"This is a very interesting disc and worthy of the attention of all the devotees of seventeenth-century English music. The musical climax of the coronation of King James 2nd consisted of two of the most glorious pieces ever composed for such an event: Blow’s God spake sometime in visions and Purcell’s My heart is inditing. If you think if Purcell as the genius and Blow as a worthy, but infinitely less talented composer, God spake sometime in visions might challenge you to re-evaluate your opinion. It is a sumptuous composition that is the work of a highly fertile musical imagination and demonstrates Blow’s outstanding command of choral textures and his excellent sense of musical architecture that, in this instance, arguably outdoes Purcell’s... On this disc the Choir of the Chapel Royal and the string, cornett, sackbut and organ players that accompany give them commendable performances. For the coronation of James 2nd, the choir of the Chapel Royal was augmented by other singers. While more voices would have helped to give the performances a greater grandeur, this disc is of particular merit because the singers are successors of the boys and men who formed the core in 1685."

(Recommended listening)

"The men and boys of the Chapel Royal under Andrew Gant bring history to vivid life. Recommended."   ****

Andrew Stewart

"Nowadays it seems impossible to envisage a coronation service without Handel’s Zadok the Priest, but this recording of the music used at James II’s in 1685 suggests that Henry Lawes’s grand, solemn setting, complete with cornetts and sackbuts, made an impressive predecessor. Thanks to a contemporary chronicler, most of the music used can be identified. Much of it was supplied by Purcell, whose exultant My Heart is Inditing was sung during the queen’s crowning, and by John Blow, whose magnificent God Spake Sometime in Visions, with its gravely sonorous opening and martial trumpetings, accompanied the peers’ homage. Other attractive contributions came from the less well-known William Turner, whose strong and inventive The King Shall Rejoice suggests that his music merits further exploration.   The performances are excellent..."

Elizabeth Roche

"...I have played this CD twice during the week received, and recommend it unreservedly."

Peter Grahame Woolf