PURCELL. 



There arc fevpral of his fongs in Playford's Colleftion, 

 called " The Theatre of Mufic, 1687, fourth and lall 

 Book ;" and though thefe are not in li/S beft nnanner, they 

 are more original and interelling than the reil. Among 

 thefe, p. 50, "Anew fong to a Scotch tune," by our au- 

 thor, feems to us more pleafmg and lefs ilolenj than any fpu- 

 rious Scotch tunc, or imitation of the national melody of tlie 

 northern inhabitants of this ifland, that has been fince pro 

 duced. 



Page 62 of the fame Colleftion, there is an admirable 

 piece of recitative, in a truly grand ftyle : " Amidil the 

 (hades," &c. But the collettion of his fecular vocal 

 mufic, which did him the greatell honour, and long rendered 

 his name dear to the Britifh nation, was publilhed by his 

 widow two years after his deceafc, by the title of " Orpheus 

 Britannicus." Here were treafured up the fongs from which 

 the natives of this ifland received their hrft great delight 

 and imprefiion from the vocal mufic of a fingle voice. Be- 

 fore that period we had cultivated madrigals, and fongs in 

 parts, with diligence and fuccefs ; but in all fingle fongs, 

 till thofe of Purcell appeared, the chief effefts were produced 

 from the words, not the melody. For the airs, till that 

 time, were as unformed and mis-fhapcn, as if they had been 

 made of notes fcattered about by chance, inftead of being 

 caft in an elegant mould. Exclufive admirers of modern 

 fymmetry and elegance, may call Purcell's talte barbarous ; 

 yet in fpite of fuperior cultivation and refinement, in fpitc 

 of all the viciflitudes of fafliion, through all his rudenefs 

 and barbarifm, original genius, feeling, and paflion, are, 

 and ever will be, difcoverable in his works, by candid and 

 competent judges of the art. 



To this admirable coUcdfioii are prefixed feven copies of 

 verfes to his memory, at the head of which is an ode, writ- 

 ten on his death, by Dryden, whicli was fet by Dr. Blow, 

 and performed at the concert in York Buildings. 



There are few fongs in the " Orpheus Britannicus" but 

 what contain fome charafteriftic marks of the author's great 

 and original genius. The melody, however, will at firft leem 

 to many at prefent uncouth and antiquated ; but by a little 

 allowance and examination, any one poflefled of a great love 

 for mufic, and a knowledge of our language, will feel, 

 at certain places of almoft every fong, his fuperior felicity 

 and paffion in expreffing the poet's lentiments which he had 

 to tranflate into melody. 



The favourite fongs with Purcell's admirers in our youth, 

 were the folio-wing ; and upon a late attentive perufal of the 

 book, they feem to have merited particular diftinftion. 

 " Celia has athoufand charms :" the firft movement of this, 

 like many of Purcell's fongs, feems only recitative graced, or 

 embelliflied with the fafliionable •volale, ax Jloitrijhcs of the 

 times, which are now as antiquated as the curls of his own 

 perruque, or the furbelows and flounces of queen Elizabeth. 

 The fccond movement, however, of this fong, is plaintive 

 and graceful ; and at " I fliould my wretched, wretched, 

 fate deplore," is ftill new and pathetic. 



" You twice ten hundred deities," opens with what feems 

 to us the beft piece of recitative in our language. The 

 words are admirably exprefled throughout this fong, by mo- 

 dulation as well as melody. And there is a propriety in the 

 changes of movement, which does honour to Purcell's judg- 

 ment, as much as the whole compofition to his genius. The 

 change of ftyle and fluggifli motion given to the notes at 

 thele words, " from thy fleeping manfion rife," is a model 

 of mufical imitation andexpreiTion. The modulation is ftill 

 fo excellent, that the beft modern mafters are obliged to 

 adopt it on almoft all great occafions. 



Of the mufic to " King Arthur" we (hall fay but little, 



as it has been lately revived, well performed, and printed. 

