Handel’s ‘Fra l’ombre e gl’orrori’ is an exceptionally challenging piece in which the singer is called upon to cover two and a half octaves, from the high G#4 (at 3:45) at the top of the baritone range down to the low C#2 at the bottom of bass range. Purves does something extraordinary and interpolates an A1 at 5:12, expanding the range of this piece to a semitone shy of three octaves! (This is in baroque tuning [A=415], so the actual notes written are high A and low D). Note that this is a live recording—all the more impressive. Though Purves is often billed as a bass-baritone or baritone, he demonstrates here an uncanny ability to cover the lowest notes in the bass repertoire and below.

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