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Book Review
Aug. 20th, 2012 10:14 pmHenry Purcell
by Peter Holman
This book is primarily about Purcell's music, and is extremely light on the biographical material. Each chapter covers a single genre, such as vocal music, odes, theatre music, etc. However, even though I was not terribly familiar with Purcell or his works, I still found this book very informative and interesting. Holman's descriptions and discussion of the music are very well-written and give a good sense of pieces even if one has not heard them,. There are also plenty of musical examples throughout the book. Holman also includes brief discussions of the general state and milieu of each genre during the Restoration, as well as comparisons with other composers' works, which helped put Purcell's work in context. Henry Purcell is a great way of getting to know this composer's work and style, because Holman strikes the right balance of depth and overview, and the right level of technicality.
by Peter Holman
This book is primarily about Purcell's music, and is extremely light on the biographical material. Each chapter covers a single genre, such as vocal music, odes, theatre music, etc. However, even though I was not terribly familiar with Purcell or his works, I still found this book very informative and interesting. Holman's descriptions and discussion of the music are very well-written and give a good sense of pieces even if one has not heard them,. There are also plenty of musical examples throughout the book. Holman also includes brief discussions of the general state and milieu of each genre during the Restoration, as well as comparisons with other composers' works, which helped put Purcell's work in context. Henry Purcell is a great way of getting to know this composer's work and style, because Holman strikes the right balance of depth and overview, and the right level of technicality.
