Henry Purcell on Music Theory Print

Abdelazer

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Plot#

Abdelazer is a captive Moor living at the court of King Philip of Spain, who had killed his father some years earlier. Abdelazer seeks revenge, and becomes the lover of the Queen. Together, they poison King Phillip, and also murder the young King Ferdinand. Abdelazer and the Queen try to disinherit Prince Philip, the rightful heir. Another Moor, Osmin, warns the Prince and Cardinal Mendozo to flee. During subsequent battles, Mendozo (who is in love with the Queen) abandons Philip and is even persuaded falsely to admit to being Philip’s father. Abdelazer betrays the Queen and has her murdered by one of his henchmen. He courts and tries to rape Princess Leonora (she is saved by Osmin), but rapidly falls from power. The Queen is killed, and Abdelazer is captured with Osmin’s help. Mendoza repents, Philip ascends the throne, and Abdelazer is killed.

Britons, Strike Home!

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origin#

In the last year of Purcell’s life, he wrote the music for an October 1695 adaptation of John Fletcher’s tragedy, Bonduca, called Bonduca, or the British Heroine. Purcell’s score has the “Z number” Z 574 and ranks amongst his finest music for the theatre, In the play, the Ancient British general, Charatach is trying to rouse the army of Queen Bonduca against the Romans. He appeals to their god Divine Andate and finally commands, Now Sing, ye Druids. The Druids take up the theme with a duet, To Arms, To Arms! followed by a solo and Druid chorus, Britons, Strike Home! In 1728, the tune was used as Air LIX in The Beggar’s Opera by John Gay.

Café Müller

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Original production#

Pina Bausch created and performed Café Müller, a dance set to the music of Henry Purcell, for her dance company Tanztheater Wuppertal, in 1978. The dance is 45 minutes long. The setting is a deserted cafe with scattered tables and chairs, in which the dancers stumble around, eyes closed, bumping into the chairs and each other. Bausch had most of the dancers perform this piece with their eyes closed. The six dancers continually lift, drop, and chase each other. The performance took place on 20 May 1978 at the Opernhaus Wuppertal.

Come Ye Sons of Art

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background and history of the work#

As a court composer, Purcell was given the task of composing odes for the birthday of Queen Mary. Come, Ye Sons of Art, written for performance in April 1694, was the sixth and final ode: Queen Mary died at the end of that year. 20th-century performances included the inaugural concert of the BBC Third Programme (the forerunner of Radio 3) in 1946.

Scoring and structure#

The ode is scored for 2 recorders, 2 oboes, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings, basso continuo and a choir with soprano, alto/countertenor, and bass soloists. It is possible that this instrumentation reflects additions by an 18th-century editor.

Dido and Aeneas

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background and context#

Before Dido and Aeneas, Purcell had composed music for several stage works, including nine pieces for Nathaniel Lee’s Theodosius, or The Force of Love (1680) and eight songs for Thomas d’Urfey’s A Fool’s Preferment (1688). He also composed songs for two plays by Nahum Tate (later the librettist of Dido and Aeneas), The Sicilian Usurper (1680) and Cuckold’s Haven (1685). Dido and Aeneas was Purcell’s first (and only) all-sung opera and derives from the English masque tradition.

Dido's Lament

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The Aeneid#

The text, as well as Purcell’s opera, is based on the Aeneid, the Roman epic poem by Virgil about the Trojan warrior Aeneas, travelling to Italy from the fallen Troy in order to settle there and secure his son Ascanius’s lineage. Their ship is blown off course from Sicily, and they land on the shore of North Africa in Carthage, a town newly settled by refugees from Tyre. Aeneas falls in love with their queen, Dido, but dutifully departs for Italy, leaving her. Distraught at his betrayal, she orders a pyre to be built and set ablaze so that Aeneas will see from his ship that she has killed herself. She sings the lament before stabbing herself as Aeneas sails on.

