Next to Henry Purcell, there is hardly another composer in the history of music who was able to set the English language to music in such an ingenious and sensitive way.
On the CD Love Songs, Dorothee Mields and the Lautten Compagney under Wolfgang Katschner have compiled songs and chants on the theme of love in all its many facets. They come from works that Purcell created between 1680 and 1695, mainly for the London theatre. These are not only incidental music (individual songs, duets and instrumental music), but also four semi-operas. Prints, copies and arrangements document the popularity of these songs, which continued to be published long after Purcell's early death - he died at the age of 36.
