Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z 629 - 17. If love's a sweet passion - Parker (Scholars)

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• Description : High resolution and stereo sound: h...(more)ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u740XtYdsjo&fmt=18 The Fairy Queen, Z 629 Dramatic opera in five acts and a spoken prologue Text: Anonymous, after William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (c.1595) Music: Henry Purcell (1659-1695) First performance: 2 May 1692, in London (Queen's Theatre, Dorset Garden) ___ 17. Prelude, Song & Chorus: If love's a sweet passion ___ Helen Parker, soprano The Scholars Baroque Ensemble (Artistic coordinator: David van Asch) Recorded in November 1992 ___ I have reconstructed the score of the prelude from the separate parts ('Violino Primo', 'Violino Secundo', 'Tennor' and 'Bassus') published in 'A Collection of Airs' (Frances Purcell, 1697). The bars have been aligned by adding sections of empty staff. The way the notes have been aligned is a compromise between the modern way (values) and the contemporary way (balance). The score of the song is from 'Some Select Songs as they are Sung in The Fairy Queen' (Henry Purcell, 1692). This wonderful melody is in two sections. In both the prelude and the song, the first section (A) ends with a double bar, and the second one (B) with a triple bar. While the double bar in the printed scores of the 1690s generally indicated that the preceding section had to be repeated, the triple bar was the usual final bar, and it did not imply any repeat. However, some conductors, following their modern editions, repeat both A and B, although B is twice as long as A and was probably not meant to be repeated. In this recording, all repeats have been ignored (Prelude AB, Song AB verse 1, and Chorus AB verse 2), probably because the entire melody is already played three times. Indeed, Henry Purcell did not overuse his melodies, and it would have been surprising if he had wanted us to hear six times or more the same thing. At the other end of the spectrum, John Eliot Gardiner, in his 1981 recording, repeats all sections, converts the song into a duet for soprano and bass, and even has both the soloists and the chorus (way too large, as usual) sing the two verses (Prelude AABB, Duet AABB verse 1, Chorus AABB verse 1, Duet AABB verse 2, and Chorus AABB verse 2). So, instead of the three occurences of the melody like in this video, we do have ten repeats! This is un-Purcellian to me. William Christie, in his 1989 recording, follows the more logical AAB scheme, but his chorus repeats the first verse, unnecessarily, in my opinion (Prelude AAB, Song AAB verse 1, Chorus AAB verses 1 and 2). Ultimately, it is a question of taste, but although I have listened to this melody at least two hundred times to prepare and make this video without getting tired of it, I do believe that one should not perform it more than three times in the AAB form. Marc D. (less)