SOMM Recordings is pleased to release the first-ever recording on piano of the eight keyboard suites by one of England’s greatest creative artists, Henry Purcell (1659–1695). Making his SOMM debut is the Romanian-British pianist Cristian Sandrin, who is building a career in the UK as a rising young artist following his debut solo recital at Wigmore Hall in 2017. Reviewers have noted “Sandrin’s generous sonorities issue forth in marvellous diversity,” (Fanfare Magazine); and “An immaculately played recital,” (Music Web International).

Henry Purcell was at the height of his powers at the time of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which saw King William III and his wife Queen Mary II crowned as joint British monarchs. Queen Mary was an avid lover of dance, which led to it being a regular and expected part of Restoration theatrical productions. Purcell’s first great operatic work, Dido and Aeneas from the late 1680s, included no fewer than seventeen original dances.

Purcell wrote in every form – ranging from theatre and church to concerts and balls – and his music dominated public demand in almost every genre. His success led to requests for music of all kinds, particularly dance movements, either singly or forming parts of suites for the keyboard. At the time, there was a growing fashion for French keyboard music, and Purcell willingly accepted the structural influences from that school. And yet, his music remained infused with the individual expression of an undoubtedly English composer.

Tragically, Purcell died at the peak of his career on 21 November 1695 at his home in London. He is believed to have been 35 or 36 years old at the time. A year after his death, Purcell’s widow, Frances, posthumously published A Choice Collection of Lessons for the Harpsichord or Spinet. These eight suites, long overshadowed by his more celebrated theatre works, are the core of Purcell’s keyboard output, shifting from major to minor keys, from humour to seriousness, to create a uniquely expressive musical world.

The suites incorporate French dance forms like the Almand, Corante, and Minuet, and the Spanish Saraband, which Purcell imbued with a quintessentially British idiom. This finds particular expression in movements like a Corante that deftly incorporates tunes from Ireland and Scotland; a brilliant Jigg that seems to catch the listener unawares; and a burly Hornpipe that draws on earlier incidental music.

Cristian Sandrin intersperses Purcell’s posthumously published eight keyboard suites with occasional additions from other works, and his recital concludes with the beautiful Sefauchi’s Farewell. Purcell was deeply impressed on hearing one of the greatest of all castrati, the Italian ‘Sefauchi’ (Giovanni Francesco Grossi), in London. This keyboard work is a tribute from one noble musician to another.