1659–1695 · Baroque
Henry Purcell
1 work
Purcell was born in Westminster around 1659 and died in London in 1695, aged about 36. He was organist of Westminster Abbey from 1679 and of the Chapel Royal from 1682. His style is described as uniquely English, blending Italian and French elements. In the 1680s and 1690s he wrote music for many plays, including the semi-operas Dioclesian, King Arthur and The Fairy-Queen, and the chamber opera Dido and Aeneas (1689).
The Abdelazer music belongs to this theatre work. Aphra Behn's tragedy Abdelazer; or, The Moor's Revenge was first staged in London in 1676, and Purcell wrote incidental music for a revival in the summer of 1695, the last year of his life. The suite includes an Ouverture, a Rondeau, several Airs, a Minuet, a Jig, a Hornpipe and a song. The Rondeau is the best-known movement. A rondeau brings back its main tune after contrasting passages, and Benjamin Britten later used this tune as the theme of The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (1946).
What to listen for
- The Rondeau's main tune coming back after each contrasting passage, which is how the form holds together.
- A stately, dance-like pulse, like the other dance movements in the same suite.
- The tune itself, which will sound familiar from Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.
