Enter the intense emotional world of Purcell’s ravishing songs on love

It’s hard to imagine Henry Purcell’s music performed with greater finesse and understanding. In familiar and lesser-known songs and arias that explore themes of love (including a song each from John Eccles and Purcell’s brother Daniel), mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston brings deep emotion to every musical phrase, floating magically above Purcell’s sinuous accompaniments, deftly spun by a world-class team of early music instrumentalists.

The ensemble gets its moments in the sun with instrumental works by John Blow and Christopher Simpson that provide imaginative and characterful sorbets to Purcell’s unflagging richness, ample proof that the great 17th-century English composer operated within a fertile musical landscape.