''Wit and Mirth: Or Pills to Purge Melancholy'' is the title of a large collection of

songs A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

Thomas d'Urfey Thomas d'Urfey (a.k.a. Tom Durfey; 165326 February 1723) was an English writer and wit. He wrote plays, songs, jokes, and poems. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the ballad opera. Life D'Urfey was born in Devonsh ...

, 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 (1657 – c. 1707) was an English music publisher, the younger son and only known surviving child of John Playford, with whom he entered business. His father died around 1686, but for some time before that he was in poor health. Hen ...

who had succeeded his father

John Playford John Playford (1623–1686/7) 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 churche ...

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, sometimes referred to as Jacob Tonson the Elder (1655–1736), was an eighteenth-century English bookseller and publisher. Tonson published editions of John Dryden and John Milton, and is best known for having obtained a copyright ...

. Volumes I and II now consisted entirely of songs with words by D'Urfey, "Set to Musick by Dr.

John Blow John Blow (baptised 23 February 1649 – 1 October 1708) was an English composer and organist of the Baroque music, Baroque period. Appointed organist of Westminster Abbey in late 1668,Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

, and other excellent masters of the town". 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 Edward Potts McCurdy (January 11, 1919 – March 23, 2000) was an American folk singer, songwriter, and television actor. His most well-known song was the anti-war " Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream", written in 1950. Career Born to ...

recorded ''When Dalliance Was In Flower (and Maidens Lost Their Heads) Vol. 1'' for

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

. 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 may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, 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 the

City Waites The City Waites is a British early music ensemble. 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 ordinary people. They endeavour to appe ...

recorded ''Pills to Purge Melancholy'' (26 songs sung by Lucie Skeaping and Richard WistreichSaydisc catalogue; CD-SDL 382). 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 In Greek mythology, Hesperus (; grc, Ἕσπερος, Hésperos) is the Evening Star, the planet Venus in the evening. He is one of the ''Astra Planeta''. A son of the dawn goddess Eos (Roman Aurora), he is the half-brother of her other son, Pho ...

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.

Notes

External links

*Digitised copy o
''Wit and mirth, or, Pills to purge melancholy''
in six volumes from

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS) ( gd, Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, sco, Naitional Leebrar o Scotland) is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. As one of the largest libraries in the ...

.
Lyrics to Knaves will Be Knaves
** (with audio) **{{gutenberg, no=33404, name=Wit and Mirth: or Pills to Purge Melancholy, Vol. 6 (with audio) English poetry

Later versions

See also

Further reading

Notes

External links