If it's not Baroque...

*ahem*

I won't finish that line.

My orchestra had an opera concert today, featuring overtures, arias, and choruses from a variety of operas. I wanted to write about two pieces that I didn't know before playing them, and that I don't think are that well known. We performed two pieces from the end of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. I've only seen one Baroque opera in its entirety, and I would now like to see this one. We played "When I Am Laid in Earth" and the final chorus of the opera, and both are haunting and beautiful. The vocal part is heart-breaking, and the strings play mostly sustained notes, and in Baroque style, that means open strings and no vibrato. We were told to sound lifeless (Dido is dying as she sings)--sort of an unexpected word, I think, but in this case, there's really no other good way to describe how we were supposed to sound. The contrast between the "lifeless" orchestra and Dido's beautiful part is amazing. I found a performance on YouTube, by Sarah Connolly. It's gorgeous.