Performing the Music of Henry Purcell

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Nicholas Kenyon: Introduction
Performing the Music
1 Peter Holman: Original sets of parts for Restoration Concerted Music at Oxford
2 Dominic Gwynn: The English organ in Purcell's lifetime
3 John Dilworth: Violin making in England in the age of Purcell
4 Peter Downey: Performing Mr Purcell's Exotick trumpet notes
5 Bruce Wood: The first performance of Purcell's Funeral Music for Queen Mary
6 H. Diack Johnstone: Ornamentation in the keyboard music of Henry Purcell and his contemporaries
7 Olive Baldwin and Thelma Wilson: Purcell's stage singers
8 Timothy Morris: Voice ranges, voice types and pitch in Purcell's concerted works
Staging the Operas
9 Michael Burden: Purcell debauch'd
the dramatick operas in performance
10 Andrew Walking: Performance and political allegory: what to interpret and when on the Restoration stage
11 Richard Semmens: Dancing and dance music in Purcell's operas
12 Ruth Eva Ronen: Of Costume and Etiquette: staging in the time of Purcell
13 Roger Savage: Calling up Genius: Purcell, Roger North and Charlotte Butler
14 Julia and Frans Muller: Purcell's Dioclesian on the Dorset Garden stage
15 Lionel Sawkins: Trembleurs and Cold People: how should they shiver?
Appendices
1 Peter Holman: Original sets of parts of Restoration Concerted Music at Oxford: a preliminary catalogue
2 John Dilworth: English viol and violin makers working in London in the period 1650-1700
3 Olive Baldwin and Thelma Wilson: Purcell's stage singers: a documentary list
4 Timothy Morris: Forces and vocal ranges in Purcell's concerted works
5 Richard Semmens: Dances and Purcell's operas 1689-1692 for which music is known

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About

As Nicholas Kenyon says, quoting Ralph Vaughan Williams in the introduction to this volume, 'We all pay lip service to Henry Purcell, but what do we really know of him?'. Many aspects of the composer's life remain obscure, but, with the approach of the tercentenary of Henry Purcell's death in 1995, much of his music would be performed again, in some cases for the first time for many years. It was clear that many issues of performance practice needed to be aired before 1995; further it was equally clear that such discussion should begin early and should be available in published form. To this end, a group of scholars and performers gathered at Exeter College, Oxford in 1993 and the contents of this volume represents some of the fruits of their deliberation. The first part of the book considers purely musical issues, and covers a wide range of topics. Peter Holman looks at the importance of the Oxford set parts for Restoration Concerted Music in the overall picture of orchestral practice in the seventeenth century. This is followed by two organological essays, one on organs (Dominic Gwynne) and the other on violins (John Dilworth). The remainder of this first section has three studies of historical performance - on Percell's "Exotic" trumpet notes (Peter Downey), on Queen Mary's Funeral Music (Bruce Wood), and ornamenting Purcell's keyboard music (H Diack Johnson) - and two concerning singers and singing - Purcell's stage singers (Olive Baldwin and Thelma Wilson) and on voice ranges, voice types and pitch (Timothy Morris). The second part of the book, devoted to the stage works, opens with an examination of past performances of the dramatic operas in Michael Burden's essay, 'Percell debauch'd'. Contributors then examine the importance of allegory in performing stage works (Andrew Walkling), theatrical dance (Richard Semmens), costume and etiquette (Ruth Eva Ronen), stage music (Roger Savage), and aspects of performing Dioclesian (Julia and Frans Muller) and King Arthur (Lionel Sawkins).

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Music and Letters

the papers are a valuable record, particularly now that they have been worked up ... the book worthily commemorates the Purcell tercentenary ... Michael Burden is to be congratulated not only on organizing the conference but also for recruiting such a distinguished group of scholars and seeing their work through the press on top of everything else he has recently done

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