Professional Documents
Culture Documents
GROUP 1
PRESENTED BY
ABDUL RAZIQ MUQRI
MUHAMMAD RAZIQ
HAZREEN AMREENA
He was born in ST. ANNS LANE, OLD PYE STREET WESTMINSTER, LONDON.
By the time he was in his late teens, his extraordinary talents winning him
important musical positions.
1677, at about 18, he became a COMPOSER to the KINGS STRING ORCHESTRA.
During the last few years of his short life, Purcell who died at 36, was BURRIED
BENEATH THE ORGAN IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
He was the last native English composer of international rank until the twentieth
century.
He wrote CHURCH MUSIC, SECULAR CHORD MUSIC, MUSIC FOR SMALL GROUPS OF
INSTRUMENTS, SONGS AND MUSIC for the stage.
His only true opera is DIDO AND AENEAS (1689), which consider the FINEST ever
written to an English text.
His other dramatic works are spoken plays with musical numbers in the form of
overtures, songs, choruses and dances.
His vocal music is FAITHFUL TO ENGLISH INFLECTION and brings out the meaning
of the text.
His music is FILLED WITH LIVELY RYTHMS and has a FRESH MELODIC STYLE that
captures the spirit of English folk songs.
He treated the chorus with great variety and was able to obtain striking effects
through both SIMPLE HOMOPHONIC TEXTURES and COMPLEX POLYPHONY.
Some of Purcells finest songs use a variation form found in many baroque works
a ground bass.
GROUND BASS
Often in baroque works,a musical idea in the bass is repeated over and over
while the melodies anove it change.
The repeated musical idea is called a ground bass, or basso ostinato which
means obstinate or persistent bass.
Composers have used a ground bass in both vocal and instrumental music
Purcells Dido and Aeneas,a masterpiece of baroque opera, was written for
studentscat girls boarding school.
It last only an hour,is scored only for strings and harpsichord continuo,and
requires no elaborate stage machinery or virtuoso soloists
Used many dances in Dido and Aeneas because the director of the school was a
dancing master who wanted to display the students accomplishments.
The libretto of Dido and Aeneas ,by nahum tate ,was inspired by the Aeneid an
epic poem by the roman poet virgil (70 19 B.C) .
The operas main characters are Dido,the queen of Charthage and Aeneas,the
king of defeated Trojans.
After the destructions of his native troy, aeneas has been ordered by the gods to
seek a site for building a new city.
After landing at Chathage ,a north African seaport,Aeneas falls in love with Dido.
A sorceress and two witches see this is an opportunity to plot Didos downfall
A false messengers tells Aeneas that the Gods command him to leave Carthage
immediately and renew his search.
In the last act, which takes place at the harbour, Aeneass sailors sing and dance
before leaving and the witches look on in glee.
An emotional scene followa between Aeneas and Dido, who enters with her
friend, Belinda.
After he sails, Dido sings a noble, deeply tragic lament and kill herself.
A melodic recitative accompanied only by the basso continuo sets the sorrowful
mood for Didos Lament, the climax of the opera.
Didos melody move freely above this repeated bass line, creating touching
dissonances with it.
THE END