ABSTRACT
A lament is an expression of sadness. Musical laments feature in many different cultures across the globe. In Western classical music, perhaps the most celebrated example is ‘Dido’s Lament’ from the end of Henry Purcell’s late seventeenth century opera Dido and Aeneas, where Dido sings of her unbearable grief at the loss of Aeneas and dies of a broken heart.
