Fairy Queen

A few generations later Henry Purcell had accomplished another translation from Italy to England: opera. Purcell lived a very short life; his 36 years are akin to the brief span of Mozart’s existence on earth. But like Mozart, Purcell’s story, too, is one of prodigious accomplishments at an early age. Following training as a chorister in the Royal Chapel, Henry was appointed resident composer at age 17 and became head organist at Westminster Abbey just two years later. It was at this time—around 1680—that Purcell’s earliest extant compositions, mostly violin sonatas and fantasias, were written. Such instrumental works show a firm grasp of the latest Italian fashions, and some of that exposure certainly served Purcell well as he turned to creating music for the theater. His appointments at court and chapel continued until his death and called forth a vast array of ceremonial odes, songs, and liturgical settings. But in his lifetime and ever since Purcell has been loved best for his dramatic scores: King Arthur (1691), The Fairy Queen (1692), and above all, Dido and Aeneas (1689).
Tonight we hear a selection from Act V of The Fairy Queen, a piece adapted from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (If you are attending the Festival opera on Saturday or Sunday, you will have a chance to hear Dido and Aeneas in its entirety.) “The Plaint” is one of the additions Purcell made to the score one year after its initial performance. Act V begins with the discovery of the lovers slumbering deeply after strange midnight revels. The fairy king and queen, Oberon and Titania, are present as Oberon calls on Juno to sing forth over the heads of the lovers. (In the original staging this involved use of a Machine drawn by peacocks!) “The Plaint” tells of love lost, and its sentiments help to reconcile the warring king and queen. Musically, it recalls the lament of Dido: both are structured upon a chaconne or repeating bass progression. In The Fairy Queen the progression is more chromatic and meandering in its gradual descent, and the treble portion—given to both solo voice and violin—benefits greatly from the contrast in textures.

(c) Jason Stell