JAMES HOOK (1746-1827): Great Britain Triumphant, Royal Orphan's Dream, Britons Struck Home, The Glorious First of June, THOMAS SHAW (c.1752-c.1830): Overture to the Opera The Island of St. Marguerite, WILLIAM SHIELD (1748-1829): Overture and 3 songs from Hartford Bridge, THOMAS ATTWOOD (1765-1838): Reflections of Marie Antoinette, LUFFMAN ATTERBURY (1740-1796): The Undaunted Britons, STEPHEN STORACE (1762-1796): Lamentation of Marie Antoinette.

Description: This unusual collection deals with English music inspired by the events of the French Revolution from the 1791 failed escape of Louis and Marie Antoinette to the naval battle of 1794 known as "The Glorious First of June". Generally, the style is that of the popular stage and the pathetic ballad (obviously apt for the death of Marie) although the excerpts from Shield's opera Hartford Bridge give the upper-class characters arias of a truly operatic nature. Good notes; really unusual repertoire! Texts included. Caroline Schiller, Stefanie True, Mária Zádori (sopranos), Zoltán Megyesi (tenor), Reid Spencer (baritone), Capella Savaria;  Mary Térey-Smith.