Purcell's musical style was uniquely English, although it incorporatedItalian andFrench elements.[4] Purcell is generally considered to be one of the greatest English composers.[5]
Purcell was born in St Ann's Lane, Old Pye Street,Westminster, in 1659. Henry Purcell Senior,[6] whose older brother Thomas Purcell was a musician, was a gentleman of theChapel Royal and sang at the coronation of KingCharles II of England. Henry the elder had three sons: Edward, Henry and Daniel.Daniel Purcell, the youngest of the brothers, was also a prolific composer[7] who wrote the music for much of the final act ofThe Indian Queen after his brother Henry's death. The family lived just a few hundred yards west ofWestminster Abbey from 1659 onwards.[8]
After his father's death in 1664, Purcell was placed under the guardianship of his uncle Thomas, who showed him great affection and kindness.[9] Thomas arranged for Henry to be admitted as a chorister. Henry studied first under CaptainHenry Cooke,[10]Master of the Children, and afterwards under Cooke's successorPelham Humfrey,[11] who was a pupil ofLully.[7] The composerMatthew Locke was a family friend and, particularly with hissemi-operas, probably also had a musical influence on the young Purcell. Henry was a chorister in the Chapel Royal until hisvoice broke in 1673 when he became assistant to the organ-builderJohn Hingston, who held the post of keeper of wind instruments to the King.[8]
Purcell is said to have been composing at nine years old, but the earliest work that can be certainly identified as his is an ode for the King's birthday, written in 1670, when he was eleven.[12] The dates for his compositions are often uncertain, despite considerable research.[13] It is assumed that the three-part songSweet tyranness, I now resign was written by him as a child.[9] After Humfrey's death, Purcell continued his studies underJohn Blow. He attendedWestminster School and in 1676 was appointed copyist at Westminster Abbey.[7] Henry Purcell's earliestanthem,Lord, who can tell, was composed in 1678. It is apsalm that is prescribed for Christmas Day and also to be read at morning prayer on the fourth day of the month.[14]
Purcell's manuscript copy ofWhen on my sick bed I languish (c. 1680)
In 1679, he wrote songs forJohn Playford'sChoice Ayres, Songs and Dialogues and an anthem, the name of which is unknown, for the Chapel Royal. From an extant letter written by Thomas Purcell we learn that this anthem was composed for the exceptionally fine voice of the Rev.John Gostling, then atCanterbury, but afterwards a gentleman of His Majesty's Chapel. Purcell wrote several anthems at different times for Gostling's extraordinarybasso profondo voice, which is known to have had arange of at least two fulloctaves, from D below thebass staff to the D above it. The dates of very few of these sacred compositions are known; perhaps the most notable example is the anthemThey that go down to the sea in ships. In gratitude for the providential escape of King Charles II from shipwreck, Gostling, who had been of the royal party, put together some verses from thePsalms in the form of an anthem and requested Purcell to set them to music. The challenging work opens with a passage which traverses the full extent of Gostling's range, beginning on the upper D and descending two octaves to the lower.[7]
Between 1680 and 1688 Purcell wrote music for seven plays.[15] The composition of his chamber operaDido and Aeneas, which forms a very important landmark in the history of English dramatic music, has been attributed to this period, and its earliest production may well have predated the documented one of 1689.[16] It was written to alibretto furnished byNahum Tate,[7] and performed in 1689 in cooperation withJosias Priest, a dancing master and the choreographer for theDorset Garden Theatre. Priest's wife kept a boarding school for young gentlewomen, first inLeicester Fields and afterwards atChelsea, where the opera was performed.