Henry Purcell was an English composer of Baroque music.
A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a specific kind of countertenor) may match the soprano's range of around C4 to C6. Countertenors often have tenor or baritone chest voices, but sing in falsetto or head voice much more often than they do in their chest voice.
Alfred George Deller, CBE, was an English singer and one of the main figures in popularising the return of the countertenor voice in Renaissance and Baroque music during the 20th century.
The trio sonata is a genre, typically consisting of several movements, with two melody instruments and basso continuo. It originated in the early 17th century and was a favorite chamber ensemble combination in the Baroque era.
Johann Sebastian Bach composed Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust, BWV 170, a church cantata for the sixth Sunday after Trinity in Leipzig. It is a solo cantata for alto that he first performed on 28 July 1726.
Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne is a secular cantata composed by George Frideric Handel to a libretto by Ambrose Philips, of which the first line, "Eternal source of light divine", provides an alternative title for the work. It was probably composed during January 1713 for a performance on 6 February 1713, although there is no record of the performance having actually taken place. Other catalogues of Handel's music have referred to the work as HG xlvi A; and HHA i/6.
Francesco Gasparini was an Italian Baroque composer and teacher whose works were performed throughout Italy, and also on occasion in Germany and England.
The Fairy-Queen is a semi-opera by Henry Purcell; a "Restoration spectacular". The libretto is an anonymous adaptation of William Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream. First performed in 1692, The Fairy-Queen was composed three years before Purcell's death at the age of 35. Following his death, the score was lost and only rediscovered early in the twentieth century.
Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten!, BWV 214, is a secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, composed in 1733 for the birthday of Maria Josepha, Queen of Poland and Electress of Saxony. Classified in published editions as a dramma per musica, it is based on a libretto by an unknown author. The piece has the dedicatee addressed by allegorical figures representing Roman and Greek goddesses of war and peace. It is structured as nine movements, and scored for four vocal parts and a festive Baroque orchestra with trumpets, timpani, flutes, oboes and strings. Choral movements frame a series of alternating recitatives and arias. Bach led the first performance with the Collegium Musicum at the Zimmermannsches Caffeehaus on 8 December 1733.
Hail! Bright Cecilia (Z.328), also known as Ode to St. Cecilia, was composed by Henry Purcell to a text by the Irishman Nicholas Brady in 1692 in honour of the feast day of Saint Cecilia, patron saint of musicians.
Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal, BWV 146, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, a church cantata for the third Sunday after Easter. Bach composed it in Leipzig in 1726 or 1727.
Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 58, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the dialogue cantata in Leipzig for the Sunday after New Year's Day.
Durchlauchtster Leopold, BWV 173.1, is a secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed the cantata for performance in Köthen to celebrate the birthday of Leopold von Anhalt-Köthen. The cantata is one of a series of congratulatory works which Bach wrote for this employer. Some of them are lost, while others such as Der Himmel dacht auf Anhalts Ruhm und Glück, BWV 66.1 can be reconstructed because Bach reused the music later. Durchlauchtster Leopold is unusual in surviving in a complete state.
Come Ye Sons of Art, Z.323, also known as Ode for Queen Mary's Birthday, is a musical composition by Henry Purcell. It was written in 1694, and is one of a series of odes in honour of the birthday of Queen Mary II of England. The text of the ode is often attributed to Nahum Tate, who was poet laureate at the time.
Ihr Tore zu Zion also called Ihr Pforten zu Zion, BWVTooltip Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis 193, is a sacred cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for Ratswechsel, the inauguration of a new town council, in 1727 and first performed it on 25 August 1727. The music survives in an incomplete state.
Nur jedem das Seine, BWV 163, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the work in Weimar for the twenty-third Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 24 November 1715.
Johann Sebastian Bach wrote his fifth Brandenburg Concerto, BWV 1050.2, for harpsichord, flute and violin as soloists, and an orchestral accompaniment consisting of strings and continuo. An early version of the concerto, BWV 1050.1, originated in the late 1710s. On 24 March 1721 Bach dedicated the final form of the concerto to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg.
Welcome to all the pleasures, Z. 339, is a 1683 composition by Henry Purcell, the first of a series he wrote in honour of the patron saint of music, Saint Cecilia. It was commissioned by an organisation called "The Musical Society" for performance in London on 22 November 1683.
Walter Bergmann was a German harpsichord and recorder player, editor and composer who settled in England in 1939. He became a key figure in the revival of interest in the recorder and the counter tenor voice in England after the war.
"Fairest Isle" is one of the best-regarded songs by the 17th-century English composer Henry Purcell, a setting of words by John Dryden. It first appeared as a soprano solo in their semi-opera King Arthur (1691), where it is sung by the goddess Venus in praise of the island of Britain as the home of Love. It has since frequently been performed separately as a concert piece by both sopranos and countertenors.
