As It Fell On A Holie Eve: Music for an Elizabethan Christmas

Product Description The Parthenia Viol Consort brings early music into the present with repertoire ancient to freshly commissioned, animated with a ravishing sound and a remarkable sense of ensemble. Parthenia is presented in concerts across the United States, and produces its own series in New York City, collaborating regularly with the world’s foremost early music specialists. The quartet has been featured in prestigious festivals and series as wide-ranging as Music Before 1800, Harriman-Jewell Series, Maverick Concerts, Regensburg Tage Alter Musik, Shalin Lui Performing Arts Center, Pierpont Morgan Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Yale Center for British Art, Columbia University’s Miller Theatre and Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Parthenia’s performances range from its popular touring program, When Music and Sweet Poetry Agree, a celebration of Elizabethan poetry and music with actor Paul Hecht, to the complete viol fantasies of Henry Purcell, as well as the complete instrumental works of Robert Parsons, and commissions and premieres of new works annually. Julianne Baird has been hailed a ‘national artistic treasure’ and a ‘well-nigh peerless performer in the repertory of the baroque.’ With more than 125 recordings to her credit on Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Dorian, Newport Classics and MSR, Baird is one of the world’s ten most recorded classical artists. She has participated in leading roles in a series of acclaimed recordings of Handel and Gluck operatic premieres. Review Parthenia is an acclaimed NYC quartet of viols Bracing tempos defuse the somber air often associated with viols, and picking highlights is easy… [Julianne Baird is] in prime voice… No complaints on the detailed sound; some bloom is also present. Clearly this CD shouldn’t be restricted to the holidays. –La Folia The viol playing of the four-member Parthenia is polished and expressive, while the contribution of the stellar Julianne Baird, what little there is, elevates this disc to a higher plateau. The repertoire is balanced and well chosen. The beauty of this CD is that much of the music is unrecorded and therefore unfamiliar. –Fanfare The music itself is exquisitely graceful and the performances are beyond reproach… For listeners who are looking for a beautifully performed and produced CD of Elizabethan music [this disc] perfectly fits the bill. Julianne Baird sings with a light, silvery soprano that emphasizes the gentility of the music. Her use of ornaments in pieces as familiar as the Coventry Carol is unusual, but it’s done so artfully that it is completely convincing… The blend of the ensemble is flawlessly smooth and polished, and the playing is flexible and spirited. MSR Classics’ sound is…clean and warm. [ * * * * ] –All Music Guide

Features

• As It Fell On A Holie Eve: Music for an Elizabethan Christmas by Parthenia: A Consort of Viols (2010-09-14)