On the strength on the immense success of Dido & Aeneas and King Arthur, in 1692 Purcell went on to produce The Fairy Queen, based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The work is, in fact, a 'semi-opera', or 'opera with dialogue', in which only some of the crucial scenes are provided with music. But this version of A Midsummer Night's Dream by 'Orpheus Britannicus' became almost as famous as the play that inspired it due to it's love scenes, supernatural scenes and the innate sense of musical humor investing it with an irresistible savour and enchantment.
1 "Vol.1: Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, First Musick: Prelude
2 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, First Musick: Hornpipe
3 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Second Musick: Air
4 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Second Musick: Rondeau
5 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Second Musick: Ouverture
6 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act I: Duet "Come, Let Us Leave the Town"
7 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act I: Scene of the Drunken Poet "Fill Up the Bowl"
8 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act I: First Act Tune (Jig)
9 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act II: "Come All Ye Songsters"
10 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act II: Prelude
11 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act II: Chorus "May the God of Wit Inspire" - Echo
12 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act II: Chorus "Now Join Your Warbling Voices All, Sing While We Trip It" - Dance of Fairies
13 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act II: Entrance of Night "See, Even Night Herself Is Here"
14 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act II: Entrance of Mystery "I Am Come to Lock All Fast"
15 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act II: Entrance of Secrecy "One Charming Night Gives More Delight"
16 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act II: Entrance of Sleep "Hush, No More"
17 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act II: Dance for the Followers of Night
18 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act II: Second Act Tune (Air)
19 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act III: "If Love's a Sweet Passion"
20 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act III: Symphony While the Swans Come Forward
21 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act III: Dance for the Fairies
22 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act III: Dance for the Green Men
23 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act III: "Ye Gentle Spirits of the Air"
24 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act III: Dialogue Between Coridon and Mopsa
25 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act III: "When I Have Often Heard Young Maids Complaining"
26 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act III: Dance for the Haymakers
27 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act III: "A Thousand, Thousand Ways"
28 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act III: Third Act Tune (Hornpipe) Vol.2: Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act IV: Symphony
29 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act IV: "Now the Night Is Chased Away" - "Let the Fifes and the Clarions"
30 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act IV: Entry of Phoebus
31 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act IV: "When a Cruel Long Winter" - Chorus "Hail! Great Parent of Us All"
32 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act IV: Spring "Thus the Ever Grateful Spring"
33 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act IV: Summer "Here's the Summer, Sprightly, Gay"
34 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act IV: Autumn "See, See My Many Colour'd Fields"
35 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act IV: Winter "Next Winter Comes Slowly"
36 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act IV: Fourth Act Tune (Air)
37 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act V: Prelude
38 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act V: Juno "Thrice Happy Lovers"
39 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act V: The Plaint "O Let Me Weep!"
40 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act V: Entry Dance
41 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act V: Symphony
42 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act V: A Chinese Man "Thus the Gloomy World"
43 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act V: Chinese Woman "Thus Happy and Free"
44 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act V: Chinese Man "Yes, Daphne"
45 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act V: Monkeys' Dance
46 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act V: "Hark! How All Things with One Sound Rejoice"
47 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act V: "Hark! the Echoing Air a Triumph Sings"
48 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act V: "Sure the Dull God of Marriage Does Not Hear"
49 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act V: Prelude - Hymen "See, I Obey"
50 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act V: "Turn Then Thine Eyes"
51 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act V: Hymen "My Torch Indeed Will from Such Brightness Shine"
52 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act V: "They Shall Be As Happy As They Are Fait"
53 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act V: Chaconne
54 Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Act V: "They Shall Be As Happy As They Are Fait"
On the strength on the immense success of Dido & Aeneas and King Arthur, in 1692 Purcell went on to produce The Fairy Queen, based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The work is, in fact, a 'semi-opera', or 'opera with dialogue', in which only some of the crucial scenes are provided with music. But this version of A Midsummer Night's Dream by 'Orpheus Britannicus' became almost as famous as the play that inspired it due to it's love scenes, supernatural scenes and the innate sense of musical humor investing it with an irresistible savour and enchantment.
