Purcell: Twelve Sonatas in Three Parts - The Sunday Times

Two years ago, this trio/ensemble launched with Purcell's posthumously released Ten Sonatas in Four Parts. With this issue, they complete their survey of the great English composer's chamber music. The 12 sonatas Purcell published during his lifetime comprise 61 miniatures that cumulatively add up to one of the great baroque sets for domestic and professional use. The crushing dissonances produced by Sophie Gent and Matthew Truscott (alternating as first and second violinists) give the adagio and grave movements a sensuous piquancy, while the spirit of the dance sparkles irresistibly in the allegros and canzonas. Matthew Halls, on organ and harpsichord, and Jonathan Manson, on bass viol, supply gravitas and tonal variety. Entrancing.