Henry Purcell’s famous Rondeau

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It is one of Purcell’s last works: the Rondeau from Abdelazer. It was first performed in 1695, the year Purcell died. The second movement, the rondeau, became popular because Benjamin Britten chose it for his Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. From the Epoch Times Music Series – For Lovers.

Henry Purcell (1659-1695) was an English composer of the Baroque period. Even during his lifetime he was considered the most important English composer.

Here its well known Rondeau from Abdelazer, performed by the Voices of Music Brandenburg Concerto project.

Henry Purcell composed the rondeau as the 2nd movement of the incidental music for the play Abdelazer, or The Moor’s Revenge (deutsch: Abdelazer or The Moor’s Revenge). There are 10 sentences in total.

It is one of Purcell’s last works and was performed in 1695, the year Purcell died. The play is written by the English playwright Aphra Behn.

The second movement, the Rondeau, became better known and better preserved because the composer Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) chose it for his Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.

Britten uses the rondeau only as a fragment (op. 34). Played here by the WDR Symphony Orchestra under the direction of its then chief conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste: