The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment continues its series of eye-catching and innovative music videos drawing links between Baroque arias and iconic pop videos, with a performance of Purcell’s ‘What Power Art Thou’ from King Arthur, inspired by Gotye’s hit stop-motion music video Somebody that I used to know.

Featuring OAE’s Rising Stars alumnus, bass-baritone Dingle Yandell, this film is the third in the series, which is supported by Gramophone (follow the links below the article to watch the other two).

The OAE explains the concept behind the Purcell film, and how it was inspired by the original Gotye video directed by Natasha Pincus:

'Gotye’s Somebody that I used to know depicts a failed relationship and the heart wrenching aftermath of two people who once were in love now becoming strangers in each other’s lives. As the video progresses, Gotye is slowly subsumed by body paint and eventually fades into the background of a canvas. An optical illusion is created where it is hard to tell where the background begins and his body ends. The lyrics of Gotye’s song tie in with this visual metaphor, as he laments "you didn’t need to cut me out" and "make out like [the relationship] never happened". Quite literally, Gotye’s identity has been lost as he becomes a part of his surroundings.

'The "frost scene" in Purcell’s King Arthur portrays a supernatural vision of the winter chill. The aria "What Power Art Thou" is sung as Cupid awakens the "Cold Genius", the Spirit of Winter. As he defrosts, the spirit lambasts Cupid’s spell as he shivers and "can scarcely move or draw [his] breath". The cold encompasses him and he wishes to "freeze again to death" and return to what is safe and familiar.

'At the start of the video, Dingle’s deliberately pallid skin is striking against a plain black backdrop. As the song progresses, the frosty paint creeps towards the singer and, like in the Gotye video, spreads over his body and pulls him into the shard-like background. Eventually, the only identifiable features are the mouth and eyes, which pierce through the camera. When these shut, he is absorbed into the canvas.'

To create the effect of the paint taking over the background and Dingle’s body, a stop-motion technique was used. Over the course of a 10-hour day, Dingle stood in place while the OAE team painted small sections of the background, took a photo and repeated until both the canvas and Dingle were covered in paint. 

When he was first approached with the idea, Dingle recalls 'I first realised that Gotye had no clothes on and secondly realised that I was surprisingly game for such a whacky project. The process wasn’t easy; I was standing there for hours, mostly naked, my whole body aching and the soles of my feet becoming increasingly sensitive. I had to stay absolutely still so it didn’t ruin the effect of the stop motion. It was painstaking process for everyone involved, but the OAE’s commitment to making these videos is admirable and I’m so pleased with the final result.’

Discover the two previous films in the series:

Breathtaking Handel from the OAE: watch

Learning to sing Dido's Lament ... backwards: watch