IBO & Peter Whelan - The Hibernian Muse - The Observer

Their skill and vigour, with lively singing from Sestina and soloists, shines out here in music by Henry Purcell and the Hungarian composer Johann Sigismund Cousser (1660-1727). Purcell’s collaborator on his opera Dido and Aeneas was the poet Nahum Tate, a Dubliner who later became poet laureate. Their ode Great Parent, Hail!, full of wordplay, solos, duets, choruses and a beautiful “symphony”, is a highlight. Cousser’s “serenata” for Queen Anne, The Universal Applause of Mount Parnassus, is an engaging novelty, with Lillibulero played on solo lute a wistful bonus.