ENJ P4(U6 8) 19-28 2PP
IN HIS OWN WORDS
158
8/24/06
9:37 AM
Page 158
VOCAL MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE
Poetry and painting have
arrived to their perfection in
our own country: music is
yet but in its nonage
[immaturity], a forward
Child, which gives hope of
what it may be hereafter in
England, when the masters
of it shall find more
Encouragement.
Ostinato
the mood of each scene is established with the utmost economy (the opera takes
only an hour to perform), with only a few main characters but ample choral singing
and dancing.
Dido and Aeneas is based on an episode in Virgil’s Aeneid, the ancient Roman epic
that traces the adventures of the hero Aeneas after the fall of Troy. Since Baroque
audiences knew this Virgil classic, librettist Nahum Tate could compress the plot
and suggest rather than fill in the details. Aeneas and his men are shipwrecked at
Carthage on the northern shore of Africa. Dido, the Carthaginian queen, falls in
love with him, and he returns her affection. But Aeneas cannot forget that the gods
have commanded him to continue his journey until he reaches Italy, as he is destined to be the founder of Rome. Much as he hates to hurt the queen, he knows that
he must depart.
In her grief, Dido decides her fate—death—in the moving recitative “Thy
hand, Belinda,” and the heartrending lament that is the culminating point of the
opera, “When I am laid in earth.” (For the text, see Listening Guide 17.) In Virgil’s
poem, Dido mounts the funeral pyre, whose flames light the way for Aeneas’s
ships as they sail out of the harbor. Dido’s Lament unfolds over a five-measure
ground bass, or ostinato (a repeated idea), that descends along the chromatic
scale, always symbolic of grief in Baroque music. The opera closes with an emotional chorus mourning Dido’s fate. Cupids appear in the clouds and scatter roses
over her tomb, while careful word painting, including “sighing” motives, emphasizes the depth of sorrow.
In Dido and Aeneas, Purcell discovered the true tone of lyric drama. Yet this masterpiece did not inspire similar efforts in England until two centuries later. It
remained as unique a phenomenon in history as its composer, whom his contemporaries called “the British Orpheus.”
I]Z:c_dnbZcid[Bjh^XEVX`V\Z
I]ZCdgidcGZXdgY^c\h
I]ZDca^cZA^hiZc^c\AVW
oll
)
Listening Guide
HijYnHeVXZ
-
Purcell: Dido and Aeneas, Act III, Dido’s Lament and Chorus
89"GDB
DATE OF WORK:
89"GDB
1689
I]Z:c_dnbZcid[Bjh^X
GENRE:
BASIS:
CHARACTERS:
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:
Opera, English
Roman epic The Aeneid, by Virgil
I]ZCdgidcHXdgZh
89"GDB
I]Z:c_dnbZcid[Bjh^X!
H]dgiZg
I]Z:c_dnbZcid[Bjh^X!
H]dgiZgZWdd`
HijYn<j^YZ
Dido, queen of Carthage (soprano)
Aeneas, adventuring hero (baritone)
Belinda, Dido’s serving maid (soprano)
Sorceress, Spirit, Witches
Free-flowing recitative (“Thy hand, Belinda”), with much chromaticism
and half-step movement (sigh motive).
Descending chromatic line as a repeated ground bass in triple meter,
heard before aria begins and throughout aria (11 statements).
Emotional, slow-moving aria in 2 sections, each repeated (A-A-B-B);
B section begins “Remember me.”
Silvery, transparent sounds of Baroque-period string instruments.
ENJ P4(U6 8) 19-28 2PP
8/24/06
9:37 AM
Page 159
21
Baroque Opera
Recitative: “Thy hand, Belinda,” sung by Dido
Introduces lament aria; accompanied by continuo only
TEXT
Thy hand, Belinda; darkness shades me.
On thy bosom let me rest;
More I would, but Death invades me;
Death is now a welcome guest.
j
jetc.
b 4 ‰DIDO
œ
œ
.
œ
œ
.
œ
n
œ
œ
œ
œ
b
œ
œ œ bœ . n œ . œ Œ
& 4 J J J J J
K
Thy hand,Be - lin - da; dark
ness shades me,
b4
w
?b 4 w
w
Aria: “When I am laid in earth,” Dido’s Lament
Basis: Ground bass, 5-measure pattern in slow triple meter, descending chromatic scale, repeated 11 times
Opening of aria, with 2 statements of the ground bass (first statement shaded):
GROUNDBASS
STATEMENT NO.
TEXT
Instrumental introduction
When I am laid in earth, may my wrongs create
no trouble in thy breast.
When I am laid . . .
no trouble . . .
Remember me, remember me, but ah, forget
my fate, remember me, but ah, forget my fate.
Remember me . . .
forget my fate . . .
Instrumental closing
Instrumental closing
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
(Shorter recordings stop here.)
Listening Guide continues
159
ENJ P4(U6 8) 19-28 2PP
160
8/24/06
9:37 AM
Page 160
VOCAL MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE
Chorus: “With dropping wings”
TEXT: Quatrain (rhyme scheme a-a-b-b)
Polyphonic texture in imitation between the voices.
Falling melisma on “drooping wings.”
Repeated melodic “sigh” on word “soft.”
Rhetorical pauses in last line, with repeated words for emphasis.
Entire chorus sung twice.
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:
Opening with imitative entries (in order S, T, B, A); falling melisma on “drooping wings”:
b Sopranoœ
& b 44 Œ
œ œ
With droop
b Alto
& b 44
-
∑
b Tenor
V b 44 Ó
? b4
b 4
.. œ œ
œ
Œ
droop
.. Œ
∑
Cu - pids
∑
.. œ œ
With
Bass
ing wings ye
..
œ
œ œ
-
œ
œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ
ing
œ œ
With droop
come, with
∑
œ œ œ œ
#œ
œ
wings
ye
œ
œ
œ
œ
ing
wings
ye
-
Cu - pids
Sighing motive (interval of falling second) on word “soft” in all voices:
b
& b 44
∑
? b4
b 4
œ
Ó
œ
Soft,
b
& b 44 œ
b
V b 44
∑
œ
Soft,
œ
soft
∑
œ
Soft,
∑
œ
œ #œ
œ
œ
soft,
∑
and
œ
œ
œ
gen - tle
œ
œ
œ œ œ
as
her
#œ
œ
Soft,
œ
œ #œ
soft
soft and gen - tle
œ #œ
œ
œ
œ
as
œ
gen
œ
-
tle
œ
and
nœ
œ
gen - tle
TEXT
DESCRIPTION
With drooping wings you Cupids come,
To scatter Roses on her Tomb.
Soft and gentle as her heart,
Keep her watch and never part.
Imitative polyphony, falling line.
Paired voices (SA/TB).
Sighing motive.
Homorhythmic, with pauses.
Entire chorus repeated.
Œ
her heart,
œ nœ
soft
and
j
œ œ
œ.
heart,
œ