Dioclesian

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Synopsis#

The story is ostensibly about the struggle for power in Ancient Rome, but actually about the universal struggle between love and duty. Delphia, a prophetess, foretells that Diocles, a footsoldier, will become emperor after he kills a “mighty boar” and marry Delphia’s niece Drusilla, who is in love with him. Diocles takes the prophecy seriously, and starts slaughtering pigs. As it turns out, a soldier called Volutius Aper (Aper=boar) has murdered the old emperor, and Diocles kills Aper in revenge. As a reward for this action he is made co-emperor and renames himself Dioclesian. He ignores his promise to marry Drusilla, and courts his co-emperor’s sister the princess Aurelia instead. This angers Delphia, who brings the wedding ceremony to a stop by conjuring a storm and a monster. She then causes the princess to fall in love with Diocles’ rival Maximinian, and the Persians to defeat the Roman army. Diocles realises the error of his ways, routs the invaders, cedes his half of the throne to Maximinian, and moves to Lombardy with Drusilla.

Fairest Isle

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Music and lyric#

“Fairest Isle” forms part of a sequence of songs, dramatically somewhat unconnected, which form the masque in act 5 of King Arthur. It is sung by Venus, a soprano part, and takes the form of a minuet in which, according to Grove, the “noble melody is supported by richly dissonant harmony”. Being in triple time it might have seemed ill-assorted with Dryden’s lyrics, which are in duple metre, but for Purcell’s art in reconciling the different metres. At the time this was a quite common practice for English composers, necessitated by the dominance of duple metre in 17th-century English poetry. An instrumental arrangement of “Fairest Isle” is preserved in Purcell’s Ayres for the Theatre and presumably was intended to be played at some point in King Arthur, but precisely where is not known.

Funeral Sentences and Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Purcell composed a setting of the sixth of the seven sentences of the Anglican Burial Service (“Thou Knowest Lord”, Z. 58C) for the occasion, together with the March and Canzona, Z. 780.

Text and instrumentation#

The work is scored for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, four trumpets, and basso continuo. The text is from the Book of Common Prayer (1662): 1. Man that is born of a woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of misery. He cometh up, and is cut down like a flower; he fleeth as it were a shadow, and ne’er continueth in one stay. 2. In the midst of life we are in death: of whom may we seek for succour, but of thee, O Lord, who for our sins art justly displeased? Yet, O Lord, O Lord most mighty, O holy and most merciful Saviour, deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death. 3. Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts; shut not thy merciful ears unto our pray’rs; but spare us, Lord most holy, O God most mighty. O holy and most merciful Saviour, thou most worthy Judge eternal, suffer us not, at our last hour, for any pains of death, to fall from thee. Amen.

Hail! Bright Cecilia

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Text#

Brady’s poem was derived from John Dryden’s “A Song for St Cecilia’s Day” of 1687. Following Dryden, Brady extols the birth and personality of musical instruments, including the idea that Cecilia invented the organ (see note ). Purcell responds to the text by giving emphasis to the colours and dramatic possibilities of the baroque orchestra. The reference to “Atoms bind” in the fifth movement might have been influenced by Robert Boyle’s The Sceptical Chymist.

Hear my prayer, O Lord (Purcell)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History and music#

The composition is thought to have been intended to be part of a longer work, indicated by several blank pages following it in the autograph, which is held by the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. The text of the extant music are the first verse of Psalm 102: “Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my crying come unto thee.” (). Purcell set it for an a cappella choir consisting of eight voice parts: two soprano parts, two altos, two tenors and two basses (SSAATTBB). The anthem is 34 measures long, and is written in the key of C minor. Some arrangements include a continuo instrumental accompaniment. Musicologist and historian Franklin B. Zimmerman designated the anthem as “Z. 15” in his catalogue of Purcell’s works. The duration of performances and recordings of this work varies considerably, from about two minutes to over three minutes in length. Purcell begins the composition with a simple setting of the first line on one tone, with only one exception, a minor third up on the word “O”. After the first phrases, Purcell employs six to eight parts, in complex “pungent” harmonies which build to what the conductor Robert King calls “an inexorable vocal crescendo lasting over three minutes, culminating on a monumental discord on the last repetition of ‘come. Musicologist Timothy Dickey notes that Purcell “gradually amplified the vocal texture, and intensifies the harmonic complexity, until all eight voices combine in a towering dissonant tone cluster which desperately demands the final cadential resolution.” The anthem has been recorded many times, including a 1995 release by the Collegium Vocale Gent, conducted by Philippe Herreweghe, and one from 2006 by the Choir of Clare College Cambridge, conducted by Timothy Brown.