 If ever it could be faid with truth of a compofer, that he 

 \i?ii devance fon fleck, outftript his age, Purcell is entitled to 

 that praife ; as there are movements in many of his work* 

 which a century has not injured, particularly the duet in 

 King Arthur, " Two daughters of this aged ftream," and 

 " Faireft ifles all ifles excelling," which contain not a fingle 

 paflage that the beft compofcrs of the prefent times, if it 

 prefented itfelf to their imagination, would rejeft. Tlie 

 dialogue in the " Prophetefs," " Tell me why, my charming 

 fair," is the raoft pleafing and inger.ious of all the compo- 

 fitions of the kind which the rage of fafliion produced during 

 fifty years. The firft part of " O lead me to fome peaceful 

 gloom," is truly elegant and pathetic. 



" Fromrofiebowr's," is faid to have been " fet in his lait 

 ficknefs," at which time he feems to have realized the poeti- 

 cal fable of the fwan, and to have fung more fwectly as he 

 approached nearer his diflblution ; for it feems to us as if 

 no one of his produftions was fo elevated, fo pleafing, fo 

 expreffivc, and throughout fo perfedl, as this. The variety 

 of movement, the artful, yet touching modulation, and, 

 above all, the exquifite exprefiion of tiie words, render it 

 one of the moft affefting compofitions extant to every En- 

 glijhman who regards mufic not merely as an agreeable ar- 

 rangement and combination of founds, but as the vehicle of 

 fentiment, and voice of paflion. 



There is more elegant melody, more elaborate harmony, 

 more ingenious contrivance, in the motion and contexture of 

 the feveral parts than in the works of many great com- 

 pofers ; but to the natives of England, wlio know the full 

 power of our language, and feel the force, fpirit, and fliades 

 of meaning, which every word bears according to its place 

 in a fentence, and the fituation of the fpeaker, or finger, 

 we muft again repeat it, this compofition will have charms 

 and effefts, which, perhaps, Purcell's mufic only can pro- 

 duce. 



" When Mira fings," is a duet that will ever be capti- 

 vating, as long as the words remain intelligible ; of which 

 he has augmented the force, particularly at the end, by 

 notes the moft feledl and expreffive that the mufical fcale can 

 furnifli. 



" Loft is my quiet," another duet, which ftill lives. 

 And " Celebrate this feftival," a birth-day long for queen 

 Mary, which is graceful and pleafing through all its old- 

 fafliioned thoughts and embelhfliments.- " I'll fail upon the 

 dog-ftar," has all the fire of Handel's prime. 



" Mad Befs" is a fong, or rather a cantata fo celebrated, 

 that it needs no panegyric, or renewal of public attention, 

 as every captivating Englifli finger in our memory has re- 

 vived its favour. The firft Mrs. Sheridan and Mrs. Bate* 

 never gave more exquifite delight by their admirable per- 

 formance, than when they regaled their friends with this 

 fong. Beard, forty years ago, ufed to acquire great ap- 

 plaufe by finging Purcell's" Rofy Bowers ;" and Frafi, by 

 her performance of " Mad Befs," in the concerts at Hick- 

 ford's rooms, tlie Caftle, and Swan concerts, where Stan- 

 ley was juftly admired for his ingenious and mafterly manner 

 of accompanying them. " 'Tis Nature'^ Voice," is an enig- 

 matical long, feemingly on mufic, in which Purcell has 

 crowded all the fafliionable paffages of tafte and vocal diffi- 

 culties of the times. Indeed, he feems to have anticipated 

 many fantaftical feat£ of execution and articulation m which 

 great performers have fu.ce rivted ; and this is the more 

 wonderful, as the Italian opera was not eftabliflied, or even 

 attempted here, during the life of Purcell ; whofe deceafe 

 preceded the arrival of Valentiiii and Niculini, the firit great 

 fingers imported from Italy, at leaft ten years. 



" Blow, 



