Elizabeth Kenny & Stephen Devine - Henry Purcell: Didon & Enée (2009) [Hi-Res]
![Elizabeth Kenny & Stephen Devine - Henry Purcell: Didon & Enée (2009) [Hi-Res]](https://www.dibpic.com/uploads/posts/2019-04/1556636664_elizabeth-kenny-stephen-devine-henry-purcell-didon-enee-2009.jpg)
BAND/ARTIST: Elizabeth Kenny, Stephen Devine, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
- Title: Henry Purcell: Didon & Enée
- Year Of Release: 2009
- Label: Chandos
- Genre: Classical
- Quality: flac lossless / flac 24bits - 96.0kHz +Booklet
- Total Time: 01:09:49
- Total Size: 313 mb / 1.2 gb
- WebSite: Album Preview
Tracklist
---------
01. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Overture
02. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: Shake the cloud from off your brow (Belinda, Chorus)
03. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: Ah! Belinda, I am press'd with torment (Dido)
04. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: Grief increases by concealing (Belinda, Dido, Chorus)
05. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: Whence could so much virtue spring? (Dido, Belinda, 2nd Woman, Chorus)
06. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: See, your Royal guest appears (Belinda, Aeneas, Dido, Chorus)
07. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: Cupid only throws the dart (Chorus)
08. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: If not for mine, for Empire's sake (Aeneas, Belinda)
09. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: Guitar Chaconne
10. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: To the hills and the vales (Chorus)
11. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: The Triumphing Dance
12. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Wayward sisters (Sorceress, 1st Witch, Witches)
13. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: The Queen of Carthage, whom we hate (Sorceress, Chorus)
14. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Ruin'd ere the set of sun? (Witches, Sorceress, Chorus)
15. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: In our deep vaulted cell (Chorus)
16. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Echo Dance of Furies
17. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Ritornelle
18. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Thanks to these lonesome vales (Belinda, Chorus)
19. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Guitar Passacaille
20. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Guitar Dance: Oft she visits this lone mountain (2nd Woman)
21. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Behold, upon my bended spear (Aeneas, Dido)-Haste, haste to town (Belinda, Chorus)
22. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Stay, Prince! and hear great Jove's command (Spirit, Aeneas)
23. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Groves' Dance: Then since our charms have sped (Chorus)
24. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act III: Come away, fellow sailors (1st Sailor, Chorus)
25. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act III: See, the flags and streamers curling (Sorceress, 1st and 2nd Witches)
26. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act III: Our next motion (Sorceress)
27. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act III: The Witches' Dance
28. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act III: Your counsel all is urg'd in vain (Dido, Belinda, Aeneas)
29. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act III: Great minds against themselves conspire (Chorus)
30. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act III: Thy hand, Belinda; darkness shades me (Dido)
31. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act III: With drooping wings ye cupids come (Chorus)
There are many recordings of Dido and Aeneas, and I am convinced that this one must rank among the finest. Mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly assembled the cast and played a major part in the artistic decisions, including the insertion of pieces of additional music. She brings to the role of Dido a regal gravity that is indispensable for a convincing portrayal. Soprano Lucy Crowe as Belinda is youthful and energetic, but not flighty as in so many interpretations of the role. I have long felt that if a listener cannot distinguish Dido from Belinda sight unseen from the tone and vocal demeanor of the singers, then something is seriously wrong. This performance easily passes that test.
Baritone Gerald Finley as Aeneas gives us a clear and substantial tone that is not ponderous. Mezzo-soprano Patricia Bardon is superb as the Sorceress. Her delivery is menacing, but not the grotesque caricature some singers make of the role. The Sorceress and her witches are meant to be taken seriously. She is not, as Roger Savage put it, a "pantomime wicked fairy". In the end, this is technically first rate in playing and singing, good in its dramatic pacing, and mercifully free of gimmickry. It is the practice of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment not to have a regular conductor or even a set seating order. In this performance, Elizabeth Kenny and Steven Devine are codirectors from the continuo ensemble, Kenny playing guitar and theorbo with Devine at the harpsichord. There are two other theorbo-guitarists in the ensemble.
