Henry Purcell
(born 1659; died Westminster, 21 November 1695)

He was a chorister in the Chapel Royal until 1673, 
and he was then made assistant to John Hingeston, 
whom he succeeded as organ maker and keeper of the 
king's instruments in 1683. In 1677 he was appointed 
composer-in-ordinary for the king's violins and in 
1679 succeeded his teacher, John Blow, as organist of 
Westminster Abbey. It was probably in 1680 or 1681 
that he married. From that time he began writing 
music for the theatre. In 1682 he was appointed an 
organist of the Chapel Royal. His court appointments 
were renewed by James II in 1685 and by William III 
in 1689, and on each occasion he had the duty of 
providing a second organ for the coronation. The 
last royal occasion for which he provided music was 
Queen Mary's funeral in 1695. Before the year ended 
Purcell himself was dead; he was buried in Westminster 
Abbey on 26 November 1695. The story goes that he came
home from a bout with the tavern so drunk that his wife
would not admit him to the house.  He fell asleep 
in a snowdrift beside the front door and subsequently
died of pneumonia, thus setting an example for 
Hank Williams, 260 years later.

Purcell was one of the greatest composers of the 
Baroque period and one of the greatest of all 
English composers. His earliest surviving works 
date from 1680 but already show a complete command 
of the craft of composition. They include the 
fantasias for viols, masterpieces of contrapuntal 
writing in the old style, and some at least of the 
more modern sonatas for violins, which reveal some 
acquaintance with Italian models. In time Purcell 
became increasingly in demand as a composer, and 
his theatre music in particular made his name 
familiar to many who knew nothing of his church 
music or the odes and welcome songs he wrote for 
the court. Much of the theatre music consists of 
songs and instrumental pieces for spoken plays, 
but during the last five years of his life Purcell 
collaborated on five 'semi-operas' in which the 
music has a large share, with 'divertissements', 
songs, choral numbers and dances. His only true opera 
(i.e. with music throughout) was Dido and Aeneas, 
written for a girls' school at Chelsea. It is among 
the finest of the 17th-century operas. 
