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Dido and Aeneas īetween 16 Purcell wrote music for seven plays. 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. 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 the Psalms in the form of an anthem and requested Purcell to set them to music. The dates of very few of these sacred compositions are known perhaps the most notable example is the anthem They that go down to the sea in ships. Purcell wrote several anthems at different times for Gostling's extraordinary basso profondo voice, which is known to have had a range of at least two full octaves, from D below the bass staff to the D above it. John Gostling, then at Canterbury, but afterwards a gentleman of His Majesty's Chapel. From an extant letter written by Thomas Purcell we learn that this anthem was composed for the exceptionally fine voice of the Rev. In 1679, he wrote songs for John Playford's Choice Ayres, Songs and Dialogues and an anthem, the name of which is unknown, for the Chapel Royal. Purcell's manuscript copy of When on my sick bed I languish ( c. It is a psalm that is prescribed for Christmas Day and also to be read at morning prayer on the fourth day of the month.
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Henry Purcell's earliest anthem, Lord, who can tell, was composed in 1678. He attended Westminster School and in 1676 was appointed copyist at Westminster Abbey. After Humfrey's death, Purcell continued his studies under John Blow. It is assumed that the three-part song Sweet tyranness, I now resign was written by him as a child. The dates for his compositions are often uncertain, despite considerable research. 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. Henry was a chorister in the Chapel Royal until his voice broke in 1673 when he became assistant to the organ-builder John Hingston, who held the post of keeper of wind instruments to the King. The composer Matthew Locke was a family friend and, particularly with his semi-operas, probably also had a musical influence on the young Purcell. Henry studied first under Captain Henry Cooke, Master of the Children, and afterwards under Pelham Humfrey, Cooke's successor, who was a pupil of Lully. Thomas arranged for Henry to be admitted as a chorister. Īfter his father's death in 1664, Purcell was placed under the guardianship of his uncle Thomas, who showed him great affection and kindness.
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The family lived just a few hundred yards west of Westminster Abbey from 1659 onwards.
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Daniel Purcell, the youngest of the brothers, was also a prolific composer who wrote the music for much of the final act of The Indian Queen after his brother Henry's death. Henry the elder had three sons: Edward, Henry and Daniel. Henry Purcell Senior, whose older brother Thomas Purcell was a musician, was a gentleman of the Chapel Royal and sang at the coronation of King Charles II of England. Purcell was born in St Ann's Lane, Old Pye Street, Westminster in 1659. White after Closterman, from Orpheus Britannicus Life and work Early life Engraved portrait of Purcell by R. Generally considered among the greatest English opera composers, Purcell has been assessed with John Dunstaple and William Byrd as England's most important early music composers. Purcell's musical style was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. 10 September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music. Henry Purcell ( / ˈ p ɜːr s əl/, rare: / p ər ˈ s ɛ l/ c.