The Early Music Podcast : Henry Purcell

If you are British, you probably know the Beatles, and Henry Purcell (1659-1695). And if you know Henry Purcell, it is probably through his opera Dido and Æneas: a short opera with all the ingredients for good Baroque entertainment: love and betrayal, witches, disguise, a storm scene and a tragic ending. This national treasure is among the most performed baroque pieces today, and constitutes a challenge for every artist that dares to tackle this innocent-looking one-hour masterpiece. 

Composer Errollyn Wallen, the only live composer that we could fit in this series, was up to the task and wrote Dido’s Ghost, which premiered at the Barbican in June 2021. This sequel to Dido and Aeneas is a modern take on Purcell’s story that also reconnects it to Virgil’s Aeneid and Ovid’s Heroides, the two roman authors who created and developed the story of Dido, the queen of Carthago that welcomes Aeneas in his flight from Troy. In this piece, Purcell’s music is enhanced by Wallen’s writing, but she also provides a modern take on the story in itself, demonstrating how this 2000 years old story still has meaning today, and is still fuel for creativity!

CREDITS

guest Errollyn Wallen, composer

interview & editing Andrew Burn

production REMA

Platée, Act 1, Orage - Jean-Philippe Rameau

performed by Les Talens Lyriques, dir. Christophe Rousset

Camera Lucida 2014

All rights reserved - Courtesy of Les Talens Lyriques

design Doretta Rinaldi

original drawings Vincent Flückiger

cover score Folio, When on my sick bed I languish Z.144, 1678 (British Library, Add MS 30930)

The Witches' Dance, 

With drooping wings ye Cupids come - Henry Purcell

performed by Le Concert Spirituel, Hervé Niquet

Dido and Aeneas, Glossa 2001

Dido’s Ghost - Errollyn Wallen

performed by Dunedin Consort

Live recording 

Courtesy of the Barbican, 2021