 By Jacob Snyder

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 Not much we know about Purcell except for important life events  Purcell was born in 1659 o London  Father Henry Sr.  Two brothers, one famous composer Daniel Purcell  Uncle Thomas o Both father and uncle important singers at Chapel Royal  Joined the Chapel Royal choir as a boy o Destined for music o Joined after father’s death, and after moving in with uncle

 When starting boy choir work, Purcell first started learning from Captain Henry Cook, and then Pelham Humfrey  Puberty strikes!  Voice “crack” forces Purcell to leave choir in 1673  Assistant to John Hingston, keyboard/instrument keeper  He tuned organs at Westminster!  Studied with Matthew Locke as a violin composer  Took over role as Abbey Organist in 1679  Went back to Chapel Royal as organist in 1682  King James made him court Harpischordist in 1685

 “It was the originality of his genius, the uniqueness of the musical invention he brought to bear on the traditions and conventions of English music in which he was trained, that made Purcell one of England’s greatest composers.” (Buelow, 329)

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 Purcell’s style of composition o Conservative o Takes from the masters before him o Took techniques and style from previous, made them his own o Now he is a household name.  Started composing at an early age, possibly 9 or 11 years old

 Purcell had many catalogues of instrumental music o Only a snapshot of all his work  Wrote many fantasias, sonatas, several pavans o “The fantasias all originate around 1680 and are usually viewed as intensive studies by Purcell to become familiar with the strict contrapuntal style of pre-Restoration composers” (Buelow 330)  Purcell used these forms as a study tool!  Throughout his instrumental works, Purcell takes the old to make the new o Ricercars in his fantasias

 Purcell wrote a prolific number of pieces for the church  Most of these written under employment of Charles II  King desired a focus on light-hearted anthems o Purcell provided with 70 of them!  Charles II wanted a more French like sound in his church  Focus on text comprehension, especially in church works  For his court compositions, o “Purcell focused on the composition of fifteen verse anthems with string ensembles” (Buelow 338).  King Charles II a big supporter and fan of Purcell

 “Equally important to Purcell’s vocal style was the remarkable relationship between his musical ideas and the sound and structure of the English Language. This symbiotic union of the phonology of the language and the sung word is difficult to explain, but it is a basic element in what can be called the Purcellian sound.” (Buelow 330)

 Writing for the stage happened post 1689 o Last 6 years of his life  Wrote about 50 staged works o About 8 a year!  Dido and Aeneas o Powerful work o Emphasis on the affect of the piece o Purcell used many techniques to convey tension and drama throughout the work

 24 of these, written between  Charles II great supporter of these works o Supplied Purcell with a group of soloists and a strong chorus  Very sophisticated works o Arguably some of his most mature masterworks  They were a form of a large anthem o Again, we see use of the old to make new  Come, come ye sons of art, away o One of his last odes o Described as his most potent and powerful ode

 Died in 1695 in Westminster o Height of his Career  Only 35 or 36 years old  Buried adjacent to the organ in Westminster Abbey  Music he wrote for Queen Mary’s funeral was played for his  Was mourned, terrible loss for England