'Dido’s Lament,' Arranged for String Quartet by Graham Bastable
(International Music Company, $9.95)
Along with Pachelbel’s Canon in D, “Dido’s Lament,” from Henry Purcell’s 1689 opera Dido and Aeneas, is firmly ensconced at the top of the Baroque hit parade. Originally for soprano, string orchestra, and continuo, it’s been recorded by everyone from mezzosoprano Janet Baker and pop chanteuse Alison Moyet to the Swingle Singers, classical cellist Matthew Barley, and the Kronos Quartet. Recently, BBC Radio 3 devoted an entire evening to recordings of “Dido’s Lament,” which proved that this heartrending aria is robust enough to stand up to all kinds of treatment. The story is from Virgil’s Aeneid.
The Lament, sung by Dido on her deathbed, is based on a passacaglia, a figure repeated in the bass. This passacaglia, a descending melody, is played nine times. International Music Company’s arrangement of the aria for string quartet is a good basic presentation. It follows the original fairly closely, though not matching every phrase. The first violin takes the soprano part, the cello takes the continuo, and second violin and viola fill in the rest (while contending with a few awkward double-stops).
For any quartet looking for an unadorned version of “Dido’s Lament,” perhaps with the idea of adding its own Baroque period flourishes, this arrangement might be perfect.
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