One of four sons, Henry
Purcell revealed his musical skills at a very early age and joined the Chapel
Royal in London as a boy chorister. Choristers were encouraged to develop their
talents, and the eight- year-old Purcell duly obliged by composing a three-part
song, 'Sweet Tyranness', which became a part of leading publisher Playford's
'Can That Catch Can'.
After his voice broke,
Purcell left the choir and was engaged as assistant to the Keeper of the King's
Instruments. He progressed to supervision and tuning of the organ at Westminster
Abbey (I 674-8) and in 1677 replaced Matthew Locke as Composer-in-Ordinary (for
violins). Two years later he succeeded John Blow as the Abbey's organist and
shortly after married Frances Peters, with whom he settled in a house provided
with the employment.
From
this stable domestic setting his compositions flowed. He wrote Latin anthems for
the royal chapels, a book of trio sonatas and other occasional pieces for the
court; in all he catered with great versatility to the distinct musical
differences between the royal court, public ceremonies at Westminster Abbey, and
the theatre - the latter an increasing interest with Purcell. In 1685 he
composed the anthem Rejoice in the Lord
Alway, known as the Bell Anthem because
of the 'pealing' effect of its instrumental introduction.
He had become the
official organist to the Chapel Royal in 1682 and a year later was made Organ
Maker and Keeper of the King's Instruments. Purcell was evidently well able to fulfill
an administrative role while remaining a creative musician, for his court
positions were reconfirmed by James II, and again in 1689 when William III and
Mary took the throne. For the coronations of each, Purcell composed anthems and
played on the Abbey organ.
Purcell's affinity for
the theatre led him to explore the medium of opera. In his thirties his efforts
bore fruit with the 1689 premiere of his famous Dido
and Aeneas, the first English opera of lasting significance. Although less
than an hour long, it contains dances and choruses in many styles and spans a
wide variety of human emotions from elation to despair. Its most famous aria is
Dido's Lament, 'When I am laid in earth', sung over a repeated bass line of
falling semitones (the smallest interval between two notes used at that time),
representing Dido's descent into the grave after her desertion by Aeneas.
After Dido,
Purcell wrote largely for the theatre. Between 1690 and 1695 he com- posed
music for no fewer than 37 productions, including King
Arthur in 1691 and The Fairy Queen in
1692. He continued to write pieces for royal occasions, and in 1694 composed an
ode, Come ye sons of art, away, for
the birthday of Queen Mary, wife of William Ill. The piece includes the aria
'Sound the trumpet', usually sung by a pair of duelling countertenors.
When Queen Mary died of
smallpox late in 1694, Purcell wrote a series of pieces for her funeral, held in
Westminster Abbey in March 1695. The Funeral
Music for Queen Mary comprises an anthem, four profoundly bleak pieces for
trumpets and trombones, and two elegies. That same year some of the music was
used at Purcell's own funeral. His death at the early age of 36 was an immense
loss to England and the musical world. His funeral, like Queen Mary's, was
held at Westminster Abbey, with both the Chapel Royal choir and the Abbey choir
in attendance, and he was laid to rest close by the organ at Westminster Abbey
that he had spent years maintaining.
Croft-The Burial Service (Funeral music for Queen Mary)
Come ye sons of art, away
Hail, Bright Cecilia
Rejoice in the Lord Alway, 'The Bell Anthem'
Chacony in G minor
Funeral music for Queen Mary
Dido
and Aeneas