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Track(s) taken from CDA66720

She that would gain a faithful lover, Z414

composer
Deliciae Musicae, 1695
author of text

Barbara Bonney (soprano), The King's Consort
Recording details: March 1994
Orford Church, Suffolk, United Kingdom
Produced by Ben Turner
Engineered by Philip Hobbs
Release date: May 1994
Total duration: 2 minutes 23 seconds
 

Reviews

‘A treasury of good performances. It could hardly be otherwise with this composer and this roster of singers’ (Fanfare, USA)
She that would gain a faithful lover appeared in print in 1695 in Henry Playford’s Deliciae Musicae. The author was discreetly named as ‘Lady E… M…’ whose advice in the first verse to women wishing to gain their ‘faithful lover’ was to keep men uncertain and guessing for, once a lady’s commitment was announced, in all likelihood the man’s attention would wander. The second verse is more specifically aimed at Aurelia, who is advised to use the same technique, the advice illustrated with the observation that men will ‘with trembling view the blaze’ of a comet, but ignore the sun as being a commonplace. Purcell’s charming setting incorporates that sense of sly feminine charm with a series of gestural, notated ornaments and a splendid melisma for the words ‘fly’ and ‘wonder’.

from notes by Robert King © 2003

Other albums featuring this work

Purcell: The complete secular solo songs
CDS44161/33CDs Boxed set (at a special price) — Download only
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