England - 'this sceptured isle, this throne of kings'. A land of pomp and circumstance, spectacular ceremony and ancient courtly ritual, magnificently evoked by the stately music of Purcell, Clarke and Handel - royal composers par excellence. A land, too, of wistful nostalgic folksongs from the mellow English countryside, of ironic humor so aptly captured by the great Victorian partnership of Gilbert and Sullivan, and of endless, sunlit Edwardian summers so poignantly celebrated in the noble music of Parry and Elgar.
400 years of England's great musical heritage, from the Tudors to the closing years of the Empire - are contained in this album. Play music, and breathe the air of this 'green and pleasant land'.