Saturday 11 February 2012

Mo-or-or-ore Co-co-co-cold Song !


More of Henry Purcell's Cold Song! First, above, the original Cold Genius from Purcell's King Arthur (Le Roi Arthur) from Le Concert Spirituel, conductor Hervé Niquet. Le Concert Spirituel are important French baroque specialists, so the performance is pretty authoritative. The highly admired 2004 performance is available on CD and DVD.  Second, below, Klaus Nomi's version. It's a marvellous piece of performance art though he's not  a particularly good singer. Not a patch on Andreas Scholl! But it's evidence that good music can be adapted for creative purposes. Different voice types from the original, but true to the baroque spirit of invention. "Pure" in baroque is an oxymoron.

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