Early music gets no better than this: the wonderful Gabrieli Consort & Players’ acclaimed interpretation of Purcell’s dramatic masterpiece about the conflict between King Arthur’s Britons and the heathen Saxon invaders.

Purcell’s sublime music and John Dryden’s splendid libretto tell the tale of King Arthur’s attempts to rescue his fiancée, the blind Cornish Princess Emmeline, from the clutches of his arch-enemy, the Saxon King Oswald of Kent. The music is full of dynamic dance rhythms and lyrical song, including the justly famous Fairest Isle, as well as the “frost scene” – one of Purcell’s most vivid and imaginative scores.

It is performed by a virtuosic consort cast of the exceptional Gabrieli with Paul McCreesh, long renowned for their performances of the music of Henry Purcell. Their 2019 recording of this work was hailed by Opera magazine as “as accomplished and richly satisfying an experience as anyone could hope for”.

Gabrieli Consort & Players
Paul McCreesh director