The Purcell Companion

(Amadeus). A long overdue book on the master of the English Baroque, this volume contains a group of fresh, new studies on aspects of the composer's background, on his music and on performance practice. Henry Purcell has been acknowledged as one of England's greatest composers. Little is known about his life beyond his official appointments and their duties, but as a musician he excelled as a servant of the Court, the Church and the theatre, writing odes, welcome songs, sonatas, anthems, service music, and a series of operatic extravaganzas which fascinated the public during the 1690s. The Purcell Companion opens with four background chapters by Andrew Pinnock, Jonathan Wainwright, Graham Dixon and Michael Burden on his position in British musical history, on music in London during his lifetime, on his Italian connections and on his contemporaries. In the section on the music, Eric Van Tassel presents a new view of the church music, Bruce Wood re-assesses the odes, and Peter Holman writes perceptively about the instrumental music. On the theatre works, Edward Langhans considers their context, while Roger Savage studies the music for the operas and plays. Finally, Andrew Parrott deals with aspects of performance. An up-to-date bibliography details research undertaken on the various aspects of Purcell's life and career. HARDCOVER.