# Purcell's theatrical music played in a modern small folk group context



## Basjoe (Feb 4, 2014)

Henry's Theatre

Henry Purcell (1659-1695) wrote a prodigious amount of music in his short 37-year life, covering every genre from which he felt able to generate an income, ranging from music for the Church and Royal occasions, to bawdy songs for public houses (and just about everything in between). His music for the theatre in particular was admired by Holst, Vaughan Williams, and Britten.

I have been involved in a folk group for about twenty years, and we retired just last week. Our last project together has been to work on and record my arrangements of many of the pieces from Purcell's theatrical repertoire. I hope that these arrangements breathe new life into Purcell's beautiful and deceptively simple melodies and interweaving countermelodies, by presenting them in a relatively modern context.

Listen for free at https://henrystheatre.bandcamp.com/releases


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Nice to see. Given Purcell's work with Playford (Hole in the Wall for example), he is a natural for a folk treatment.


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## Basjoe (Feb 4, 2014)

Thanks. I looked at Playford quite a long time ago, but the scores were often incomplete and in any case only a few pieces by Purcell were present. My starting points for this project were "Ayres for the theatre" (published in 1701 by Purcell's widow), and the 20th century Purcell Society's books.

I did this so that I could exploit all the parts (e.g. 2nd violin, viola, bass) within the compositions. 

Best Regards
Graham Laws


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## NLAdriaan (Feb 6, 2019)

Nice project, this is what music is meant for, to use and have fun and letting others enjoy it too! Pity your band retired. Thx for sharing, I enjoyed listening to it! Purcell deserves more listening.


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