PURCELL: The Fairy Queen

Scholars Baroque Ensemble

8.550660-61

The music for "The Fairy Queen" is clearly separated from the action of the play. The music contains no parts for singing actors and the singers take no part in the play. Indeed, it was observed at the time that not only was putting on the performance of the play together with Purcell's music an enormous expense but also "some would come for the music - others for the play". The conclusion was that it was "best to have either by itself". • Previous recordings of the Fairy Queen logically contain the music "by itself", but perhaps less logically have included all the music in the order in which it appears in the Purcell Society score without allowing for the fact that some of it is not related at all to the five self-contained masques which make up the music for each Act. The Scholars Baroque Ensemble, therefore, choose to start with the Overture and then present the music which is an integral part of each masque. All instrumental music related only to the play has been put together at the end of the 2nd CD as an Appendix.

CD x 2

Muzyka klasyczna

Naxos

10-01-1994

4891030506602