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Fairest Isle
"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. Text Music and lyric "Fairest Isle" forms part of a sequence of songs, dramatically somewhat unconnected, which form the masque in act 5 of ''King Arthur''. It is sung by Venus, a soprano part, and takes the form of a minuet in which, according to '' Grove'', the "noble melody is supported by richly dissonant harmony". Being in triple time it might have seemed ill-assorted with Dryden's lyrics, which are in duple metre, but for Purcell's art in reconciling the different metres. At the time this was a quite common practice for English composers, necessitated by the d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' called The Fairy-Queen, ''The Fairy Queen''. Purcell's musical style was uniquely English, although it incorporated Music of Italy#Baroque and Classical, Italian and Music of France#Baroque, French elements. Generally considered among the greatest English opera composers, Purcell has been ranked alongside John Dunstaple and William Byrd in the pantheon of English early music. Life and work Early life Purcell was born in St Ann's Lane, Old Pye Street, Westminster, in 1659. Henry Purcell Senior, whose older brother Thomas Purcell was a musician, was a gentleman of the Chapel Royal and sang at the coronation of King Charles II of England. Henry the elder had three ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radio Play
Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story: "It is auditory in the physical dimension but equally powerful as a visual force in the psychological dimension." Radio drama includes plays specifically written for radio, docudrama, dramatised works of fiction, as well as plays originally written for the theatre, including musical theatre, and opera. Radio drama achieved widespread popularity within a decade of its initial development in the 1920s. By the 1940s, it was a leading international popular entertainment. With the advent of television in the 1950s, radio drama began losing its audience. However, it remains popular in much of the world. Recordings of OTR (old-time radio) survive today in the audio archives of collectors, libraries and museums, as wel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arias In English
In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompaniment, normally part of a larger work. The typical context for arias is opera, but vocal arias also feature in oratorios and cantatas, or they can be stand-alone concert arias. The term was originally used to refer to any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. Etymology The Italian term ''aria'', which derives from the Greek ἀήρ and Latin ''aer'' (air), first appeared in relation to music in the 14th century when it simply signified a manner or style of singing or playing. By the end of the 16th century, the term 'aria' refers to an instrumental form (cf. Santino Garsi da Parma lute works, ('Aria del Gran Duca'). By the early 16th century, it was in common use as meaning a simple setting of strophic poetry; melodic madrigals, free of compl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, Application software, software applications, music, audiovisual, and print materials. The Archive also advocates a Information wants to be free, free and open Internet. Its mission is committing to provide "universal access to all knowledge". The Internet Archive allows the public to upload and download digital material to its data cluster, but the bulk of its data is collected automatically by its web crawlers, which work to preserve as much of the public web as possible. Its web archiving, web archive, the Wayback Machine, contains hundreds of billions of web captures. The Archive also oversees numerous Internet Archive#Book collections, book digitization projects, collectively one of the world's largest book digitization efforts. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maggie Teyte
Dame Maggie Teyte (born Margaret Tate; 17 April 188826 May 1976) was an English operatic soprano and interpreter of French art song. Early years Margaret Tate was born in Wolverhampton, England, one of ten children of Jacob James Tate, a successful wine and spirit merchant and proprietor of public houses and later lodgings.Teyte attended St. Joseph's Convent School, Snow Hill, Wolverhampton. Her parents were keen amateur musicians and opera enthusiasts. She was the sister of composer James W. Tate. Her family moved to London in 1898. where Teyte studied at the Royal School of Music. Career Her father died in 1903 and she went to Paris the following year to become a pupil of the celebrated tenor Jean de Reszke. She made her first public appearance in Paris in 1906 when she sang Cherubino in ''The Marriage of Figaro'' and Zerlina in ''Don Giovanni'', both conducted by Reynaldo Hahn. Her professional debut took place at the Opera House in Monte Carlo on 1 February 1907, where ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andreas Scholl
Andreas Scholl (born 10 November 1967) is a German countertenor, a male classical singer in the alto vocal range, specialising in Baroque music. Born into a family of singers, Scholl was enrolled at the age of seven into the Kiedricher Chorbuben boys choir. Aged 13, he was chosen from 20,000 choristers gathered in Rome from around the world to sing solo at a Mass held on 4 January 1981. Just four years later, Scholl was offered a place at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, an institution that normally accepts only post-graduate students, based on the strength and quality of his voice. He became an instructor at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland, succeeding his own teacher, Richard Levitt. Since October 2019, he has been a professor at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. This is his only position as a teacher now. Scholl's early operatic roles include his standing in for René Jacobs in 1993 at the Théâtre Grévin in Paris, where he caused a sensation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felicity Lott
