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Concert Review

This document summarizes a performance of John Blow's Venus and Adonis. It follows the mythological plot of Venus and Adonis, beginning with Cupid addressing shepherds before Venus and Adonis arrive. Adonis leaves to go hunting and is wounded by a boar. He is brought back to Venus dying, and they sing a love duet before he passes away in her arms. The performance featured a small ensemble and chorus portraying the characters. Highlights included the duets between Venus and Adonis depicting their love, as well as a lighthearted scene between Cupid and Venus about human emotions. Overall the performance successfully portrayed the emotions in the text through the musical performances.

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53 views

Concert Review

This document summarizes a performance of John Blow's Venus and Adonis. It follows the mythological plot of Venus and Adonis, beginning with Cupid addressing shepherds before Venus and Adonis arrive. Adonis leaves to go hunting and is wounded by a boar. He is brought back to Venus dying, and they sing a love duet before he passes away in her arms. The performance featured a small ensemble and chorus portraying the characters. Highlights included the duets between Venus and Adonis depicting their love, as well as a lighthearted scene between Cupid and Venus about human emotions. Overall the performance successfully portrayed the emotions in the text through the musical performances.

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Garrett Prall

Music 530A

Fall 2018

Dunedin Concert

TivoliVredenburg Concert Hall, September 2nd, 2015

Venus and Adonis by John Blow

This work follows the mythological plot of Venus and Adonis. It begins with Cupid addressing a

group of shepherds and shepherdesses before Venus and Adonis process on stage. After the couple

arrives, they speak of love and are about to express their love for one another, but hunting horns are

heard and Adonis leaves to hunt a boar. The following scene has Cupid learning about love from his

mother and how to provoke love among humans. Adonis is then brought in to Venus, dying from a

wound dealt to him by a boar. The couple sings a love duet, then Adonis dies in her arms. Then the court

mourns his death.

Venus and Adonis is John Blow’s only staged work. Beyond this, he had a background in organ,

and was also employed by James II. Henry Purcell studied under John Blow and Purcell’s Dido and

Aeneas is believed to have been influenced by Venus and Adonis. He wrote mostly for church services

and was employed at St. Paul’s Cathedral for many years. Additionally, as a performer of Purcell, I can

see close similarities in their compositional techniques.

The performance itself had a small group of musicians with four violins, one viola, one cello, one

bass, two recorders, and one theorbo. Additionally, the conductor played harpsichord in addition to

conducting. The chorus contained two sopranos, a mezzo-soprano, an alto, two tenors, and two basses.

Each singer was given a specific role such as Venus, Adonis, Cupid, or shepherds. Each movement varies

in its number of performers on stage based upon the story. At some points, the full ensemble is in
performance, and at other times, there is only a soloist with a light accompaniment. The overall

performance includes a large range of human emotions, ranging from deep love, to lighthearted joking

among friends, to deep sorrow at the loss of a loved one.

The musical highlights of the performance are the duets between Venus and Adonis. The sweet

harmonies and moving text convinces the viewers of the love between them. Additionally, there was

one scene where Cupid and Venus had a duet regarding human emotions, then couriers joined in with

the two. It was a lighthearted reprieve from some of the more serious material in the rest of the work.

For the most part, the music was conjunct and the rhythmic and melodic changes were predictable. The

majority of the work was consonant, however, there were dissonant sections that added to the

suspense and anguish.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this performance and thought that the performers encapsulated

their roles. Each performer played their character as well as the next and all of them understand the

emotions within the text. The instrumentalists were also a pleasure to listen to. One of my favorite

aspects of the performance was the conductor. He spent the entire duration conducting and playing

harpsichord; a feat which would take an incredible amount of coordination. I would definitely

recommend this to others who are interested in the genre.

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