Henry Purcell: "Dido's Lament" (1688), performed live by Jeff Buckley - remastered by Danny C.
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Dido's Lament is the aria "When I am laid in earth" from C17 English composer Henry Purcell's opera, Dido and Aeneas, written no later than 1688. Text below.
Here, we have the late Jeff Buckley, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, performing both the recitative and the aria live at the "Meltdown Festival" 1995 - Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. It was at the invitation of Elvis Costello that Jeff performed this piece at that venue.
For me, it's a stunning, heartfelt performance - especially from a man who had no classical training at all. Few in the pop/rock world know much about the English Baroque idiom (for example) - much less care - so it's a real joy to see this kind of advocacy.
Of course, for those who prefer a more "authentic" performance (or are otherwise sniffy) there are many other performances to choose from in the established repertoire.
This recording was apparently taken from a bootleg of the concert, subsequently remastered by a number of people who wanted to preserve and enhance the sole recording of Jeff's performance for all of us to cherish.
In this superb remastering (given what was available) KZreadr Danny C. / @ashore
(who kindly gave me permission to use his FLAC RM) writes:
"The overall goal for the remaster was to give the track more of a studio sound and feeling, so I clipped out the audience at the beginning and the end. I removed most of the background noise from the original recording, and brought out Jeff's vocals in the EQ so that it's in the front of the mix. There is still some slight background noise remaining if you listen closely, but the vocals should be much more clear in this remaster. FLAC version available upon request".
Thank you Danny!
TEXT
Recitative (included in this recording)
Thy hand, Belinda, darkness shades me,
On thy bosom let me rest,
More I would, but Death invades me;
Death is now a welcome guest.
Aria
When I am laid, am laid in earth, May my wrongs create
No trouble, no trouble in thy breast;
Remember me, remember me, but ah! forget my fate.
Remember me, but ah! forget my fate.
I took these pictures (except for Purcell and Jeff Buckley) in various parts of the Peak District National Park, Derbyshire, England.
Пікірлер: 51
To hear Jeff Buckley take on a baroque aria in his 'natural' high tenor is extraordinary. There is so much 'spin' in his voice, so much feeling, and such great phrasing, it amply shows he could have chosen another, very different music career, if his interests had taken him in that direction. As with Britten's Corpus Christi Carol, on Grace, he shows great respect and sensitivity towards both composition and lyrics; and I imagine that he was, again, inspired to perform this aria having heard it sung by Dame Janet Baker. Britten admired Purcell deeply, and both composed superb music for the English language, which is much less suited to classical technique than, for example, Italian. It's striking that both composers should be honoured in the all too limited discography of a folk/rock artist, a totally different genre! That Buckley had one of the great voices of his era, and one of the greatest talents, as a songwriter and performer, is beyond doubt, just from his one completed album, a miscellany of other recordings, and some precious moments on video. Great musicians know great music when they hear it, whether it was written last week, sixty years ago or three hundred. Buckley, Britten and Purcell are all part of the same tradition, of English song. As a footnote: Purcell composed Dido and Aeneas for performance by pupils at Josias Priest's boarding school for girls in Chelsea, where, in 1689 or thereabouts, his opera received its only performances during in his lifetime. This rather astounding fact may suggest how Purcell intended the aria to be sung, with a relatively untrained, youthful voice, with little if any classical vibrato or other embellishments. So, perhaps Buckley is closer to the original mark than we might imagine.
This "non-classical" version makes me aware that interpretation, words and feeling count more than vocal prowess.
@ritahorvath8207
7 ай бұрын
I love really well educated voices . . . . .
This is amazing. Wow, Jeff Buckley was so talented. ❤🙏🏾
A sublimely beautiful alternative take on this remarkable piece 👍👍 thanks for sharing what a Voice
What an amazingsurprise!
What the hell? I know this piece and play it myself on guitar and love it so much, but this has me sobbing like i don't know what's happening to me.
@VidCharlemagne
Жыл бұрын
I was blubbing like a baby when I first heard this. And subsequent listens.Had to stop what I was doing, it absolutely floored me. He was just something else.
Thanks for uploading.
What a stunning rendering of such tragic music - Such an amazing tenor
All the music you upload is great, but your descriptions are among the most thoughtful I know on KZread. Thanks.
