Which Genial Day? More on the court origin of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, with a shortlist of dates for its possible performance before King Charles II

Abstract

This article attempts to pinpoint the occasion for which Nahum Tate and Henry Purcell created Dido and Aeneas. To do this it makes further use of iconographic evidence first presented in an earlier paper (Andrew Pinnock, ‘Deus ex machina: a royal witness to the court origin of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas’, Early Music, xl/2 (2012), pp.265–78); considers fresh textual evidence (the anonymous libretto for John Blow’s 1681 royal birthday ode Up, shepherds, up, anticipating Tate’s Dido prologue in some striking ways); brings newly discovered documentary evidence into play (a newsletter report confirming that Dryden’s Albion and Albanius was rehearsed at Windsor on 29 May 1684, Charles II’s birthday); and tentatively reconstructs a chain of cultural-historical events consistent with all available research data. Very obvious allegorical meaning can now be discerned in both scenes of the Dido prologue (‘Deus ex machina’ only looked at scene 1). The nature of the allegory strongly suggests that Dido was performed or meant for performance as a birthday tribute to Charles II—most likely in 1684, soon after the formal completion of his ten-year castle refurbishment project, the Windsor Castle ‘Great Works’. ‘Which Genial Day?’ should be read in conjunction with ‘Deus ex machina’