Musica Gloria

Henry Purcell (1659-1695) Music for a While Airs, songs and dances A central figure of the London scene of the late 17th century, Henry Purcell develops, in his airs and songs, a singular synthesis between English traditions and Italian and French influences. Derived from varied sources – printed collections such as the Orpheus Britannicus (1698–1702), stage music or odes – these pages reveal above all a vocal art of great expressive acuity, attentive to the inflections of the language and the nuances of the affect.