[17] It is occasionally considered the first genuineEnglish opera, though that title is usually given to Blow'sVenus and Adonis: as in Blow's work, the action does not progress in spoken dialogue but in Italian-stylerecitative. Each work runs to less than one hour. At the time,Dido and Aeneas never found its way to the theatre, though it appears to have been very popular in private circles. It is believed to have been extensively copied, but only one song was printed by Purcell's widow inOrpheus Britannicus, and the complete work remained in manuscript until 1840 when it was printed by theMusical Antiquarian Society under the editorship of SirGeorge Macfarren.[7] The composition ofDido and Aeneas gave Purcell his first chance to write a sustained musical setting of a dramatic text. It was his only opportunity to compose a work in which the music carried the entire drama.[15] The story ofDido and Aeneas derives from the original source in Virgil's epic theAeneid.[18] During the early part of 1679, he produced two important works for the stage, the music forNathaniel Lee'sTheodosius, andThomas d'Urfey'sVirtuous Wife.[16]
In 1679, Blow, who had been appointed organist of Westminster Abbey 10 years before, resigned his office in favour of Purcell.[16] Purcell now devoted himself almost entirely to the composition of sacred music, and for six years severed his connection with the theatre. He had probably written his two important stage works before taking up his new office.[7]
Soon after Purcell's marriage in 1682, on the death of Edward Lowe, he was appointed organist of the Chapel Royal, an office which he was able to hold simultaneously with his position at Westminster Abbey.[19] His eldest son was born in this same year, but he was short-lived.[20] His first printed composition,TwelveSonatas, was published in 1683.[21][22] For some years after this, he was busy in the production of sacred music, odes addressed to the king and royal family, and other similar works.[23][24] In 1685, he wrote two of his finest anthems,I was glad andMy heart is inditing, for the coronation of KingJames II.[25][19] In 1690 he composed a setting of the birthday ode forQueen Mary,Arise, my muse[26] and four years later wrote one of his most elaborate, important and magnificent works – a setting for another birthday ode for the Queen, written by Nahum Tate, entitledCome Ye Sons of Art.[27]
In 1687, he resumed his connection with the theatre by furnishing the music forJohn Dryden's tragedyTyrannick Love. In this year, Purcell also composed a march and passepied calledQuick-step, which became so popular thatLord Wharton adapted the latter to the verses ofLillibullero. In or before January 1688, Purcell composed his anthemBlessed are they that fear the Lord by the express command of the King. A few months later, he wrote the music for D'Urfey's play,The Fool's Preferment. In 1690, he composed the music forBetterton's adaptation ofFletcher andMassinger'sProphetess (afterwards calledDioclesian) and Dryden'sAmphitryon.[28] In 1691, he wrote the music for what is sometimes considered his dramatic masterpiece,King Arthur, or The British Worthy.[17] In 1692, he composedThe Fairy-Queen (an adaptation of Shakespeare'sA Midsummer Night's Dream), the score of which (his longest for theatre)[29] was rediscovered in 1901 and published by thePurcell Society.[30]The Indian Queen followed in 1695, in which year he also wrote songs forDryden and Davenant's version of Shakespeare'sThe Tempest (recently, this has been disputed by music scholars[31]), probably including "Full fathom five" and "Come unto these yellow sands".[28]The Indian Queen was adapted from a tragedy by Dryden andSir Robert Howard.[29] In thesesemi-operas (another term for which at the time was "dramatic opera"), the main characters of the plays do not sing but speak their lines: the action moves in dialogue rather than recitative. The related songs are sung "for" them by singers, who have minor dramatic roles.