The earliest documented performance of Purcell's opera was in 1689 at Josias Priest's girls' boarding school in Chelsea. It is likely that the work had been performed earlier as a masque at court, then adapted for the school performance. The earliest source for the music dates from the 18th Century (Tenbury MS 1266 in the Bodleian Library, Oxford) and undoubtedly reflects further adaptation for later performances. It appears that some musical items are missing from this source, and that is the basis for the insertion of additional pieces. Two guitar dances were inserted for the school performance. For this recording, the `Gittars Chacony' in Act I is an improvisation based on a chaconne by Francesco Corbetta, court guitarist to Charles II; and the `Gittars Passacaille' in Act II is based on a piece by Robert de Visée from the court of Louis XIV. A dance piece from Purcell's music to Bonduca is inserted early in Act I after Dido's aria on a ground, `Ah! Belinda'. The aria itself ends with an instrumental ritornello, and the additional dance seems to me too great an interruption of the dramatic flow so early in the act. More effective is the insertion of the Almand from Purcell's Suite in G minor, played on the harpsichord by Steven Devine between the two scenes of Act III, marking the transition from the quayside to the palace. The most serious gap in the surviving scores comes at the end of Act II. Missing from all the early scores is the chorus `Then since our charms have sped', sung by the Sorceress and witches, and the concluding `Groves Dance'. For this performance the chorus has been recomposed by Bruce Wood and is followed by a dance piece from Purcell's Circe. The text of the chorus is in the early surviving librettos, but here, as in any conceivable performance, it abruptly breaks the spell of Aeneas's soliloquy. I have heard performances that conclude the act with a hushed reprise of the ritornello that opens the scene, and I find it a more effective conclusion, especially when the soliloquy is as movingly sung as it is here by Gerald Finley.
The success or failure of a performance of Dido can depend on the celebrated Lament. Here Sarah Connolly takes a very slow tempo, but the dramatic tension and musical direction are never in jeopardy. It is an exquisitely eloquent reading - American Record Guide, William J Gatens, May/June 2009
---------
01. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Overture
02. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: Shake the cloud from off your brow (Belinda, Chorus)
03. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: Ah! Belinda, I am press'd with torment (Dido)
04. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: Grief increases by concealing (Belinda, Dido, Chorus)
05. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: Whence could so much virtue spring? (Dido, Belinda, 2nd Woman, Chorus)
06. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: See, your Royal guest appears (Belinda, Aeneas, Dido, Chorus)
07. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: Cupid only throws the dart (Chorus)
08. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: If not for mine, for Empire's sake (Aeneas, Belinda)
09. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: Guitar Chaconne
10. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: To the hills and the vales (Chorus)
11. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act I: The Triumphing Dance
12. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Wayward sisters (Sorceress, 1st Witch, Witches)
13. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: The Queen of Carthage, whom we hate (Sorceress, Chorus)
14. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Ruin'd ere the set of sun? (Witches, Sorceress, Chorus)
15. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: In our deep vaulted cell (Chorus)
16. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Echo Dance of Furies
17. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Ritornelle
18. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Thanks to these lonesome vales (Belinda, Chorus)
19. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Guitar Passacaille
20. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Guitar Dance: Oft she visits this lone mountain (2nd Woman)
21. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Behold, upon my bended spear (Aeneas, Dido)-Haste, haste to town (Belinda, Chorus)
22. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Stay, Prince! and hear great Jove's command (Spirit, Aeneas)
23. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act II: Groves' Dance: Then since our charms have sped (Chorus)
24. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act III: Come away, fellow sailors (1st Sailor, Chorus)
25. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act III: See, the flags and streamers curling (Sorceress, 1st and 2nd Witches)
26. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act III: Our next motion (Sorceress)
27. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act III: The Witches' Dance
28. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act III: Your counsel all is urg'd in vain (Dido, Belinda, Aeneas)
29. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act III: Great minds against themselves conspire (Chorus)
30. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act III: Thy hand, Belinda; darkness shades me (Dido)
31. Dido & Aeneas, Z. 626: Act III: With drooping wings ye cupids come (Chorus)
There are many recordings of Dido and Aeneas, and I am convinced that this one must rank among the finest. Mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly assembled the cast and played a major part in the artistic decisions, including the insertion of pieces of additional music. She brings to the role of Dido a regal gravity that is indispensable for a convincing portrayal. Soprano Lucy Crowe as Belinda is youthful and energetic, but not flighty as in so many interpretations of the role. I have long felt that if a listener cannot distinguish Dido from Belinda sight unseen from the tone and vocal demeanor of the singers, then something is seriously wrong. This performance easily passes that test.
