Synopses & Reviews
Although it takes little more than an hour to perform, Purcell's Dido and Aeneas stands as the greatest operatic achievement of seventeenth-century England. This book demonstrates the opera's deep roots in the theatrical and musical traditions of its day, summarizing the cultural climate in which the opera was composed and analyzing Nahum Tate's libretto in light of seventeenth-century English music text conventions. Harris also evaluates the surviving sources, comparing them with the original libretto, and discusses the work's performance history and critical reception from the first performance through the revivals of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Review
"A required addition to the shelf of the opera lover....It has something for everyone: source studies for the scholar, structural analyses for the teacher, and performance history for the operagoer. It raises many stimulating issues and offers provocative viewpoints; it is a significant contribution to the literature on Purcell's dramatic music and deserves close attention."--Opera Quarterly
"Here is a book that is quite enjoyable to read, a distinction that applies to few works of comparable scholarly excellence."--The American Recorder
"Harris has made a significant contribution to the history of performance practice."--Times Literary Supplement
"Harris brings together a broad range of literary and musical scholarship to make important contributions to our knowledge of the context, origins, sources, and subsequent performance history of Purcell's opera."--Notes
Synopsis
Purcell's Dido and Aeneas stands as the greatest operatic achievement of 17th-century England, despite the fact that it was originally composed not for the public theatre but for a private girls' school in Chelsea and takes little more than an hour to perform. Ellen Harris examines the work, s historical position in the Restoration theatre, and shows that, far from being an operatic anomaly, it was deeply rooted in 17th-century English theatrical and music traditions. Her book summarises the cultural climate in which Dido and Aeneas was composed, surveying the choice of subject matter and analysing Nahum Tate's libretto in the light of 17th-century English conventions of the writing of text for musical setting. It goes on to evaluate the various surviving sources -- all of which post-date the first performance by at least 80 years -- and compares them with the original libretto, discussing the various inconsistencies that arise. There is also a detailed discussion of contemporary musical declamation and ground bass composition. The final section of the book is concerned with the work's performance history and critical reception from the first performance, through the late 18th-century adaptation, to the revivals of the 19th and 20th centuries, The Appendices include a historical survey of national premieres and of editions, and a critical discography.
Synopsis
William Blake (1757-1827) is recognized today as one of England's great artists and poets, but in his own time he was known principally as a professional engraver. The book illustrations he executed after designs by other artists form a significant part of his graphic productions. These prints
are fully described and reproduced for the first time in this authoritative catalog providing new information on the preliminary drawings, and the relationships between Blake's prints and the texts they accompany. The 295 illustrations include all Blake's copy prints published in books and a
generous selection of the preliminary drawings from which he worked.