Song has held a special position in the history of music from the British Isles since the earliest times. The earliest accessable examples of poetry and music combining with enduring power come from the Tudor and Elizabethan period. John Dowland was perhaps the foremost of the lutenist poet-song writers, and Morley, Gibbons, Tomkins and Weelkes through Madrigals such as the Silver Swan made an enduring contribution. After the interruption of the Commonwealth, their work had a stylistic influence on England's greatest song composer, Henry Purcell (1659-95).
Taking up the French style introduced by Pelham Humphry, Purcell produced music for Church and Theatre. Raised in the Chapel Royal, and familiar with the finest musicians and poets of the age, Purcell's songs, like Music for a while and Sweeter than roses are exquisite works of art, with bold word settings and stunning harmony reflecting the text. Most of Purcell's songs come from then-popular Masque productions, and embody all human emotions with astonishing scope, from the earthiness of Man is for the woman made to the refined farewell of Dido's Lament.
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