. Hugo Brady and Malachy Body gave us a advantageous duet, with Will Gaunt following this with a vibrant bass solo, although the entire of the lengthy last part was tutti, all vibrantly sung with terrific element. We ended the primary half with John Blow, a composer whose fashionable neglect in live performance is due to not the standard of the music however as a result of a lot of his output doesn’t match into fashionable live performance conditions simply. God spake generally in visions started in stately method with a string introduction. The primary tutti part was sober and stately, although the solo sections had a stunning lightness to them and dance was by no means far-off. Vibrantly carried out, each singers and instrumentalists moved fluidly by way of the piece’s frequent modifications of metre, pace and elegance. Once more there was a stunning element to the phrase setting, and it benefitted from being carried out in Wigmore Corridor. You imagined a lot of this fastidiousness could be misplaced in a bigger cathedral acoustic.
After the interval we moved ahead in time. Maurice Greene was made Grasp of the King’s Musick beneath King George I, but Handel remained the popular composer for the Hanoverians and the 2 composers had an uneasy relationship. Regardless of being some 14 years youthful than Handel, Greene’s music can have a considerably backward-looking really feel to it. Lord, let me know mine finish, set for full vocal ensemble and continuo, was a sober piece, the vocal writing flowing over a floor bass. Although there was loads of motion, it remained a severe and intent piece. Terrific in its manner however extra influenced by the work of the composers within the first half than the ‘fam’d Italian masters’ and undoubtedly no match for Handel’s brilliance.
Purcell’s My beloved spake is an early work, written in his late teenagers. Its use of the complete vocal ensemble was sparing, merely singing quick choruses while the verses have been all taken by small vocal teams taken from James Corridor, Matthew Lengthy, Malachy Body and Will Gaunt, the sections all linked by ritornellos. It was vibrantly carried out, with a superb sense of colouring the phrases and the dance by no means far-off.
We ended with one among Handel’s Chandos Anthems, written for the Duke of Chandos and carried out within the church of St Lawrence that was accomplished effectively earlier than his nice mansion of Canons was completed. As such, it is among the buildings surviving the place we see (and listen to) the place Handel carried out. O reward the Lord with one consent started in an infectiously perky method, with the singers giving us vivid rhythms. Hugo Brady’s solo had one thing of a lilt to it with Brady singing in beautiful affecting tone. Matthew Lengthy in his solo mixed some vigorous rhythms with advantageous passagework, then Malachy Body sang with sturdy, resonant tone. The ultimate solo was from Hilary Cronin, lyrical and slightly intimate, adopted by the vigorous last choruses stuffed with rhythmic acuity and, within the ‘Alleluia’, vivid runs.
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