Greatest hits are well served by the English country house opera scene, which seems to be growing every year. Early music, however, rarely gets a look in. Our beloved Longborough tends to devote one of its four annual performances to this period, but many others can easily go several seasons without attempting anything before Mozart.
It’s not a surprise. The musicians and the singers tend to be specialists, less abundant than the mainstream. Plots are often based on Greek and Roman mythology; a knowledge of which was once synonymous with education, but no more. Critically, most of these venues operate on a shoe string. They have to sell out to break even. Yet another Traviata is more likely to shift tickets than Acis and Galatea.
So well done to West Green House for putting on not just the aforementioned Handel Opera, but a whole early music evening luxuriating in the rich melodies of Dowland, Daniel, Ferrabosco, and Purcell.
West Green is an intimate music venue, with performances on pop-up stages and marquees within the garden rather than in a permanent building. This was even more so than usual, with guests at tables arranged cafe style in a marquee with an open back looking across the lawn at the beautiful late-17th century facade of the house.
There was a bit more time to wander through the gardens, struggling a bit through the dog days of late July, when the roses and early summer blooms have gone over and the dahlias aren't fully out yet. The freakishly dry weather hasn't helped either, of course. But there's still enough to make any gardener happy and West Green is worth a garden visit at any time of the year. You don't have to wait for a musical performance to come here, It's a National Trust property. Then it was back to the marquee for a full programme of Purcell with a quintet on historic instruments and four singers. There were probably only 60-80 in the audience, adding to the feeling of a private party rather than a concert.
The small audience didn't equate to small talent on stage, however. Quite the oppose. Soprano Miriam Allan gained national fame singing at the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral. Elizabeth Kenny is billed as England's most celebrated lutenist, and pops up regularly on YouTube in performances from this era. The women work magic together; clear, high voice weaving in and out of the rich, sultry strings. We could have been Elizabethan courtiers nodding off in the contentment of a summer revel.
Kenny and Allan joined the larger group for the evening performance, led from the harpsichord by Christopher Bucknall. His is another name that turns up a lot in these circles.
I honestly don't understand why Purcell isn't performed more. Some Baroque music is difficult, overly morose or too complex for relaxed enjoyment. The superstar of the late Stuart court was none of these things. (OK, you might not want to listen to Dido and Aeneas as a pick-me-up.) Cheerful, toe-tapping melodies pervade. There are themes and snippets that will remind you strongly of folk music, especially from the violins; unsurprising as that genre and its fiddles are a direct and close descendant of the popular music of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. When Purcell blends multiple voices, as in the evening's climactic performance of Thus Happy We Are, he anticipates the virtuoso quartets of Mozart.
The singers brought lovely snippets of acting into their performance to add humour and a bit of drama, but this was a recital and not a staged opera. The programme included music from The Fairy Queen (occasionally performed, on Longborough's docket next year), King Arthur (I've never spotted a performance) and Diocletian (I didn't know it existed). Given my love of historical epics I would probably lap these up.
Given the number of seats still available at the Early Music Night, however, I don't predict a major surge of 17th century opera at West Green, or anywhere else. We fans will have to be satisfied with the rare and wonderful opportunities when they come.
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