Baritone Gerald Finley as Aeneas gives us a clear and substantial tone that is not ponderous. Mezzo-soprano Patricia Bardon is superb as the Sorceress. Her delivery is menacing, but not the grotesque caricature some singers make of the role. The Sorceress and her witches are meant to be taken seriously. She is not, as Roger Savage put it, a "pantomime wicked fairy". In the end, this is technically first rate in playing and singing, good in its dramatic pacing, and mercifully free of gimmickry. It is the practice of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment not to have a regular conductor or even a set seating order. In this performance, Elizabeth Kenny and Steven Devine are codirectors from the continuo ensemble, Kenny playing guitar and theorbo with Devine at the harpsichord. There are two other theorbo-guitarists in the ensemble.
The earliest documented performance of Purcell's opera was in 1689 at Josias Priest's girls' boarding school in Chelsea. It is likely that the work had been performed earlier as a masque at court, then adapted for the school performance. The earliest source for the music dates from the 18th Century (Tenbury MS 1266 in the Bodleian Library, Oxford) and undoubtedly reflects further adaptation for later performances. It appears that some musical items are missing from this source, and that is the basis for the insertion of additional pieces. Two guitar dances were inserted for the school performance. For this recording, the `Gittars Chacony' in Act I is an improvisation based on a chaconne by Francesco Corbetta, court guitarist to Charles II; and the `Gittars Passacaille' in Act II is based on a piece by Robert de Visée from the court of Louis XIV. A dance piece from Purcell's music to Bonduca is inserted early in Act I after Dido's aria on a ground, `Ah! Belinda'. The aria itself ends with an instrumental ritornello, and the additional dance seems to me too great an interruption of the dramatic flow so early in the act. More effective is the insertion of the Almand from Purcell's Suite in G minor, played on the harpsichord by Steven Devine between the two scenes of Act III, marking the transition from the quayside to the palace. The most serious gap in the surviving scores comes at the end of Act II. Missing from all the early scores is the chorus `Then since our charms have sped', sung by the Sorceress and witches, and the concluding `Groves Dance'. For this performance the chorus has been recomposed by Bruce Wood and is followed by a dance piece from Purcell's Circe. The text of the chorus is in the early surviving librettos, but here, as in any conceivable performance, it abruptly breaks the spell of Aeneas's soliloquy. I have heard performances that conclude the act with a hushed reprise of the ritornello that opens the scene, and I find it a more effective conclusion, especially when the soliloquy is as movingly sung as it is here by Gerald Finley.
The success or failure of a performance of Dido can depend on the celebrated Lament. Here Sarah Connolly takes a very slow tempo, but the dramatic tension and musical direction are never in jeopardy. It is an exquisitely eloquent reading - American Record Guide, William J Gatens, May/June 2009
Classical | FLAC / APE | HD & Vinyl
As a ISRA.CLOUD's PREMIUM member you will have the following benefits:
- Unlimited high speed downloads
- Download directly without waiting time
- Unlimited parallel downloads
- Support for download accelerators
- No advertising
- Resume broken downloads