Purcell O Solitude, Z 406 - James Bowman

Henry Purcell (1658/9-1695)
"O solitude, my sweetest choice", Z. 406, published 1684/5.

Note before beginning: The original score suppposed to be in C minor, whereas the only score I found is in B-flat minor and this recording I have in F# minor. Sorry you guys out there who claim to have absolute pitch. All I can suggest is, just close your eyes and try to enjoy it.

Henry Purcell (1659-1695), English Baroque composer. He has often been called England's finest native composer. Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements but devised a peculiarly English style of Baroque music.

The text of the powerful O solitude, my sweetest choice is a translation of a poem by Antoine Girard de Saint-Amant (1594-1661) , "La solitude". Thanslation is by Katherine Philips, known as "Orinda" as she called herself. It appeared in the fourth book of the anthology The Theater of Music in 1686.

The ground bass was not new when Purcell began composing; in fact, it was somewhat old-fashioned. He may have used the device as often as he did because he found it challenging. Repeated bass patterns, especially if they are diatonic, limit the harmonic exploration of a piece, and Purcell succeeded in breaking through this barrier on many occasions, most successfully in O solitude. In other songs, such as "Now that the sun hath veiled his light" and "Music for a while", Purcell transposes the ground bass in order to modulate.



More on Katherine Philips and her poetry:

http://www.jimandellen.org/orinda.ordering.poems.html

and on the original poem bt Saint-Amant with Philips' translation:

http://www.jimandellen.org/womenspoetry/solitude.html


Text:

O solitude, my sweetest choice!
Places devoted to the night,
Remote from tumult and from noise,
How ye my restless thoughts delight!

O solitude, my sweetest choice!
O heav'ns! what content is mine
To see these trees, which have appear'd
From the nativity of time,

And which all ages have rever'd,
To look today as fresh and green
As when their beauties first were seen.
O, how agreeable a sight
These hanging mountains do appear,
Which th' unhappy would invite
To finish all their sorrows here,
When their hard fate makes them endure
Such woes as only death can cure.

O, how I solitude adore!
That element of noblest wit,
Where I have learnt Apollo's lore,
Without the pains to study it.
For thy sake I in love am grown
With what thy fancy does pursue;
But when I think upon my own,
I hate it for that reason too,
Because it needs must hinder me
From seeing and from serving thee.
O solitude, O how I solitude adore!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Henry
• Purcell
• Solitude
• 406
• James
• Bowman
• countertenor
• English
• Baroque

[giordana55]

Maybe there is a REAL musician who can comment of this instead of the inept rudeness of the wannbes?

[civileso]

As long as you don't read well the comment of that real musician you speak of, it would never make any difference whether s/he commented or not. Whoever is classified as a real musician by you is besides the point since what you do is to assume who is who.

[civileso]

I simply posted a video which I put some work into, just to give another version of a musical piece I posted in several versions already, thinking it would be appreciated by some. I don't charge you to view it. And I certainly don't need your judgment on who or what I am. As certain as you are not an authority on the subject at hand, you seem to think you are qualified to post a comment, so why not anyone else? At least, I tried to answer instead of ignoring your nonsensical question.

[reallyharried]

Civileso, you are a tremendous boon to music scholarship and to sheer enjoyment. Thank you for all your wonderful work and extensive notes and URL's. Even though a soprano myself and an admirer of Gritton, I believe I like the counter tenors more for "O Solutude."

[lovesGenet]

wow.purcell left a lot of great vocal music and instrumental which im just finding.there was great music before bach so little which i know.

[dxf323]

I personally think that purcell is a master at taking painful dark emotions and making them sound gorgeous and completely trancendant.

[Kenazzle]

One of the few songs I can truly relate to.

[laug66]

Purcell is the only composer that equals Bach, just a pity he died so young.

[bootboydenmark88]

Purcell, you touch us in such ways as no other can. I want this sung at my funeral ...;-( Gawd how depressing ....)

[locomotifx]

@giordana55 I like this. I think it's really nice.

[101francis101]

This is a male countertenor version! James Bowman is one of the most well known ever.

[pianomags]

@lovesGenet Hey, me too. Thank God for you tube eh? x

[hugoflebrave44]

pour les francophones, j'ai fait une traduction : tapez Ô solitude avec paroles !!

Magnifique interprétation, j'en propose une autre, au moins aussi belle