@AntPDC
3 жыл бұрын
How embarrassingly late I am in thanking you for your comment. Please accept my apologies.
There is actually a soundboard recording of this song. It' s partly shown in Everybody Here wants you documentary at the end. But Elvis Costello owns the rights.
@erlendnordstrand9196
2 жыл бұрын
are you sure elvis owns them? if so he probably would have released them. my guess is sony is gatekeeping it along with other stuff
Beautiful version by the talented Jeff Buckley.
Oh my god.. beautiful cover.
Great, touch deeply our soul.
I get so much out of your postings: the music, the photos , and your comments. Your remarks about this recording opened my mind and ears. Initially, I was not keen, and wondered, nasally, "what had happened". I read what you had to say, and yes, now my breathing is not as restricted.
@AntPDC
7 жыл бұрын
Thank you HF. I do believe that the "classical" and "popular" music genres still need a great deal of depolarising - even given the help this notion was afforded from the 1960's onward. I remember the phrase "a lofty perch doth not musical appreciation make", or words to that effect. This kind of elitism, this snobbery in music does great harm in my view, and it alienates young people especially.
i’m an incoming conservatory freshman who loves singing pieces like this as well as other styles of music, especially those pioneered by people of color (like rock music). i really wish all styles of music were more accessible to sing, compose, and in this case fuse together! sure, if i sung this for my vocal professor the way buckley did i’d be told that i’m not using the correct techniques to emulate a european baroque-era style but i still think this is fucking awesome. buckley is singing it with the correct techniques to emulate his own style, and i think that’s rad.
Wir sind alle nur für eine Weile da. "Dido's Lament", in der Interpretation von Jeff ist großartig. Nur eine kleine Weile sind wir da ...
Hi there! Thanks so much for uploading this. I've wanted to tell you that in jeff buckley's only album called "grace", there is a version of the piece "corpus christi carol", thought it may interest you.
@scentline
3 жыл бұрын
You think he doesn’t have the album when he shows this amount of passion for Jeff’s music?
@pabloblanco7246
3 жыл бұрын
@@scentline we''ll have to wait for him to answer for that. Until then it's gonna be an enigma
Notwithstanding the problems with intonation which bothered me a bit, I agree with you about the "heartfelt" nature of this performance; one can tell that he loved the piece and he gave it his all. Thanks for introducing me to something a bit out of the ordinary! Is it a terrible that I have never heard of Jeff Buckley?
@AntPDC
7 жыл бұрын
Nai61a Nor had I!
@alicat7281
3 жыл бұрын
Nai61a Listen to Jeff Buckley singing “Hallelujah”, the song by Cohen. Buckley’s album, “Grace” is the best album of the 1990’s. It’s a tragedy he died so young.
@Nai61a
3 жыл бұрын
@@alicat7281 Sadly, having been brought back to this by your comment, what strikes me (again) is how terribly approximate is the tuning. It really is painful on the ears.
@alicat7281
3 жыл бұрын
@@Nai61a Just give “Hallelujah” a listen. It’s on KZread. Then comment about Buckley.
@alicat7281
3 жыл бұрын
@@Nai61a It really is your loss if you don’t give his cover of “Hallelujah” a listen. There is a reason it has over 100,000,000 views on KZread. It’s beautiful.
It's a shame that Jeff Buckley, Klaus Nomi and Henry Purcell died so soon... If there's a god I would ask him for what reason - because I can't understand his decision! 😥
It is amazing , however it is hard to beat David Hansen or Andeas Scholl performing this . There are close comparisons with the Hansen recording.
@AntPDC
7 жыл бұрын
Thank you. There's no denying that trained performers hold the high ground - inevitably so - and while this performance wouldn't be my first choice for this piece (ignoring recording quality), I admire it greatly. Purcell's intention in this aria is clear, and Buckley communicates it powerfully.
@harpswellsound
7 жыл бұрын
I concur
@robbystafford8273
4 жыл бұрын
i am a baroque singer and nerd - and this is my favorite version, as great as so many others are
@heartmind4267
Жыл бұрын
Nah, I prefer Buckley's version. Much more sublime..
@ritahorvath8207
7 ай бұрын
Andreas Scholl is simply the best . . . . .