He composed an anthem and two elegies forQueen Mary II's funeral, hisFuneral Sentences and Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary.[33] Besides the operas and semi-operas already mentioned, Purcell wrote the music and songs for Thomas d'Urfey'sThe Comical History ofDon Quixote,Bonduca,The Indian Queen and others, a vast quantity of sacred music, and numerousodes,cantatas, and other miscellaneous pieces.[28] The quantity of his instrumental chamber music is minimal after his early career, and his keyboard music consists of an even more minimal number of harpsichord suites and organ pieces.[34] In 1693, Purcell composed music for two comedies:The Old Bachelor, andThe Double Dealer. Purcell also composed for five other plays within the same year.[16] In July 1695, Purcell composed an ode for the Duke of Gloucester for his sixth birthday. The ode is titledWho can from joy refrain?[35] Purcell's four-part sonatas were issued in 1697.[16] In the final six years of his life, Purcell wrote music for forty-two plays.[16]
Purcell died on 21 November 1695 at his home in Marsham Street,[n 3] at the height of his career.[28] He is believed to have been 35 or 36 years old at the time. The cause of his death is unclear: one theory is that he caught a chill after returning home late from the theatre one night to find that his wife had locked him out. Another is that he succumbed totuberculosis.[36] The beginning of Purcell's will reads:
In the name of God Amen. I, Henry Purcell, of the City of Westminster, gentleman, being dangerously ill as to the constitution of my body, but in good and perfect mind and memory (thanks be to God) do by these presents publish and declare this to be my last Will and Testament. And I do hereby give and bequeath unto my loving wife, Frances Purcell, all my estate both real and personal of what nature and kind soever...[37]
Purcell is buried adjacent to the organ in Westminster Abbey. The music that he had earlier composed for Queen Mary's funeral was performed during his funeral. Purcell was universally mourned as "a very great master of music". Following his death, the officials at Westminster honoured him by unanimously voting that he be buried with no expense spared in the north aisle of the Abbey.[38] His epitaph reads: "Here lyes Henry Purcell Esq., who left this life and is gone to that Blessed Place where only His harmony can be exceeded."[39]
Purcell and his wife Frances had six children, four of whom died ininfancy. His wife, as well as his sonEdward (1689–1740) and daughter Frances, survived him.[16] His wife Frances died in 1706, having published a number of her husband's works, including the now-famous collection calledOrpheus Britannicus,[40] in two volumes, printed in 1698 and 1702, respectively. Edward was appointed organist ofSt Clement's, Eastcheap, London, in 1711 and was succeeded by his sonEdward Henry Purcell (died 1765). Both men were buried in St Clement's near the organ gallery.
Purcell worked in many genres, both in works closely linked to the court, such as symphony song, to the Chapel Royal, such as the symphony anthem, and the theatre.[41]
In 2025, a lost work, the songAs Soon as Day Began To Peep fromThomas D'Urfey's 1691 playLove for Money, was rediscovered in the Worcestershire County Archives; it was unknown to modern scholars.[42] Announced at the same time was the rediscovery in Norfolk County Archives of manuscripts of three keyboard works in Purcell's own hand, including early versions of his G minor suite, different from the published work.[42]
After his death, Purcell was honoured by many of his contemporaries, including his old friendJohn Blow, who wroteAn Ode, on the Death of Mr. Henry Purcell (Mark how the lark and linnet sing) with text by his old collaborator, John Dryden.William Croft's 1724setting for the Burial Service was written in the style of "the great Master". Croft preserved Purcell's setting of "Thou knowest Lord" (Z 58) in his service, for reasons "obvious to any artist"; it has been sung at every Britishstate funeral ever since.[43] More recently, the English poetGerard Manley Hopkins wrote a famous sonnet entitled simply "Henry Purcell", with a headnote reading: "The poet wishes well to the divine genius of Purcell and praises him that, whereas other musicians have given utterance to the moods of man's mind, he has, beyond that, uttered in notes the very make and species of man as created both in him and in all men generally."[44]