King Arthur (opera)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Composition#

Dryden probably wrote the original libretto for King Arthur in 1684 to mark the 25th anniversary of King Charles II’s Restoration the following year. The original text of King Arthur no longer exists but it was to be in three acts with an allegorical prologue. For unknown reasons Dryden abandoned his intention to have the whole work set to music and developed the prologue into another opera, Albion and Albanius, a collaboration with the Catalan composer Louis Grabu. However, Charles II died in February 1685 and Albion and Albanius was first inauspiciously performed in June 1685 during the Monmouth Rebellion. It was a failure and Dryden shelved any plans he had for the rest of the King Arthur libretto. In the meantime, England entered a turbulent period in its history. After the Catholic James II took the throne, Dryden too converted to Catholicism. When the Protestant William III overthrew James in the Glorious Revolution in 1688, Dryden refused to renounce his faith and so lost his job as poet laureate to his rival Thomas Shadwell. Purcell’s career had also suffered after the death of the music-loving Charles II. With their sources of royal patronage gone, both playwright and composer were looking to make money as freelance professionals and the London stage offered attractive opportunities. In 1690, the theatre manager Thomas Betterton decided to risk putting on another operatic work, the first since the ill-fated Albion and Albanius. This was the semi-opera Dioclesian (1690), an adaptation of a play by Beaumont and Fletcher. Purcell’s music for the production and the lavish staging made it a triumph and Betterton was eager for another such success. He persuaded Dryden to dust off and revise the libretto for King Arthur so Purcell could set it. The two had already collaborated on stage works (Dryden had written the prologue for Dioclesian and Purcell the incidental music for Dryden’s comedy Amphitryon) and Dryden was effusive in his praise of Purcell’s musical abilities. He also made alterations to suit Purcell’s musical needs: “the Numbers of Poetry and Vocal Musick, are sometimes so contrary, that in many places I have been oblig’d to cramp my Verses, and make them rugged to the Reader, that they may be harmonious to the Hearer: Of which I have no Reason to repent me, because these sorts of Entertainments are principally design’d for the Ear and the Eye; and therefore in Reason my Art on this occasion, ought to be subservient to his.”

Lillibullero

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background#

The melody of “Lillibulero” is attributed to Henry Purcell. It is unclear whether he composed the tune or simply arranged it. It was first published in The Delightful Companion, John Playford’s 1686 method book for recorder. The famous melody appears in the second half of a quickstep by Purcell. No original manuscript has been found. Writing over 200 years later, William Chappell surmised that Purcell’s tune deserves nine-tenths of the credit for the popularity of the song. Also in 1686, Thomas, Lord Wharton composed lyrics for Purcell’s tune. The rakish Wharton was satirizing King James II’s appointment of Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell as Lord Deputy of Ireland. Wharton’s conceit is a sarcastic conversation between two Irishmen about the imminent arrival of the Catholic Talbot, and its dire implications for the Protestants. The song initially made very little impression on the public. However, when James II began transferring Irish regiments to England in 1688, broadsides of the lyrics were printed, and “Lillibullero” became immensely popular by October. It spread as a popular street song in English towns, and especially inside English barracks to mock the arriving Irish regiments. During the Glorious Revolution, the Whigs virtually adopted “Lillibullero” as their anthem. Many alternate versions cropped up during these tumultuous days. By 17 November an anti-Dutch parody of the original, “A New Song Upon the Hogen Mogens”, was in circulation, drawing on popular animosity against the Dutch, who had been the national enemy for a generation, to counter the original’s appeal.

Love Is a Bourgeois Construct

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Background and recording#

“Love Is a Bourgeois Construct” was written in 2012 in Berlin after the completion of the Pet Shop Boys’ album Elysium earlier that year. Chris Lowe had the idea to write music inspired by “Chasing Sheep Is Best Left to Shepherds”. Neil Tennant came up with the title based on a passage from the novel Nice Work by David Lodge, about a plant manager who falls in love with a feminist university lecturer. The songs on Electric were recorded and sequenced in alphabetical order; the demo was originally called Bourgeois, so it followed Bolshy. When the song was recorded for the album, producer Stuart Price used the sheet music from Purcell’s work.

