Purcell: Dido And Aeneas

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Cat No: 8553108

Release Date: 12 January 1999

Label: Naxos - Nxc / Naxos Classics

Packaging Type: Jewel Case

No of Units: 1

Barcode: 730099410823

Genres: Classical

Composer/Series: PURCELL

Description
Henry PURCELL (1659 - 1695) Dido and Aeneas Although little is known about the origins of Dido and Aeneas we do know that it was performed in 1689 at an annual concert at the well-known Josias Priest's boarding-school for Young Gentlewomen in Chelsea. Despite convincing evidence that the work was conceived for such a performance, some scholars believe that it was in fact first performed at Court some years earlier and that a performance in 1700, when the music was used in revival of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, more accurately reflected Purcell's original lay-out of voices. The Scholars Baroque Ensemble have opted for an allocation of voices which is probably closer to the 1689 performance. The Sorceress is given to a mezzo-soprano (what a wonderful part for the resident school nurse!), the Witches are sopranos and the Spirit is countertenor. With regard to instrument, the bass violin (slightly larger than a cello) is used instead of the pairing of cello and double-bass, which did not come into practice until after Purcell's death. Not all of Purcell's music for Dido and Aeneas is extant and, in particular, problems arise from the lack of music to end the second act. The libretto calls for a final chorus and dance and something is certainly needed to round off the act and bring the music back to the home key of D. Rather than adapt music from another of Purcell's works, we have chosen the simple but effective device of repeating in instrumental form the chorus from the beginning of the same scene. The two Guitar Dances are improvised as implied in the 1689 libretto as is the \Horrid Music after the Echo Dance of Furies. A thunder sheet is used after the Triumphing Dance and to accompany the "Horrid Music" as called for in the libretto and has additionally been employed in numbers 26 and 27, as the text seems to cry out for it. The Drunken Sailors' Dance in Act 2 is an arrangement for two violins by William Thorp of Row Well, Ye Mariners, a popular tune which can be found in all editions of John Playford's The English Dancing Master (1651 - c. 1728). David van Asch Henry Purcell (1659 - 1695) Dido and Aeneas Libretto by Nahum Tate The Scholars Baroque Ensemble Dido, Queen of Carthage - Kym Amps (soprano) Belinda, her sister - Anna Crookes (soprano) Second Woman - Ghislaine Morgan (soprano) Sorceress - Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano) First Witch - Ghislaine Morgan (soprano) Second Witch - Anna Crookes (soprano) Spirit - Angus Davidson (countertenor) Aeneas, a Trojan prince - David van Asch (bass) First Sailor - Robin Doveton (tenor) David Gould (countertenor), Julian Podger (tenor), Colin Campbell (bass) Henry Purcell, one of the greatest English composers, before English music was overwhelmed by the activities of Handel in the next century, was born in 1659, the son of a musician Thomas Purcell and nephew of Henry Purcell, both of whom served as gentlemen of the Chapel Royal after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. At the age of ten th
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