Art Collage JANG: COMPOSER OF THE WEEK: 33. Henry Purcell

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

COMPOSER OF THE WEEK: 33. Henry Purcell

Born: September 10, 1659; London, England

Died: November 21, 1695; London, England

Nationality: English

Occupation: Composer

Henry Purcell was an English composer, born on September 10, 1659 and died on November 21, 1695, who is considered one of the greatest English composers.

His older brother Thomas Purcell was a musician and sang at the coronation of King Charles II of England. His younger brother, Daniel Purcell, was also a prolific composer who wrote much of the final act of his unfinished work, "The Indian Queen," after Henry Purcell's death.

Engraved portrait of Purcell, Robert White

After his father's death in 1664, his uncle, who showed him great affection, became Purcell's guardian. Purcell first learned music from Henry Cooke, who taught music for the choir boys, and then to Pelham Humfrey, who succeeded Cooke.

The composer Matthew Locke, a friend of his family, seems to have had a musical influence, particularly on Purcell's semi-operas. Purcell was a chorister in the “Chapel Royal”, a royal facility established serving the spiritual needs of the British royal family, until 1673, when his voice broke.

Purcell died at his home in 1695 at the height of his career, and the cause of his death is unclear.

The bronze memorial sculpture,
Glynn Williams, Victoria St, Westminster.

In his funeral, his music that he had earlier composed for Queen Mary's funeral was performed, and people mourned and praised him as "the great master of music." After his death, officials at Westminster Abbey showed respect to him by unanimously deciding to bury his body with no expense in the north aisle of the Abbey.

Purcell's representative works include his opera "Dido and Aeneas (1688)”, his semi-operas "Dioclesian (1690)", "King Arthur (1691)" and "The Fairy-Queen (1692)", as well as the compositions "Hail! Bright Cecilia (1692)”, “Come Ye Sons of Art (1694)” and “Funeral Sentences and Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary (1695)”.