Music for a While

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Structure#

Based on a repeating ground bass pattern, it is the second of four movements from his incidental music (Z 583) to Oedipus, a version of Sophocles’ play by John Dryden and Nathaniel Lee, published in 1679. It was composed for a revival of the work in 1692. The song was published posthumously in Orpheus Britannicus, book 2, 1702. It is sometimes described as a da capo aria, but this is incorrect, since Da Capo has two distinct and contrasting sections that can be marked as A and B, and, when put together, we call them ABA in form, accompanied by the words Da Capo written at the end of section B. Operatic Works written 20 or 30 years later than Purcell’s era / time were then set into a fixed pattern of construction. The B section would be the composer’s opportunity to write something perhaps very contrasting in nature from Section A. While Mr Purcell modulates away from the home key of C minor, it is not written as a Da Capo composition. This waits for a later date in the early 18th century to be used and standardised over and over again in a recognisable format. Structurally, it is an extension of the ground bass, which repeats the same structure throughout, but moves to related keys before returning to the original key. Nowhere is the phrase Da Capo employed by the composer.

Nymphs and Shepherds

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Textual history#

The Libertine is a version of the Don Juan legend. The song “Nymphs and shepherds, come away” occurs in a pastoral interlude at the beginning of Act IV, after an orchestral introduction – a “Symphony of Rustick Musick”. :Nymphs and shepherds, come away, :In this grove let’s sport and play; :For this is Flora’s holiday, :Sacred to ease and happy love, :To music, to dancing and to poetry. :Your flocks may now securely rest :While you express your jollity! :Nymphs and shepherds, come away. :Nymphs and shepherds, pipe and play, :Tune a song, a festal lay; :For this is Flora’s holiday, :Lightly we tread o’er all the ground, :With music, with dancing and with poetry. :Then trip we round with merry sound, :And pass the day in jollity! :Nymphs and shepherds, come away.

Orpheus Britannicus

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

The first volume of Orpheus Britannicus was published in 1698 by Henry Playford; it was printed by John Heptinstall using an improved movable type he had invented, which allowed for beaming of quavers and shorter notes. A second volume, " … the second book, which renders the first compleat …", was published by Playford in 1702; it and all subsequent editions were printed by William Pearson using a font similar to Heptinstall’s, but smaller and neater. An expanded second edition of the first volume was published in 1706 in two printings, one by John Young and one by John Cullen; a third edition was published by ‘S.H.’ and John Young in 1721. A second edition of the second volume was published by ‘S.H.’, John Young and John Cullen in 1711, and again by ‘S.H.’ and John Young in 1712. Various volumes were published under this name by John Walsh between about 1730 and 1747; at least one of them was a collection of single-sheet editions of songs from the early years of the eighteenth century. The first publication of a section of Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas was the air “Ah! Belinda” in Orpheus Britannicus, transposed up one step, from C to D. Henry Hall, who had studied composition with Purcell under John Blow, wrote the dedicatory poems at the beginning of each volume, (1698 and 1702) and also wrote one for Blow’s Amphion Anglicus. Amphion Anglicus, a collection of songs, excerpts from odes and chamber music by John Blow, was published in 1700 in emulation of Orpheus Britannicus. A later engraver, Benjamin Cole (fl 1740–1760), printed as Orpheus Britannicus a seemingly unrelated set of engravings which he had made originally for The New Universal Magazine (1751–1759). Benjamin Britten, working with Peter Pears, realised (arranged) and edited a number of songs from Orpheus Britannicus for both solo singer with piano as part of Britten’s Purcell Realizations.

Rejoice in the Lord alway

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Text#

The text of this anthem is the epistle for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Philippians 4: 4–7:

Music#

“Rejoice in the Lord alway”, like many of Purcell’s anthems, begins with a symphony (here called a prelude), which has been acclaimed for its “luminous part-writing” and “wonderful sheen”. This is based on a ten-beat descending scale ostinato which, like the upper parts, imitates the pealing of bells. The three soloists introduce an eight-bar theme in triple time which is then repeated and developed by the strings. The soloists recapitulate their theme before moving to a second one, to which the choir responds joyfully, sometimes interrupted by the soloists singing “and again”. This section ends with the strings playing the symphony again. In a passage of a more sober quality the bass sings “Be careful for nothing”, then there is a homophonic evocation of “the peace of God which passeth all understanding”, developed by the strings. The initial triple-time theme returns, being performed first by the soloists, then the strings, and finally the choir in “brilliantly climactic” fashion.

