PU lie ELL. 



"Blow, Boreas, blow," was in great favour, during our 

 youth, amoiiij the early admirers of Purcell ; but this feems 

 now more fuperannuated than any oi his popular longs. 



" Let Cxfar and Urania live," was a duet in abirtii-day 

 ode, during the reign of king Wilham and queen Mary, 

 which continued fo long ni favour, not only while thofe fove- 

 reigiis jointly wielded the fceptre, but even when George II. 

 had loil his royal confort, and there ceafed to be a queen, or 

 Urania, for wliom to offer up prayers, that Dr. Green, and 

 afterwards Dr. Boyce, uied frequently to introduce it into 

 their own and the laureate's new odes. This duet, like many 

 other produftions of Purcell, was built on 7). ground-bafe oi 

 only two bars, which are invariably repeated to different paf- 

 fages of the voice-parts that are in harmony with it, througii- 

 out the movement. The latter part of this duet is extremely 

 beautiful, and does not feem at all to have fulfered from the 

 voluntary reflraint under which the compofer laboured. 



The compofing fongs on a ground-bale, was an exercife 

 of ingenuity, in which Purcell feems to have much de- 

 lighted ; but though it was as much a fafhion in his time, as 

 the compoling mafles on the fubjetks of old tunes in the days 

 of Jufquin, and variations upon thofe tunes in the days of 

 Bird and Dr. Bull, in which they ail manifeited fuperior 

 abilities, yet the praftice was Gothic, and an unworthy em- 

 ployment for men polielTed of fuch genius and original re- 

 fources. The Italians ttarted this, as well as molt other 

 mufical fafliions ; for it appears by the works of Tranquinio 

 Merula, publilhed 1635, that writing upon a ground-bafe 

 was a favourite occupation with that capricious compofer, 

 as well as our ingenious countryman. 



Judges of mufical defign, rnodulation, and expreffion, 

 will meet with many places to admire in fongs that have never 

 been popular, yet have' local b_>auties, and mark the fu- 

 perior powers of the compofer ; particularly in the " Sighs 

 for the death of king Charles II." In the " Dialogue in 

 tyrannic Love," p. 158, there is a pallage upon which the 

 late Mr. Bach has conltruft^d a favourite movement in one of 

 his Quiirtstti concertanli. 



" 1 attempt from love's ficknefs," is an elegant little bal- 

 lad, which, though it has been many years dead, would foon 

 be recalled into exiftence and fafhion, by the voice of fome 

 favourite finger, who (hould think it worth animation. 



" Let the dreadful engines :" this is the laft fong in the 

 firfl volume of the " Orpheus Britannicus," of which, though 

 both the words and mufic of the firft movement are wild and 

 bombaft, yet the fecond and laft difcover a genius for the 

 graceful comic, as well as the tender* and fublime ftyle of 

 compofition ; and there are feveral paflages in this cantata 

 fufficiently gay and new for a modern burletta. 



In 1702, a fecond, and more corredl, edition, of the 

 firft volume of this work was publifhed, with more than 

 thirty fongs that were not in the firft impreffion ; but, in 

 order to make room for which, fome of the former were 

 excluded. 



The fame year was likewife publifhed a fecond volume of 

 " Orpheus Britannicus," by Henry Playford, which he de- 

 dicated to the earl of Hallifax. The fong of this feeond 

 volume, p. 4, beginning, "Ah! cruel nymph!" has great 

 ingenuity in the firft movement, and grace in the fecond. 

 And the next air, "Crown the altar," feems the moft plealing 

 of any that he has compofedon a ground-bafe. " May the 

 god of wit infpire," for three voices, is natural and pleafing, 

 and the echoes in the fecond part are very ingenioully con- 

 trived. 



"Thus the gloomy world," accompanied with the trumpet, 

 and violin alternately, is mafterly, and well defigned to ciif- 

 play the trueft and moft brilliant tones of the trumpet. 



though but little is given to the violin, which fo much bet- 

 ter deferves employment, than an mftrument of fuch falfe in- 

 tonation as the trumpet. 



Thofe that can relilfi good mufic of every age and coun- 

 try, and have no exclufive partiality to individuals of either, 

 will find amulement in the performance or perufal of Purcell's 

 " Four Seafons," in the " Fairy Queen," which comprehend 

 merit of various kinds. 



" To arms, to arms," is an admirable military fong, ac- 

 companied by a trumpet, which is fo confined an inftrument, 

 that nearly the fame paflages muR be ufed in all ages, fo that 

 time has robbed this fong of but little of its novelty. In- 

 deed, the divifionsof this air have been revived of late years, 

 and are now as fafhioiiable, in frivolous and unmeaning melo- 

 dy, as ever. 



There are many excellent fongs in this volume ; however, 

 thefe and their peculiar beauties we mufl pafs owr, or our 

 commentary will encroach too much on the limits of our 

 biographical articles, as well as on the time and patience of 

 thofe readers to whom the name and produdlions of our 

 Britifli Orpheus are alike unknown or indifferent. Yet we 

 muft obferve, that there is a compofition in Purcell's" Bon- 

 duca," in whicli he has anticipated a fpecies of dramatic 

 mufic, which has been thought of late invention ; the words 

 are " Hear ye gods of Britain !" which he has fet in an ac- 

 companied redtaUve, a tempo, or aria parlante. The beginning, 

 however, with the bafe a pcdale, has the true charadlcriftic 

 of recitative. Afterwards, when the bafe is put in motion, 

 the whole has the properties of an air, ingenioufly and fpi- 

 ritedly accompanied by two violins and a bafe. Befides the 

 true dramatic call of this compofition, there are new harmo- 

 nies hazarded, which we do not recolleft having feen in ante- 

 rior contrapuntifts, at leaft of our own country. 



We dare proceed no further in analyzing the works of 

 our illuftrious countryman, though it would afi"ord us great 

 pleafure, as we never look at them without feeing a merit 

 very fuperior to that of any of his contemporaries out of 

 Italy, and even there, only the vocal compofitions of Ca- 

 riffimi and Stradella feem to furpafs them in grace and ele- 

 gance. Cariflimi appears to have been his model in his 

 beft recitatives, and Lulli in the worft ; and it is manifeft that 

 he was fond of Stradella's manner of writing, though he 

 never pillaged his paflages. 



We mufl not quit his vocal mufic without an honourable 

 and grateful memorial of his catches, rounds, and glees, of 

 which the humour, ingenuity, and melody, were fo conge- 

 nial with the national tafle, as to render them almofl the fole 

 produftions of the facetious kind that were in general ufe 

 for near fourfcore years. And though the countenance and 

 premiums beftowed of late years upon this fpecies of com- 

 pofition, as well as modern refinements in melody and per- 

 formance, have given birth to many glees, of a more ele- 

 gant, graceful, and exalted kind, than any which Purcell 

 produced ; yet he feems hardly ever to have been equalled in 

 the wit, pleafantry, and contrivance of his catches. 



Of fifteen anthems, with fymphonies and inftrumental 

 parts, with innumerable odes and mifcellanies, we have room 

 to fay nothing, though much praife is due to many of them. 

 An abfurd cuftom prevailed in Purcell's time, which he 

 carried to greater excefs, perhaps, than any other compofer, 

 of repeating a word of one or two fyllables an unlimited 

 number of times, for the fake of the melody, and fometimes 

 before the whole fentence has been heard. Such as no, no, no, 

 — all, all, all — pretty, pretty, pretty, &c. ad itifinitum. But 

 there is equal redundance and obfcurity in the ufe which the 

 Italians make at prefent of it, it, si, and n», no, no, m their 

 fongs. 



Purcell 



