PURCELL HENRY

(3CD) COMPLETE MUSIC FOR STRINGS
Such was his renown in the musical world - 'one of the most celebrated Masters of the Science of Musick in the Kingdom and scarce inferior to any in Europe' - when Henry Purcell tragically died aged only 36 in 1695, that he was essentially afforded a state funeral. This collection brings together the composer's complete works for strings. Showing Purcell's success as a cutting-edge composer, both sets of sonatas showcase the contrapuntal technique with which he would become so intimately linked, demonstrating the techniques that Purcell d...
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(2-CD) KING ARTHUR
Not strictly speaking an opera, King Arthur, or The British Worthy is a 'semi-opera'. Semi-operas were dramas in four or five acts, with lengthy musical sections. The main characters only speak, and the musical narrative is the preserve of the minor characters - nymphs and such like. John Dryden, who provided Purcell with the libretto in 1691, commented that 'Purcell was the equal to the best (composer) abroad', and that in King Arthur 'my art on this occasion, ought to be subservient to his'. The story depicts the battles that the Briton...
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(2CD) THE FAIRY QUEEN
Prior to Handel's arrival in London, and the influence of Italian opera that he brought with him, English opera was known as 'semi opera' - a blend of drama, music, spoken word, elaborate stage sets, costumes and special effects. Roger North, a contemporary observer, described the genre rather disparagingly, complaining: 'Some come for the play and hate the musick, others come onely for the musick, and the drama is penance to them, and scarce any are well reconciled to both'. However, 'semi opera' nevertheless inspired Purcell to compose s...
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