Dame Felicity Ann Emwhyla Lott, (born 8 May 1947) is an English soprano. Education Lott was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. From her earliest years she was musical, having started studying piano at age 5. She also played violin and began singing lessons at 12. She is an alumna of Royal Holloway, University of London, obtaining a BA in French and Latin in 1969. During her year in France as part of her four-year degree course, from 1967–68 she took singing lessons at the conservatory in Grenoble. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Music, winning the Principal's Prize. Career She made her operatic debut at the City of London Festival in 1974 as Seleuce in '' Tolomeo'' by Handel. The following year she appeared as Pamina in Mozart's ''The Magic Flute'' at the English National Opera. In 1976 she appeared in the premiere of Henze's ''We Come to the River'' at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and began a long relationship with the Glyndebourne Festival. In 1977, sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yvonne Kenny
Yvonne Denise Kenny AM (born 25 November 1950) is an Australian soprano, particularly associated with Handel, Mozart and bel canto roles. Biography Born in Sydney, Kenny first studied at the University of Sydney in science, hoping to become a biochemist, but decided to pursue a career in music instead. She studied first with Myra Lambert at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and later won a scholarship to study at the opera school at La Scala in Milan. After a year of studying there, she went to England, where after a few recitals and TV appearances, her breakthrough came on 11 October 1975, when she replaced, with only four days' notice, the soprano scheduled to sing in an Opera Rara concert performance of Donizetti's ''Rosmonda d'Inghilterra'' at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. It was a triumph and the virtually unknown Kenny became an overnight star. She made her debut at the Royal Opera House the following year, in the premiere of Hans Werner Henze's '' We Come to the River'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heather Harper
Heather Mary Harper (8 May 1930 – 22 April 2019) was a Northern Irish operatic soprano. She was active internationally in both opera and concert. She performed roles such as Helena in Benjamin Britten's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' at the Royal Opera House, Elsa in Wagner's ''Lohengrin'' at the Bayreuth Festival, and the Countess in Mozart's ''The Marriage of Figaro'' at the Metropolitan Opera. She became known internationally when she stepped in for the world premiere of Britten's ''War Requiem'' in 1962, and remained associated with the composer's work, but also sang other premieres. Early life and education Heather Harper was born on 8 May 1930 in Belfast, the daughter of Mary (née Robb) and Hugh Harper, a lawyer. She and her three siblings received early musical training. She studied piano at the Trinity College of Music in London on a scholarship, with viola and cello as additional subjects. When the opportunity to study voice came up, she won another scholarship. Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Esswood
Paul Lawrence Vincent Esswood (born 6 June 1942) is an English countertenor and conductor. He is best known for his performance of Bach cantatas and the operas of Handel and Monteverdi. Along with his countrymen Alfred Deller and James Bowman, he led the revival of countertenor singing in modern times. Life and career Esswood was born in West Bridgford, England. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London from 1961 to 1964 after which he sang in the choir of Westminster Abbey. His professional debut was in a performance of Handel's ''Messiah'' for Angel Records, conducted by Charles Mackerras (1967). Esswood has participated in over 150 recordings, including the alto parts of many Bach cantatas in the complete Teldec series by conductors Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt. He has recorded ''Messiah'' four times, as well as extended works by Henry Purcell, Claudio Monteverdi, Francesco Cavalli, Marc-Antoine Charpentier and others. Among the roles in contemporary w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfred Deller
Alfred George Deller, CBE (31 May 1912 – 16 July 1979), 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. He is sometimes referred to as the "godfather of the countertenor". His style in singing lute song, with extensive use of rubato and extemporised ornamentation, was seen as radical and controversial in his day but is now considered the norm. Deller was an influential figure in the renaissance of early music: an early proponent of "original instrument performance" and one of the first to bring this form to the popular consciousness through his broadcasts on the BBC. He also founded the Stour Music Festival in 1962, one of the first and most important early music festivals in the world. Life and career Church music Deller was born in Margate, a seaside resort in Kent. As a boy, he sang in his local church choir. When his voice broke, he continued singing in h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
April Cantelo
April Rosemary Cantelo (2 April 1928 – 16 July 2024) was an English soprano. She created roles in operas by major composers, including the title role of ''Semele'' by John Eccles, Helena in Britten's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', and in several works by Malcolm Williamson such as '' English Eccentrics''. Life and career April Rosemary Cantelo was born in Purbrook, Hampshire, on 2 April 1928, to Herbert Cantelo, an amateur cellist, and Marie, his wife, née Abraham. She attended Chelmsford County High School for Girls. She sang in a church choir and played the piano, taking lessons at the Royal College of Music in London. In 1947 she performed Bach arias with the Chelmsford Festival Orchestra. Cantelo had an ambition to be a medical researcher, but followed the suggestion of an audition for the Dartington Hall arts college, which came with six months of vocal education, with Imogen Holst, among others. Cantelo was soon accepted to the National Opera Studio in London where s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
