There are 24 Odes and Welcome Songs composed by Purcell between 1680 and 1695: four celebrate St Cecilia, six are to welcome royalty, three celebrate King James II’s birthday and six celebrate that of Queen Mary (from 1684 to 1694). The others were written for specific events – royal wedding, Yorkshire festival, Duke of Gloucester’s birthday, hundredth anniversary of Dublin’s Trinity College, etc. For these occasions, Purcell composed incredibly imaginative music of amazing quality – often keeping his most beautiful pieces for less remarkable texts, most of the time conventionally obsequious when it came to royalty.

According to the registers, the number of singers and musicians were surprisingly small during special events. Purcell’s most elaborate Odes (namely Come Ye sons of Art and Hail! bright Cecilia) seem to have been designed for about twelve instruments and four singers, for solos and choruses. The Banquet Céleste chose a chamber music-like spirit for these extremely expressive and musical works.