Purcell’s father was a gentleman of the Chapel Royal and sang at the coronation of King Charles II of England. 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 arranged for Henry to be admitted as a chorister, where he studied first under Captain Henry Cooke, Master of the Children, and afterwards under Pelham Humfrey, Cooke’s successor, who was a pupil of Lully.

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. His compositions include more than 100 songs, the tragic opera Dido and Aeneas, and his incidental music to a version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream called The Fairy Queen.

In 1677, Purcell succeeded Matthew Locke as the composer for Charles II’s string orchestra and in 1679 was appointed organist of Westminster Abbey in succession to John Blow. A further appointment as one of the three organists of the Chapel Royal followed in 1682. He retained all his official posts through the reigns of James II and William III and Mary.

Purcell married in 1680 or 1681 and had at least six children, three of whom died in infancy. His son Edward was also a musician, as was Edward’s son Edward Henry (died 1765). Purcell seems to have spent all his life in Westminster. A fatal illness prevented him from finishing the music for the operatic version of John Dryden and Sir Robert Howard’s verse tragedy The Indian Queen (1664), which was completed after his death by his brother Daniel.
Purcell’s legacy includes a vast array of compositions that have had a lasting impact on English music and are still celebrated today for their originality and inventiveness.

Music from King Arthur: Purcell (with Dryden) completed the ‘semi-opera’ King Arthur in 1685, to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Restoration. After some private…