Classical Music | Ensemble Music

Recorded on 10/20/2008, uploaded on 10/06/2010

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

The Double Dealer       Henry Purcell

Overture, Hornpipe, Minuett, Aire, Hornpipe, Minuett, Minuett, Aire, Aire

Henry Purcell needs no introduction here, but it is well to know that this splendid musician was among the first to incorporate Italian and French styles into his rich, dissonant native English musical language. A pupil of Matthew Locke, Purcell studied with John Blow and succeeded him as the organist of Westminster Abbey. Upon his death in 1695, he was succeeded by Blow. Purcell composed for the church, the theatre and the chamber and left a legacy of excellence that earned him the epithet, "Orpheus Britannicus." Many years later, Handel was praised for some music that reminded the hearer of Purcell's—Handel's reply was: "Bah, Purcell would have written better than this!" It is clear that, in his early years in England, Handel became acquainted with Purcell's music on more than a casual level. England has sometimes been accused of being under the domination of foreign musicians during the eighteenth and the early nineteenth century—this is hardly fair, especially when one considers that the late baroque era in music was one of increasingly international character. London's musical life chose what it liked for its sustenance, and we are the beneficiaries of this splendid legacy this evening.   David Schrader