Remember not, Lord, our offences

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Composition#

“Remember not, Lord, our offences” is an anthem for an a cappella choir consisting of five voice parts: two soprano parts, alto, tenor and bass (SSATB). Purcell originally composed the 44-measure work in the key of A minor. Some arrangements of the anthem include a continuo instrumental accompaniment. Musicologist and historian Franklin B. Zimmerman (born 1923) designated the anthem as “Z.50” in his catalogue of Purcell’s works. The lyrics of Purcell’s anthem are drawn from a passage in the beginning of the Exhortation and Litany compiled in 1544 by Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556), the Archbishop of Canterbury. Cranmer established the liturgical structures for the Church of England after the Reformation and prepared the church’s first official authorised vernacular service. He derived the text of the litany from two medieval Sarum rite litanies and a German litany by Martin Luther. Cranmer added the litany to the 1549 edition of the Book of Common Prayer and it has been included in subsequent editions. Purcell set an excerpt from the litany: Remember not, Lord, our offences, Nor th’ offences of our forefathers; Neither take thou vengeance of our sins, But spare us, good Lord. Spare thy people, whom thou hast redeem’d With thy most precious blood, And be not angry with us for ever. Spare us, good Lord. Scholars date the composition of “Remember not, Lord, our offences” to the period generally between 1679 and 1682. Cummings states that Purcell included it in a collection of anthems compiled in 1683. During this time, Purcell had been appointed Organist and Master of the Choristers of Westminster Abbey in 1679 with the resignation of John Blow. He dedicated the next few years entirely to the composition of sacred music. In his personal life, Purcell had married Frances Peters (or Pieters) who bore him a son that died shortly after birth. During the 1680s and tenure at Westminster Abbey and the Chapel Royal, Purcell compiled earlier and contemporary sacred music (including several of his own compositions) into one collection for the use of the choirs of both churches. Two extant manuscripts compiled by Purcell are currently held in the collections of the University of Cambridges Fitzwilliam Museum. Both manuscripts include “Remember not, Lord, our offences”. The choral anthems, including “Remember not, Lord, our offences”, that Purcell composed after his appointment to Westminster and before his appointment at the Chapel Royal are described as his “last concentrated involvement with the verse anthem without strings.” Adams states that the anthems of this period included revisions of earlier works, including his well-known setting of the Anglican funeral sentences, and that these works are “distinguished by complex contrapuntal textures, a concentration on a limited quantity of motivic material, and the somber expression of penitential texts.” Purcell’s anthems reflect the influence of compositional techniques developed by earlier composers William Byrd and Orlando Gibbons. These anthems are closely related to those composed by Purcell’s friend and teacher, John Blow, “with their basso seguente continuo and severe counterpoint, they are true stile antico.”

The Fairy-Queen

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Original production#

The Fairy-Queen was first performed on 2 May 1692 at the Queen’s Theatre, Dorset Garden in London by the United Company. The author or at least co-author of the libretto was presumably Thomas Betterton, the manager of Dorset Garden Theatre, with whom Purcell worked regularly. This belief is based on an analysis of Betterton’s stage directions. A collaboration between several playwrights is also feasible. Choreography for the various dances was provided by Josias Priest, who also worked on Dioclesian and King Arthur, and who was associated with Dido and Aeneas. A letter describing the original performance shows that the parts of Titania and Oberon were played by children of eight or nine. Presumably other fairies were also played by children; this affects our perspective on the staging.

The History of Timon of Athens the Man-hater

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

It was originally acted out at the Dukes Theatre, licensed by Roger L’Estrange, February 18, 1677/1678, and was printed in 1678 by J.M. for Henry Herringman. There is no record of a production of Shakespeare’s original play until Shadwell’s adaptation. Apart from re-writing the whole play in his own words, Shadwell adds some love interest with a mistress and a jealous fiancée for Timon. For a revival in 1694 Henry Purcell wrote some incidental music for the play, consisting of an overture and a suite of dances, and a masque with songs and choruses: it serves as an adjunct and allegory of the main play. In Zimmerman’s catalogue it appears as Purcell’s Z 632. In Act 1, scene 2 of Shakespeare’s play there is a masque of Amazons. Shadwell adapted this into a bucolic frivolity in Act 2, scene 1, in which Cupid and Bacchus, with a chorus of nymphs and satyrs, dispute whether love or wine is more important. With memories of Thomas Betterton (actor-manager of the Duke’s Company) in the title role and with Purcell’s music, the play was revived several times up to 1745. Actors included John Mills, Barton Booth, Mary Porter, Lucretia Bradshaw, William Milward and James Quin.

