Henry Purcell: When I Am Laid In Earth

Henry Purcell: When I Am Laid In Earth

In this innovative arrangement Stanley M. Hoffman takes Henry Purcell’s most popular solo aria, the ‘Lament’ from his opera Dido and Aeneas, and reimagines it as a work for unaccompanied soprano solo and SATB choir, thus making a staple of the solo song repertoire available for choral performance. The chromatic passage that opens the piece is sung wordlessly by the bass section, and Hoffman’s setting features imaginative interplay between chorus and soloist, sharing the well-known lyrics between them, and sensitive dynamic contrasts.