Henry Purcell - Hail! Bright Cecilia (Vincent Dumestre)

Information

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• Henry Purcell - Hail! Bright Cecilia, Z. 238

Charlotte La Thrope, soprano

Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian, countertenor

Hugo Hymas, tenor

Tomáš Král, baritone

Le Poème Harmonique

Vincent Dumestre, conductor

Date: 2025

Label: Château de Versailles Spectacles

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Henry Purcell’s Hail! Bright Cecilia (1692) is a grand ode honoring Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music, and stands among his greatest masterpieces. Capturing the vibrancy of 17th-century England, it celebrates music’s divine and societal importance through a rich interplay of recitatives, arias, and majestic choruses. Purcell’s composition displays his exceptional command of drama, orchestration, and expressive nuance. In this interpretation by Vincent Dumestre and Le Poème Harmonique, the work’s brilliance, lyrical tenderness, and dynamic contrasts emerge vividly, revealing both the jubilant and spiritual dimensions of Purcell’s tribute to the power of music.

Born in 1968, Vincent Dumestre is a leading figure in the Baroque revival, known for his imaginative approach to early music and his role as founder of Le Poème Harmonique (1998). Initially trained in art history at the École du Louvre and classical guitar at the École normale de musique de Paris, he later mastered the lute, theorbo, and Baroque guitar under Hopkinson Smith and others. Dumestre’s work bridges music, theatre, dance, and visual art through collaborations with directors, choreographers, and puppeteers. With Le Poème Harmonique, he performs worldwide and has recorded extensively for Alpha Classics and Château de Versailles Spectacles.