The Indian Queen (opera)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Commission and première#

The Indian Queen was commissioned by the United Company. The managers, struggling with discontented actors who were threatening to leave, and advised by Lord Chamberlain, a theater monitor, asked Sir Robert Howard to revise his earlier 1664 play with added music by Henry Purcell. Howard however would support the actors to leave before the première, and the actors were successful in doing so, creating their own company. This caused the United Company to première The Indian Queen with amateur actors and to commission additional music from Purcell. The semi-opera would première with some success, but other than a brief revival with added music by Purcell’s brother, Daniel, would quickly be forgotten from regular production.

The Modification and Instrumentation of a Famous Hornpipe as a Merry and Altogether Sincere Homage to Uncle Alfred

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Composition#

Luciano Berio was already known not only as an avant-garde composer, but also as an arranger, of his own music as well as of others. This composition was specifically composed for the celebration of the eightieth birthday of Alfred Kalmus, the then-director of the London branch of Universal Edition, Berio’s main publishing house. This composition ended up being the fifth in a series of compositions by eleven different composers, including Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Harrison Birtwhistle. The whole series of compositions was entitled A Garland for Dr. K. The whole set of works were premiered as a group by the Pierrot Players on 22 April 1969, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in the Southbank Centre, London. The Hornpipe was later published by Universal Edition.

Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts (Purcell)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Purcell set several funeral sentences from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer (BCP) for choir and continuo. Some of his autographs and manuscript copies are extant and permit conclusions about his artistic development. Of the eight funeral sentences in the BCP, Purcell set the four that are performed at the grave, but not the ones opening a burial service. He combined two of these four sentences into one movement: Purcell may have first set “Thou knowest” in 1672 , perhaps to complete sentences by Henry Cooke for Cooke’s funeral. It is a polyphonic setting. Purcell’s autograph is extant and kept at the British Library. It is among the earliest manuscripts in his hand, showing some features of youthful writing. Purcell revised the setting up to around 1680, represented in a copied scorebook at Oxford’s Christ Church, which was begun by Edward Lowe and continued by Richard Goodson. Other copies of the same version are also difficult to date. In 1681 at the latest, Purcell copied revised versions of other funeral sentences in a book of his collected works, leaving room for “Thou knowest” but not including it. Around the same time, he also copied works by earlier composers such as Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, and Christopher Gibbons, possibly to study their polyphony. Purcell composed his last setting of the same sentence for the Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary in 1695, Z. 58C. Here, the words are set mostly in homophony, possibly to complete sentences by Thomas Morley, whose setting of this particular sentence was rediscovered only later. Purcell used an older style to match Morley’s music. The setting of the sentence in the funeral music for Queen Mary was published by E. C. Schirmer in 1925 and reprinted in the first “Concord Series” collection of forty anthems for use in the Protestant churches, edited by Archibald T. Davison and Henry Wilder Foote. A subsequent edition, published by Carus in 1978, is available online. The revised 1988 edition of Purcell’s work included two revisions of the early version. Of two new 1995 editions, one by Christopher Hogwood contained three revisions.

Welcome to All the Pleasures

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Words#

Purcell set a text by Christopher Fishburn, a relatively obscure figure who was related to Sir Christopher Wren. It begins Welcome to all the pleasures that delight Of ev’ry sense the grateful appetite. Hail, great assembly of Apollo’s race. Hail to this happy place, this musical assembly That seems to be the arc of universal harmony.

Music#

The music is for vocal soloists, chorus and an ensemble of baroque instruments consisting of four-part strings (1st and 2nd violin, viola, cello) and basso continuo. As well as accompanying the singers, the instruments feature in an overture (called “symphony”) and ritornelli. The piece takes about 18 minutes to perform.