Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy
Encyclopedia
Wit and Mirth: Or Pills to Purge Melancholy is the title of a large collection of songs by Thomas d'Urfey
, published between 1698 and 1720, which in its final, six-volume edition held over 1,000 songs and poems. The collection started as a single book compiled and published by Henry Playford
who had succeeded his father John Playford
as the leading music publisher of the period. Over the next two decades, Pills went through various editions and expanded into five volumes; in 1719 Thomas D'Urfey reordered and added to the work to produce a new edition (also in 5 volumes) with the title Songs Compleat, Pleasant and Divertive, published by Jacob Tonson
. Volumes I and II now consisted entirely of songs (words, not tunes) by D'Urfey. The edition sold out quickly and in the second printing D'Urfey reverted to the Pills title. He added Volume 6 in 1720.
The title itself may derive from a 1599 pamphlet A Pil to Purge Melancholie.
In 1956 Ed McCurdy
recorded When Dalliance Was In Flower (and Maidens Lost Their Heads) Vol. 1 for Elektra Records
. Volume 2 was issued in 1957 with Volume 3 coming in 1958. Son of Dalliance came along in 1959 and in 1961 Elektra issued The Best Of Dalliance. In 2005 Rhino Records issued a 28 track CD of The Best Of Dalliance. This was a more folky treatment than the one by Will Holt
, who published an album of 10 songs entitled Pills to Purge Melancholy (Stinson SLP78). The songs are almost all ribald. In 1966 Gerald Cockshutt orchestrated 10 of the songs for a set of dances called Maddermarket Suite.
In 1968 S .A. J. Bradley published Sixty Ribald Songs from Pills to Purge Melancholy: Sixty Songs with Music. This served as a source for several folk singers. In 1990 City Waites
recorded Pills to Purge Melancholy (26 songs). They followed up in 1995 with Bawdy Ballads of Old England. This time only a few of the songs were from D'Urfey's collection. In 2000 Hesperus
recorded the album My Thing Is My Own: Bawdy Songs of D'Urfey. In 2007 a 364-page edition of the collection appeared. It is not clear whether this contains the music as well as the words, or how many of songs are included.
Thomas d'Urfey
Thomas D'Urfey was an English writer and wit. He composed plays, songs, and poetry, in addition to writing jokes. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the Ballad opera....
, published between 1698 and 1720, which in its final, six-volume edition held over 1,000 songs and poems. The collection started as a single book compiled and published by Henry Playford
Henry Playford
Henry Playford was an English music publisher, the younger son and only known surviving child of John Playford, with whom he entered business. He lived in Arundel Street in London and had a shop near Temple Church 1685–1695 then in Temple Change 1695–1704 and finally in Middle Temple Gate in 1706...
who had succeeded his father John Playford
John Playford
John Playford was a London bookseller, publisher, minor composer, and member of the Stationers' Company, who published books on music theory, instruction books for several instruments, and psalters with tunes for singing in churches...
as the leading music publisher of the period. Over the next two decades, Pills went through various editions and expanded into five volumes; in 1719 Thomas D'Urfey reordered and added to the work to produce a new edition (also in 5 volumes) with the title Songs Compleat, Pleasant and Divertive, published by Jacob Tonson
Jacob Tonson
Jacob Tonson, sometimes referred to as Jacob Tonson the elder was an 18th-century English bookseller and publisher....
. Volumes I and II now consisted entirely of songs (words, not tunes) by D'Urfey. The edition sold out quickly and in the second printing D'Urfey reverted to the Pills title. He added Volume 6 in 1720.
The title itself may derive from a 1599 pamphlet A Pil to Purge Melancholie.
Later versions
In 1920 William Giles Whittaker published North Country Folk Song set for unaccompanied voices: Words from D'Urfey's "Pills to purge Melancholy.In 1956 Ed McCurdy
Ed McCurdy
Ed McCurdy was an American folk singer, songwriter, and television actor. His anti-war classic, "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" , inspired and gave hope to those in the peace movement.-Career:...
recorded When Dalliance Was In Flower (and Maidens Lost Their Heads) Vol. 1 for Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
. Volume 2 was issued in 1957 with Volume 3 coming in 1958. Son of Dalliance came along in 1959 and in 1961 Elektra issued The Best Of Dalliance. In 2005 Rhino Records issued a 28 track CD of The Best Of Dalliance. This was a more folky treatment than the one by Will Holt
Will Holt
Will Holt is an American singer, songwriter, librettist and lyricist known first and primarily as a folk performer during the 1950s and 1960s and as an interpreter of the music of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht in performances and recordings with Martha Schlamme...
, who published an album of 10 songs entitled Pills to Purge Melancholy (Stinson SLP78). The songs are almost all ribald. In 1966 Gerald Cockshutt orchestrated 10 of the songs for a set of dances called Maddermarket Suite.
In 1968 S .A. J. Bradley published Sixty Ribald Songs from Pills to Purge Melancholy: Sixty Songs with Music. This served as a source for several folk singers. In 1990 City Waites
City Waites
The City Waites is a British early music band. Formed in the early 1970s, they specialise in English music of the 16th and 17th centuries from the street, tavern, theatre and countryside - the music of the common man. They appeal to a wide general audience as well as scholars...
recorded Pills to Purge Melancholy (26 songs). They followed up in 1995 with Bawdy Ballads of Old England. This time only a few of the songs were from D'Urfey's collection. In 2000 Hesperus
Hesperus (ensemble)
Hesperus is an early music and folk music ensemble. It was founded by Scott Reiss and Tina Chancey in 1979. While they are particularly noted for playing early European music, American folk music and crossovers between the two, they often play music from a variety of other traditions.-History:From...
recorded the album My Thing Is My Own: Bawdy Songs of D'Urfey. In 2007 a 364-page edition of the collection appeared. It is not clear whether this contains the music as well as the words, or how many of songs are included.
Further reading
- Day, Cyrus Lawrence (1933) The Songs of Thomas D'Urfey, Volume IX, Harvard Studies in English, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1933.
- D'Urfey, Thomas (1991) Lewd Songs and Low Ballads of the Eighteenth Century: bawdy songs From Thomas D'Urfey's "Pills to Purge Melancholy" (1719). Boulder, Colorado: Bartholomew Press