Henry Purcell, born in 1659, started composing at the age of 11. He was highly influenced by his family environment—his two brothers were respectively a musician and a composer. Although he lived only 34 years, his contributions to English music history are significant.
When Purcell turned 22, he was assigned to be the organist of the Westminster Abbey, the famous gothic church traditionally used for coronations and burials of English monarchs. He received the post from his teacher and friend, the composer John Blow, usually considered the father of English opera with his work “Venus and Adonis.”
Many hold that Purcell’s chamber opera “Dido and Aeneas,” allegedly created around 1689, is a cornerstone in English dramatic music annals. In fact, this is the only true opera of his career as a composer and is typical of the Baroque period. The libretto told an ancient tragic legend where the protagonist Dido is desperate (after her betrothed leaves her) before she kills herself—a compositional model established by Monteverdi 80 years before Purcell.
Besides operas, Purcell composed numerous anthems, songs, odes, and cantatas. Most of his works were produced in his last years. Very few of them were composed for organ or harpsichord despite his being a church musician.
Purcell died while at the peak of his career and is buried next to the organ of Westminster Abbey in London. The epitaph on his gravestone reads: “"Here lies Henry Purcell Esq., who left this life and is gone to that blessed place where only his harmony can be exceeded."
Baroque Music Features
Baroque music encompasses culture and art which are typical for the period between 1600 and 1750. Historically, the Baroque period comes after the Renaissance and before the Classical period. Actually, the term baroque is a relatively new—heard for the first time in 1919, when Curt Sachs tried to describe the music from that period using the theory of baroque features by Heinrich Wölfflin.
Literally translated, baroque means “irregularly shaped pearl,” suitable to depict the ornate architecture of that time. Baroque music is peculiar with its opulent music ornamentations. During the era, instrumental performance grew in flexibility, by adding different playing techniques, and in complexity, by combining various instruments. Its most notable achievement was establishing the opera style. Main players of the Baroque music were Antonio Vivaldi, George Frederic Handel, Claudio Monteverdi, and Johann Sebastian Bach. Typical musical forms include the suite, fugue, overtura, gigue, gavotte, minuet, etc.
Baroque music can be easily differentiated by its highly emotional notes usually expressing a single dramatic feeling. This required the performer to have significant latitude in his or her voice. The musical accompaniment played a critical role as well.
Classical period which came after Baroque, presented more mature feelings which, after overcoming a crises, reached a balanced conclusion. In Baroque it was just the opposite—the single emotion portrayed was equally dramatic and intense until the very end. While Baroque music emphasized counterpoint, the classical period gave it up and replaced it with homophony in which the parts move together in harmony, creating chords. Keeping attention to details, Baroque music highlighted articulation rather than dynamics.
Baroque music is still revered today due to its melodiousness and “perfect order” which presents the order of the universe, as stated by the Baroque composer and theorist Johann Joseph Fux: "A composition meets the demands of good taste if it is well constructed, avoids trivialities as well as willful eccentricities, aims at the sublime, but moves in a natural ordered way, combining brilliant ideas with perfect workmanship."
Haden Freeman Concert Hall, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester will host a collaborative concert performance of Henry Purcell’s most famous opera, “Dido and Aeneas” on the occasion of 350th anniversary from his birth on Sat. Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m.
The Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys with Concert Royal and conductor John Scott will perform a concert honoring Purcell on March 5, at 7:30 p.m.