Friday 9 June 2017
Tune of the Day: Fie Nay Prithee John
Three-part catch by Henry Purcell
The great English Baroque composer Henry Purcell enjoyed composing challenging canons, and singing them at parties with friends. One of the most famous is “Fie Nay Prithee John”, which depicts two persons quarreling in a tavern, at the top of their voices, and a third endeavoring to soothe them, each voice taking the three parts alternately as in all catches.
Fie, nay, prithee John,
do not quarrel man,
let’s be merry and drink about.