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From:  "Fiona Chow" <fionat@i...>
"Fiona Chow" <fionat@i...>
Date:  Mon Jan 1, 2001  9:12 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] Re: [vocalist-temporary] Purcell


> << "Evening Hymn", great for showing off flawless legato. >>
>
> Oh yesssss!!!! Why didn't I think of that one. It's sung over one of
those
> sublime Purcellian ostinato bass lines, isn't it? Hey, for that matter,
> aren't most or all of the others we've mentioned?


Wellll.... not ALL Purcell songs are based on an ostinato. Dido's Lament
is, as well as the Evening hymn. I can't think of any others off the top of
my head, to be honest, but there are probably others. Music for Awhile has
an interesting bass that is used as an ostinato for a fair amount of the
song, but it is not 100% an ostinato (it changes somewhere in there).
Because almost all of his songs (not Hark the Ech'ing Air, or Dido's
Lamenet) are written for harpsichord and voice though, they all have bass
lines with some figures though. :).

Fiona


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