Henry Purcell
England's Baroque master, who made English sing naturally on the opera stage
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Who he was
Henry Purcell (1659–1695) was the foremost English composer of the Baroque and the one name English opera cannot avoid. A chorister at Westminster Abbey in boyhood, he later became organist there and at the Chapel Royal, spending his short life between London's church and court. He died at thirty-six.
His place
He stands where English counterpoint meets the new Italian and French styles. England had no mature public opera, so Purcell folded Italian aria, French dance and the cadence of spoken English into single works. Dido and Aeneas is often called the first English opera; King Arthur and The Fairy Queen are closer to semi-opera with spoken dialogue.
What to hear
Listen first for the ground bass: a short bass figure walks round and round while the voices above keep changing. Dido's Lament is the model, its descending bass like a step toward the end. Then hear English stress: Purcell's melody follows the weight of speech, consonants and commas landing where they should. Finally listen for dissonance: he lets two parts grind together before a cadence, and grief becomes physical.
Key works
- Opera and semi-opera: Dido and Aeneas, King Arthur, The Fairy Queen
- Instrumental: trio sonatas, keyboard suites
- Sacred: anthems, the ode Come, Ye Sons of Art
Influence
After Purcell, English opera fell mostly silent until the twentieth century rediscovered him. Britten arranged his music and inherited his ambition to let English sing naturally. He proved a language can have its own operatic voice without imitating Italy.
Listen in the library
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Sources
- 珀塞尔生平、威斯敏斯特教堂职位与作品编号，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Purcell, Henry"；本文为原创表述
- 《狄多与埃涅阿斯》与半歌剧的体裁背景，参通行珀塞尔研究；实例 why 为本站听辨提示
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