Long before being used to protect people from viruses, in 17th-century England masks were used to designate shows that brought together several of the performing arts, from theatre to dance, to pyrotechnics. In their album “Tyrannic Love” (Alpha), the baroque ensemble Les Surprises, conducted by Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas, explores masks composed by Henry Purcell: arias and dances from his operas King Arthur, Fairy Queen, The Indian Queen, Don Quixote, etc. These small pieces embellishing the theatrical text condense the dramatic ingredients of the usual operas. Les Surprises have also featured forgotten pieces by Purcell’s contemporaries in this disc: John Eccles, John Blow, and Jeremiah Clarke, among others.
Learn more following this link: https://www.les-surprises.fr/en/discographie
