Henry Purcell: Dido and Aeneas
Janet Baker, Raimund Herincx, Patricia Clark, Monica Sinclair and John Mitchinson
St. Anthony Singers; English Chamber Orchestra
Anthony Lewis, conductor
Decca 466 387-2
Recorded in 1961 and released the following year, this Dido and Aeneas has long been regarded as a classic, principally because of Janet Baker’s magnificent performance. She was still near the beginning of her career, but the unmistakable qualities are already present: the rich, steady voice, flawless control of a phrase and an ability to communicate intense emotion without theatrical exaggeration.
Baker establishes Dido’s tragedy from her first entrance. “Ah! Belinda, I am prest with torment” is sung with an inward heaviness that makes the queen’s final catastrophe seem inevitable. In the celebrated lament, “When I am laid in earth,” Baker resists every temptation to pull the music about. The line remains controlled and beautifully shaped, yet the emotional pressure increases phrase by phrase. Her final “Remember me” is not merely affecting; it seems to emerge from the deepest part of the character.
The rest of the performance is more than respectable support. Patricia Clark is a fresh and sympathetic Belinda, Raimund Herincx makes a firm if somewhat reserved Aeneas, and Monica Sinclair brings splendid venom to the Sorceress. Anthony Lewis keeps the English Chamber Orchestra light and rhythmically alert. Although modern instruments are used, the playing has plenty of spring and avoids the ponderousness found in some early recordings of Baroque opera. The St. Anthony Singers are similarly crisp and responsive.
The recording inevitably sounds like a product of its period, and listeners accustomed to today’s smaller ensembles and leaner textures may find parts of it slightly formal. None of that diminishes Baker’s achievement. Many excellent Didos have appeared since, but few have combined vocal beauty, dignity and emotional devastation so completely. This is a classic recording because it contains a classic performance.
