Mr. Arundell's Purcell (Oxford University Press, 3s. 6d.) is important
not merely by reason of its subject but also by reason of the author's qualifications. The success of his .treatment is due to the fact that he has admitted the diffi- culties of his task and refused to walk the easy way of legend and probability. Such facts as are known he sets forth 'clearly, at the same time acknowledging their source. The series in which the manual occurs (designed for students and serious readers) has imposed certain conditions upon the form of the study. Brevity for one thing was required. Yet little of direct importance has been omitted, and certainly the book contains little that is. irrelevant. The criticism of Purcell's music is a mingling of zeal and clear judgment' When the zeal is in the ascendant Mr. Arundell seems embarrassed by the number of superlative adjectives, and at other times the word " technique " recurs rather tiresomely. Yet it cannot be denied that the author observes his subject's music as a living phenomenon ; and he is by no means prone to praise every casual piece of music merely because it bears the name of Henry Purcell.
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