Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas

[knight66]

Thanks, that is a cleverly chosen sample, it lets you hear almost the whole cast in under 90 seconds. I have ordered it from another source at a better price.

Mike

[Coopmv]

Thanks, that is a cleverly chosen sample, it lets you hear almost the whole cast in under 90 seconds. I have ordered it from another source at a better price.

Mike

Strange as it may sound, Chandos is one of those English labels where I can find little savings even if I buy its CD's from MDT on sale.  This is particularly true after the recent run-up of the Pound against the Dollar ...

[knight66]

I got it for £8 from the Amazon marketplace.

Mike

[71 dB]

You are not alone! I have one of those! I never really got on with it though, and more recently I bought the new version with Sarah Connolly; partly because Gramophone raved about it, and partly because I've seen Sarah Connolly perform, so have a kind of special interest (I wonder about the psychology of all this). It seems very good to me. Whether it's as good as the obvious competition I can't say, not being familar with any others.

Yeah, Sarah Connolly is excellent in Giulio Cesare.  However, buying "better" versions for all my 300+ Naxos discs would be an exhausting task! Some Naxos releases are actually top quality, real bargains. Octets by Mendelssohn & Bruch is one of those special CDs.

[knight66]

Oh yes, Naxos do great things. I have lots of their discs, though not so many vocal ones, as I tend to 'follow' specific singers.

Mike

[Coopmv]

I got it for £8 from the Amazon marketplace.

Mike

This is pretty much what I pay stateside to the average Amazon MarketPlace vendor as well.  So there is no big price advantage compared with Hyperion when I buy from the UK.

[Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich]

Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell

Dido, Queen of Carthage - Sarah Connolly
Aeneas, a Trojan prince - Lucas Meachem
Belinda, Dido's maid - Lucy Crowe
[...]

Dancers of the Royal Ballet
Royal Opera Chorus
Solo Continuo Players

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Christopher Hogwood

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=exponentu&view=videos&query=dido

Nothing can beat the Susan Graham Dido anyway

[Coopmv]

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=exponentu&view=videos&query=dido

Nothing can beat the Susan Graham Dido anyway

Is this available on CD?

[Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich]

Is this available on CD?

The performance on Youtube? Don't know.

The Susan Graham I mentioned is on CD, the Emanuelle Haim recording - I guess you have it? You'll see you were mistaken with your other 6 CDs . http://www.amazon.com/Purcell-Dido-Aeneas-Camilla-Tilling/dp/B0000E6POJ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1246731126&sr=8-2



Ah, Belinda excerpt: [mp3=200,20,0,left]http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/9/21/1446950/ahbelinda.mp3[/mp3]
When I'm laid in earth excerpt: [mp3=200,20,0,left]http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/9/21/1446950/whenimlaid.mp3[/mp3]

[Coopmv]

The performance on Youtube? Don't know.

The Susan Graham I mentioned is on CD, the Emanuelle Haim recording - I guess you have it? You'll see you were mistaken with your other 6 CDs . http://www.amazon.com/Purcell-Dido-Aeneas-Camilla-Tilling/dp/B0000E6POJ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1246731126&sr=8-2



Ah, Belinda excerpt: [mp3=200,20,0,left]http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/9/21/1446950/ahbelinda.mp3[/mp3]
When I'm laid in earth excerpt: [mp3=200,20,0,left]http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/9/21/1446950/whenimlaid.mp3[/mp3]

No, I do not have any recordings by Emanuelle Haim.  I only recently started to acquire Handel's oratorios/operas by Minkowski and Curtis.

[Ciel_Rouge]

Wurstwasser: judging by the samples you provided, I can see a lot of merit in getting Susan Graham as well. When I compare her to Simone Kermes, I find the latter more "natural" and perhaps more HIP-like, but then Graham indeed provides a "stronger" sound. I think I like them both, each in her own right.

[knight66]

I have just taken possession of the new Chandos version which sports two music directors. I am not even trying to untangle why two.

It is cast from strength, partly through the influence of Sarah Connelly. The sorceress is no less than Patricia Bardon and that means no hamming it up, rather, beautiful and detailed, dramatic singing. Everyone is strongly cast, Aeneas is the virile sounding Gerald Finlay, so on this occasion, a baritone rather than a low tenor. I like the chorus, male altos only, with the instances of perspective and distancing. A small but excellent group they provide the requisite weight in 'Great minds' as well as the fun and joy in 'Come away.'

