Henry Purcell
The Origins and Development of his Musical Style
Published on 2. April 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
404 pages
978-0-521-10691-7 (ISBN)
Description
This is the first book thoroughly to explore the musical style of Henry Purcell. In this comprehensive study, Martin Adams identifies music by other composers, both within England and from abroad, which influenced Purcell's compositional decisions. Using a mix of broad stylistic observation and detailed analysis, Adams distinguishes between late seventeenth-century English style in general and Purcell's style in particular and chronicles the changes in the composer's approach to the main genres in which he worked, especially the newly emerging ode and English opera. As a result, Adams reveals that although Purcell went through a marked stylistic development, encompassing an unusually wide range of surface changes, special elements of his style remained constant. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of music and theatre history and of British cultural and social history.
Reviews / Votes
'For Purcell specialists and scholars, Martin Adam's Henry Purcell: The Origins and Development of his Musical Style will be essential reading ... perhaps the most in-depth study of Purcell's music ever attempted.' The Sunday Times 'Ambitious ... painstaking and overwhelming detail'. Jeremy Noble, The Observer '... his discussion of the score and the circumstances of its performance is detailed, thought-provoking and convincing. This is a book that richly repays ... careful consecutive reading.' Forum for Modern Language Studies 'For Purcell specialists and scholars, Martin Adam's Henry Purcell: The Origins and Development of his Musical Style will be essential reading ... perhaps the most in-depth study of Purcell's music ever attempted.' The Sunday TimesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
151 Printed music items
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
653 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-10691-7 (9780521106917)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
03/1995
Cambridge University Press
€61.90
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Previous edition
Book
03/1995
Cambridge University Press
€61.90
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Content
Preface; Acknowledgements; Part I. Stylistic development and influences: 1. Early years at court and home: developments to c. 1685; 2. Years of experiment: c. 1680 to c. 1685; 3. Consolidation: c. 1685 to c. 1688; 4. Public recognition: c. 1689 to c. 1691; 5. 'Meaning motion fans fresh our wits with wonder': c. 1692 to 1695; Part II. Analytical and Generic Studies: 6. 'Clog'd with somewhat of an English vein': early instrumental music, the fantasias and sonatas; 7. 'Bassani's genius to Corelli joyn'd': instrumental music in the odes, the anthems and on the stage; 8. Early mastery: sacred music to c. 1685; 9. Brilliance and decline: sacred music after c. 1685; 10. 'The energy of English words': independent songs fro one or more voices; 11. A new genre: odes to 1689; 12. Consolidation and maturity: odes from 1689 to 1695; 13. Background and beginnings: dramatic music to 1689; 14. 'An English-man, equal with the best abroad': dramatic music from 1690 to 1691; 15. 'The pride and darling of the stage': dramatic music from 1692 to 1695; Notes; Bibliography; Indexes.