Henry Purcell (1659 – 1695) was an English composer.
Although incorporating Italian and French stylistic
elements into his compositions, Purcell's legacy was a
uniquely English form of Baroque music. He is generally
considered to be one of the greatest English composers;
no later native-born English composer approached his
fame until Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams,
William Walton and Benjamin Britten in the 20th
century.
Purcell was born in St Ann's Lane, Old Pye Street,
Westmi...(+)
Henry Purcell (1659 – 1695) was an English composer.
Although incorporating Italian and French stylistic
elements into his compositions, Purcell's legacy was a
uniquely English form of Baroque music. He is generally
considered to be one of the greatest English composers;
no later native-born English composer approached his
fame until Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams,
William Walton and Benjamin Britten in the 20th
century.
Purcell was born in St Ann's Lane, Old Pye Street,
Westminster – the area of London later known as
Devil's Acre – in 1659. Henry Purcell Senior, whose
older brother, Thomas Purcell, (died 1682) was a
musician, was a gentleman of the Chapel Royal and sang
at the coronation of King Charles II of England. Henry
the elder had three sons: Edward, Henry and Daniel.
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 Henry Purcell's
death. Henry Purcell's family lived just a few hundred
yards west of Westminster Abbey from 1659 onwards.
After his father's death in 1664, Purcell was placed
under the guardianship of his uncle Thomas, who showed
him great affection and kindness. Thomas was himself a
gentleman of His Majesty's Chapel, and arranged for
Henry to be admitted as a chorister. Henry studied
first under Captain Henry Cooke, Master of the
Children, and afterwards under Pelham Humfrey, Cooke's
successor. 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 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.
Purcell worked in many genres, both in works closely
linked to the court, such as symphony song, to the
Chapel Royal, such as the symphony anthem, and the
theatre.
Among Purcell's most notable works are his opera Dido
and Aeneas (1688), his semi-operas Dioclesian (1690),
King Arthur (1691), The Fairy-Queen (1692) and Timon of
Athens (1695), 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).
The Phrygian mode can refer to three different musical
modes: the ancient Greek tonos or harmonia sometimes
called Phrygian, formed on a particular set of octave
species or scales; the Medieval Phrygian mode, and the
modern conception of the Phrygian mode as a diatonic
scale, based on the latter.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Purcell).
Although originally composed for Keyboard, I created
this interpretation of the "Verse in the Phrygian Mode"
(Z.126) for Woodwind Trio (Flute, Oboe & Bassoon).