I very much like the textures, especially the multiple Theorbo/guitar continuo. I am also happy with the 'padding' out by drawing in some additional or restored orchestral passages, one, a Gittars Passacille is over three minutes long and invokes the concept of a masque, in which form it now emerges the piece was sometimes performed in its early days.

Additionally, there is some extra vocal music and even a couple of plucked improvisatory dances. The pacing is mainly light on its feet, except for, 'In our deep vaulted cell' which is too slow with long lacunas in between phrases, this ought to be part of the sweep of the plot to undermine the lovers. 'Your counsel all is urged in vain' is preceded by an extensive piece for harpsichord, but it fits like a glove.

Another stylistic feature is sparing addition of grace-notes, not decoration.  I have been used to the plain purity of the vocal lines, so I am not sure the slight fussiness is an improvement. But this fits in nicely with the expanded shape of the piece. It does lose a little in conciseness and dramatic thrust, but the gains are entirely charming and shed some different light on the piece. The 55 minutes or so of the hitherto traditionally recorded score has become almost 70 minutes.

What this does all mean is that the figure of Dido is somewhat submerged and though strongly sung, it is impossible in this version of the music that she holds the centre stage as she does in the shorter version.

Connolly takes possession of that centre stage in the recit leading up to that final lamenting aria and she shapes it as well as I have heard it. It has that needed tragic punch, regretful rather than angry. It is moving on its own terms and far from bland. But...Baker is not erased from the memory. The final chorus, surely one of the most lovely pieces of music, is poised and is provided with a complete da capo. I missed that dying fall provided by Lewis in the old Baker version, but the ending is nevertheless very affecting.

In sum, absorbing and coming up as fresh as paint, a first rate performance. I have indicated a few misgivings, but they are petty up against the imaginative detail and the thought that has gone into this new recording.

Mike

[Joe_Campbell]

Hello all!

It's been a long time since I've posted on here, but trust me that the reason is one with which you all can acquiesce! I've been so busy in music school, and coincidentally, this is also the reason that I'm posting.

In my current music history course, we're covering the Renaissance and early Baroque periods of music. My big semester long project involves selecting a piece (instructor approved) from this era and finding out as much about the work as I can in order to give a feel for what a first performance of the piece would look like.

I've chosen Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas.

What I've come to you, my wonderful knowledge base, for is recommendations for recordings. Since I will eventually have to do comparative anaylsis between modern reception and at-the-time reception, I am looking for both HIP and non-HIP recommendations, as long as you indicate what you're showing. Also, if anyone has any recommendations for editions of the score to look for (I'll be ordering it), that'd be great as well!

This is going to be such a fun project, but it will take a lot of work. Hopefully, you all will be able to assist me in my preliminary efforts!

[Marc]

Oh dear, there are many many good recordings of this beautiful work!

To begin with, maybe these threads can be of any help:

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,8612.0.html
http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,3463.0.html

Old board:
http://www.good-music-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,6048.0.html

Good luck with your project!

[Mandryka]

As far as the first production is concerned, there was a reconstruction in London last year, directed by Jonathan  Miller, conducted by Philip  Pickett. They had found lots of new music for the prologue -- and the orchestra included a rather marvelous serpent.

The new music made it into a very long opera -- I didn't enjoy it much.

When you come to look at the recent reception history, be sure to look at two DVDs of this piece.

One is from the Mark Morris Dance Group. Dido is a man -- the re-interpretation is gay.

The other (I think much more interesting) is from Sasha Waltz, who was a student of Pina Bausch. A modernist production, with the theatrical machinations exposed to view.

Katie Mitchel produced it in London for the Young Vic about a year ago, giving it an ordinary domestic setting.

And Jonathan Miller gave an outstanding minimalist production a few years ago -- pretty well the only prop was Charon's oar





http://www.amazon.co.uk/Henry-Purcell-Aeneas-Choreographic-Opera/dp/B001AE4PB0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1265607350&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dido-Aeneas-DVD-US-NTSC/dp/6305770336/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1265607450&sr=1-1

[knight66]

Joe, Here is a thread about the piece.

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,8612.0.html

It sits in the 'Vocal' room of the board. In due course, we will merge these two threads so that the topic is retained in one place.

Mike

[Joe_Campbell]

Thanks for the information guys!

Mike, sorry about the duplicate thread; I didn't think that there'd be another location for the opera on the board. Silly!

If I come across intresting historical trivia, I'll be sure to share it with you all.

[karlhenning]

A Joe sighting!

[Joe_Campbell]

You definitely look like you're sighting me in that avatar, Karl!

PS I just wrote my FIRST composition ever! It's called I Accidentally...