HENRY PURCELL : b. 1659. d. 1695
Organist of Westminster Abbey at the age of 20, he successfully merged English traditions with Continental influences. He composed many stage works in collaboration with the top dramatists of his day, including Dryden. His one true opera. Dido and Aeneas, is regarded as his masterpiece. His 22 sonatas are his major contribution to instrumental music. The Masque in The Prophetess or The History of Dioclesian HONOR SHEPPARD (soprano) SALLY LE SAGE (soprano)
Alfred DELLER (counter-tenor) PHILIP iodd (tenor)
MAURICE BEVAN (bar), CHOIR AND ORCHESTRA OF THE CONCENTUS musicus, VIENNA, conducted by ALFRED DELLER : records