It may have been the sight of London’s River Thames frozen to its banks in 1683 that inspired Henry Purcell to write his famous shivering musical depiction of winter chill, the “Frost Song”. In it, Cupid awakens the ‘Cold Genius’ (the Spirit of Winter) who, frozen stiff, would prefer to just go back to bed. From which semi-opera of Henry Purcell does the ‘Frost Scene’ come?
Listen