Purcell also had a strong influence on the composers of the English musical renaissance of the early 20th century, most notablyBenjamin Britten, who arranged many of Purcell's vocal works for voice(s) and piano inBritten's Purcell Realizations, including fromDido and Aeneas, and whoseThe Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra is based on a theme from Purcell'sAbdelazar. Stylistically, the aria "I know a bank" from Britten's operaA Midsummer Night's Dream is clearly inspired by Purcell's aria "Sweeter than Roses", which Purcell originally wrote as part ofincidental music to Richard Norton'sPausanias, the Betrayer of His Country.[45]
A Purcell Club was founded in London in 1836 for promoting the performance of his music but was dissolved in 1863. In 1876 aPurcell Society was founded, which published new editions of his works.[28] A modern-day Purcell Club has been created, and provides guided tours and concerts in support of Westminster Abbey.[48]
Today there is a Henry Purcell Society of Boston, which performs his music in live concert.[49] There is aPurcell Society in London, which collects and studies Purcell manuscripts and musical scores, concentrating on producing revised versions of the scores of all his music.[50] Purcell's works have been catalogued byFranklin Zimmerman, who gave them a number preceded by Z.[51]
So strong was his reputation that a popular wedding processional was incorrectly attributed to Purcell for many years. The so-calledPurcell's Trumpet Voluntary was in fact written around 1700 by a British composer namedJeremiah Clarke as thePrince of Denmark's March.[52]
Music for theFuneral of Queen Mary was reworked byWendy Carlos for the title music of the 1971 film by Stanley Kubrick,A Clockwork Orange. The 1973Rolling Stone review ofJethro Tull'sA Passion Play compared the musical style of the album with that of Purcell.[53] In 2009Pete Townshend ofThe Who, an English rock band that established itself in the 1960s, identified Purcell's harmonies, particularly the use of suspension and resolution (Townshend has mentioned Chaconne from The Gordian Knot Untied) that he had learned from producerKit Lambert, as an influence on the band's music (in songs such as "Won't Get Fooled Again" (1971), "I Can See for Miles" (1967) and the very Purcellian intro to "Pinball Wizard").[54][55] Purcell's music was widely featured as background music in theAcademy Award winning 1979 filmKramer vs. Kramer, with a soundtrack onCBS Masterworks Records.[56] The 1995 filmEngland, My England tells the story of an actor who is himself writing a play about Purcell's life and music, and features many of his compositions.[57]
"What Power Art Thou" (from King Arthur, or The British Worthy (Z. 628), a semi-opera in five acts with music by Purcell and a libretto by John Dryden) is featured inThe Crown.
^The contemporaneous pronunciation was always with the stress on the first syllable.[1][2] The stress on the second syllable is sometimes heard today, as mentioned by the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary,[3] but it and the Oxford Companion to Music emphasise that stress on the first syllable is the standard pronunciation in both the United Kingdom and North America. The stress on the second syllable is so rare that some English dictionaries do not even mention it, such as theCollins English Dictionary and theOxford Learner's Dictionary.
^During Purcell's lifetime, England and Ireland observed theJulian calendar. According toHolman & Thompson (2001), there is uncertainty regarding the year and day of birth. No record of baptism has been found. The year 1659 is based on Purcell's memorial tablet inWestminster Abbey and thefrontispiece of hisSonnata's of III. Parts (London, 1683). The day 10 September is based on vague inscriptions in the manuscriptGB-Cfm 88. It may also be relevant that he was appointed to his first salaried post on 10 September 1677, which would have been his 18th birthday.
^Often miscited as Dean's Yard;Frederick Bridge in his brief biography of 1920,Twelve Good Composers, uses rental information/rate sheets to clear this up.
^"No. 1874".The London Gazette. 1 November 1683. p. 2. Announcements of the publication of Purcell'sSonata, first for subscribers, then for general purchase
^"No. 2001".The London Gazette. 19 January 1684. p. 2. Announcements of the publication of Purcell'sOde for St Cecilia's Day, first performed, 22 November 1683
^Shay, Robert; Thompson, Robert (2006).Purcell Manuscripts: The Principal Musical Sources. Cambridge University Press. p. 137.ISBN978-0521028110.The distinctive nature of the symphony song, a genre as closely linked to the court as the symphony anthem was to the Chapel Royal, 16 is underlined by the principal concordance of the longer works in R.M. 20.h.8, Lbl Add. 33287
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