The string writing closely resembles that of , differing from Purcell’s established style.
The "Curtain Tune" served as incidental music designed to transition the audience from the spoken drama to the musical "masques" within the play. purcell_the_tempest_z_631_curtain_tune
: A famous bass da capo aria that uses upward leaps (word-painting) to mimic rising winds. The string writing closely resembles that of ,
While the Curtain Tune sets the stage, the full work is celebrated for several other notable movements often found in recordings such as the one by John Eliot Gardiner : purcell_the_tempest_z_631_curtain_tune
Many experts now attribute the majority of the score to , who likely wrote it for a revival of the play around 1712.