This is a concert about the music at Chapel Royal in England at the end of the 17th century. A whole generation of composers got their start in the boys choir at Chapel Royal. The most well-known is Henry Purcell, but John Blow, William Turner and others sang there as well. They socialized and wrote music together and even performed as soloists in each others music, which must have created a very stimulating and creative environment.
We let two voices from Chapel Royal form the core of our program. The counter-tenor or male alto was a very popular voice type at this time, and we give samples of music for counter tenor. John Gostling was the most sought-after bass with the biggest vocal range of his time, and we perform several works which his friends at Chapel Royal wrote specifically for him.
Staffan Liljas – counter-tenor and bass
Karl Nyhlin – lute and theorbo