Henry Purcell, 1659-1695, was the last great English composer before the twentieth century. His opera, Dido and Aeneas (1689), is considered to be among the finest operas set to an English text. Although Purcell lived only to age thirty-six, his creative light burned bright, writing in most of the major genres of time: opera, music for plays, liturgical music, orchestral music, chamber music, solo keyboard, solo song and ceremonial music.
Here's a quick taste of Purcell's music performed by the Leeward Coast Guitars:
Rondeau in D Major | Henry Purcell | Leeward Coast Guitars (1:45)
Life and Times of Mr. Purcell
Purcell was composing at nine years old, but his earliest known work dates from 1670, an ode for the King's birthday. Young Henry was talented but also well connected. His father, Henry Purcell Senior, was a musician and gentleman of the royal court. Subsequently, young Henry spend most of his career in the employment of the royal court and Westminster Abbey.
Henry was the elder of three brothers. Daniel, the youngest, was also a prolific composer and finished the music for the final act of The Indian Queen after Henry's untimely death in 1695 at the age of thirty-six. The prior year his patron, Queen Mary II, passed in a smallpox epidemic, and Henry composed her funeral music.
United Kingdom | The dark green island is the United Kingdom. England comprises the southern half of the United Kingdom. | Wikimedia Commons
Death
The cause of Henry's death is not clear: he may have succumbed to tuberculosis or smallpox. There's even a theory he died of exposure after being locked out of the house by his wife after a late night. One thing we know for certain is Queen Mary's funeral music was recycled for Henry's funeral. Henry was buried beneath the organ at Westminster Abbey, a resting place of great honor for a musician.
When on my sick bed I languish | Purcell's autograph score, 1680 | British Library
Dido and Aeneas
In simple terms, opera is a play in which is singing is used in place of dialogue. The main characters are solo vocalists supplemented by a choir and orchestra. Like a play, operas use sets, props, special lighting and costumes and are organized into acts and scenes. Operas even have non-singing extras, sword fights and dancing. Opera was invented during the early Baroque in Italy and is a merging of multiple arts: music, literature, dance, architecture, set design, etc. Although North Americans often think of opera as highbrow entertainment, during the seventeenth century it was the entertainment equivalent of watching a movie today.
The Story
Dido and Aeneas (1689) is Purcell's foremost theatrical work and his only opera. It's brief for an opera, lasting only about an hour. It has a prologue and three acts and is set to a libretto by Nahum Tate. The story is based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid: the love of Dido, Queen of Carthage, for the Trojan hero Aeneas, and her despair when he abandons her.
After the fall of Troy, the gods tell Aeneas to find a place to build a new city. He sets off with twenty-one ships but drifts off course and lands in Carthage in North Africa. Dido and Aeneas meet and fall in love. Witches see this as an opportunity to plot Dido's demise and send a message to Aeneas instructing him to sail to Italy. Aeneas thinks the message is from the gods and tells Dido he is leaving. A lover's quarrel ensues and Aeneas relents, offering to defy the gods and remain in Carthage. Dido shuns his offer and Aeneas departs for Italy. Her despair is so great she orders a funeral pyre built so that Aeneas will see from his ship that she has committed suicide.
Meeting of Dido and Aeneas | N. Dance-Holland, 1735–1811 | Tate Britain
Lament
Dido's famous Lament is performed near the end of the last act, just after Aeneas has set sail. She sings her famous lament before taking dagger to heart and drifting into the evermore.
Dido's Lament is preceded by a dark recitative, accompanied by the basso continuo (lute and cello). The recitative or recitativo (Italian) is a hybrid of song and speech: performed with free rhythm and simple homophonic texture so the words are clear.
Thy hand, Belinda, darkness shades me,
On thy bosom let me rest,
More I would, but Death invades me;
Death is now a welcome guest.
Ground bass
A four to eight measure repeating bass pattern and/or chord progression is called ground bass or basso ostinato (Italian). The basso continuo repeats this bass pattern continuously while melodic lines are layered over the top of it. After the short recitative, you'll hear the five-measure ground bass pattern enter in the basso continuo (cello):
A beautiful aria follows, built over the five-measure repeating ground bass.
When I am laid, am laid in earth, may my wrongs create
No trouble, no trouble in, in thy breast.
When I am laid, am laid in earth, may my wrongs create
No trouble, no trouble in, in thy breast.
Remember me, remember me, but ah!
Forget my fate.
Remember me, but ah!
Forget my fate.
Remember me, remember me, but ah!
Forget my fate.
Remember me, but ah!
Forget my fate.
Dido's Lament (Dido and Aeneas) | Henry Purcell | Voices of Music (4:27)
Vocabulary
Henry Purcell, opera, Dido and Aeneas, ground bass, basso ostinato, recitative
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