Purcell_the_tempest_z_631_curtain_tune May 2026

The "Curtain Tune" served as incidental music designed to transition the audience from the spoken drama to the musical "masques" within the play.

While the Curtain Tune sets the stage, the full work is celebrated for several other notable movements often found in recordings such as the one by John Eliot Gardiner :

This specific movement is intended to evoke the atmospheric and supernatural elements of Shakespeare's The Tempest , which was adapted for the late 17th-century stage by Thomas Shadwell. purcell_the_tempest_z_631_curtain_tune

: One of the few songs in the collection that scholars universally agree was composed by Henry Purcell.

It is part of a "semi-opera," a Restoration-era English theatrical form that combined spoken dialogue with elaborate musical and dance interludes. The "Curtain Tune" served as incidental music designed

The string writing closely resembles that of , differing from Purcell’s established style.

For decades, the entire score was credited to Purcell. However, current research highlights that: It is part of a "semi-opera," a Restoration-era

: A well-known setting for the character Ariel. Authorship Debate