Dido and Aeneas by Candlelight, St Martin-in-the-Fields

Spend a serene evening by candlelight listening to Purcell at St Martin-in-the-Fields

Sadly, it’s not often that you come across a programme consisting entirely of Purcell. But there’s a treat in store on 21 July, when the St Martin’s Voices will be performing two great works of his, 'Welcome to all the pleasures' and the opera Dido and Aeneas, in a concert at St Martin-in-the-Fields.

Purcell wrote 'Welcome to all the pleasures' to mark St Cecilia’s Day in 1683, and the patroness of musicians could hardly have hoped for a finer tribute. Made up of 7 short pieces, some vocal, some instrumental, the suite contains all the hallmarks of Purcell, even though when he wrote it he was only 24. It’s elegant, mildly eccentric, by turns jaunty and melancholy – and 'Here the deities approve', the haunting solo for countertenor, showcases the composer’s gift for capturing, as one contemporary put it, “the energy of English words”. 

That gift will be on full display in Dido and Aeneas, Purcell’s 1689 opera, in which the Queen of Carthage has her heart broken by the Trojan hero thanks to the machinations of an evil sorcerer. This is music of extraordinary richness and variety – and while Dido’s shiveringly poignant lament ("When I am laid in earth") may be the only work by Purcell ever played on the radio, there are many other things to savour here.

Add to all that the atmospheric, candlelit surroundings of St Martin-in-the-Fields, along with its beautiful acoustic, and we’d say there isn’t really much more you could ask for. Under-performed though Purcell may be, there can be no doubt of his music's enduring ability to surprise and delight.