Henry Purcell

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Henry Purcell, Portrait of John Closterman (1660-1711)

Henry Purcell [ hɛnɹɪ pɜr'sɛl ] (* 10. September 1659 () in? Westminster ; † 21st November 1695 ) was an English composer of the Baroque . Even during his lifetime he was considered the most important English composer and was therefore honored with the honorary title Orpheus britannicus .

Life

Henry Purcell was the son of a member of the Chapel Royal , built around 1660, the Chapel of King Charles II . He received his training as a choirboy of the same chapel by their head Henry Cooke († 1672) and his successor Pelham Humfrey (1647–1674). After Humfrey's death, he continued his training with John Blow and Matthew Locke (1621 / 22–1677). In 1676 he took over the post of organist at Westminster Abbey . In the same year he wrote music for John Dryden's play Aureng-Zebe and for Thomas Shadwell's Epsom Wells and The Libertine . This was followed by more drama music, including an overture and a masque to Shadwell's adaptation of Shakespeare's Timon of Athens .

Audio sample: "I was glad"

In 1682 Purcell was hired as organist at Chapel Royal , a position he held at the same time as his organist at Westminster Abbey. His first works to appear in print, the Twelve Sonatas , were published in 1683. In the years that followed he mainly created sacred music and odes on festive occasions for the royal family. In 1685, on the occasion of the coronation of James II , he wrote two of his most famous anthems , I was glad and My heart is inditing . In 1687 he continued his connection with the London theaters and wrote music for Dryden's tragedy Tyrannick Love .

The performance of his first opera Dido and Aeneas is documented for the year 1689 , which was later followed by 38 dramatic musical works, which both through their subjects (partly after William Shakespeare , partly by John Dryden ) as well as through their originality and high artistic value the music caused a stir. His church compositions were no less appreciated by his contemporaries and successors, including Handel .

In 1690 he wrote songs for Dryden's version of Shakespeare's The Tempest , including Full fathom five and Come unto these yellow sands , and music for Betterton's adaptation of Fletcher and Massinger's Prophetess (later better known as Dioclesian ) and Dryden's Amphitryon ; The semi-opera King Arthur was written in 1691 , also based on a libretto by Dryden. In 1692 Purcell composed music for The Fairy Queen , an adaptation of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night 's Dream . In 1693 he wrote music for two comedies by William Congreve : The Old Bachelor and The Double Dealer .

Purcell's masterpieces include his Te Deum and Jubilate , which were written for the Day of St. Cecilia in 1694 - this is the first English Te Deum with orchestral accompaniment. He composed an anthem for the funeral service of Queen Mary II of England in 1694.

Henry Purcell died in 1695 at the zenith of his career, just in his mid-thirties. He was buried next to the organ in Westminster Abbey. On his tombstone it says: Here lyes Henry Purcell Esq., Who left this life and is gone to that blessed place where only his harmony can be exceeded.

His widow Frances Purcell published some of his works in print, including the famous Orpheus Britannicus collection (two books, 1698 and 1702). She died in 1706. Purcell presumably had a son, Edward (1689-1740), who also composed.

The relationships to the other musicians in the Purcell family are not definitively broken down. The composer Daniel Purcell (approx. 1664–1717) is possibly his brother or a cousin. The last known musician in this family, Edward Henry Purcell (? –1765), was probably his grandson.

reception

Frontispiece of the 2nd edition of Orpheus Britannicus , published by William Pearson, London 1706

Purcell was so famous in his day that he was mistakenly attributed the popular piece of music Trumpet Voluntary , which is actually by Jeremiah Clarke and is called Prince of Denmark's March . Already honored with this title by contemporaries, Purcell was long considered the greatest English composer, mainly because of his vocal works. Purcell's sensitive use of the English language is remarkable. Purcell later influenced modern British composers such as Benjamin Britten , Michael Tippett , Peter Maxwell Davies and Michael Nyman .

In 1836 a Purcell Club was founded in London , which had set itself the task of performing his works, but was dissolved in 1863. In 1876 the Purcell Society was founded, dedicated to the publication of his works in print and initiated a complete edition.

The anthem for the funeral service of Queen Mary II of England was used in an electronic version by Wendy Carlos to the theme music for Stanley Kubrick's film A Clockwork Orange and was also used in Conker's Bad Fur Day in the intro.

Even modern rock musicians refer to him: Pete Townshend from the group The Who counts Purcell to his most important influences, which becomes clear, for example, in the opening bars of Pinball Wizard . Even Klaus Nomi interpreted works by Purcell as a countertenor .

The Purcell snowfield on the West Antarctic Alexander I Island has been named after him since 1961 . In 1990 the asteroid (4040) Purcell was named after him.

plant

Operas:

Semi-operas :

Anthems (selection):

In addition, numerous pieces of vocal and instrumental music such as harpsichord and organ pieces, choral works, including two Cäcilienoden , as well as 42 duets and over 100 songs .

The Zimmerman directory (Z) provides a complete list of Purcell's works .

Complete edition of his works: The Works of Henry Purcell (London 1878-, rev. 1961-) ( Purcell Society Edition).

literature

  • Michael Burden (Ed.): The Purcell Companion. London 1995.
  • Peter Holman: Henry Purcell. Oxford 1994.
  • Curtis Price: Henry Purcell and the London Stage. Cambridge 1984.
  • Curtis Price (Ed.): Purcell Studies. Cambridge 1995.
  • Franklin B. Zimmerman : Henry Purcell 1659-1695. His Life and Times. London 1967, 2nd edition 1983.
  • Jonathan Keates: Purcell. A biography. Faber and Faber, London 2009. ISBN 978-0-571-24909-1 .
  • Bruce Wood: Purcell. An extraordinary life. London 2009, ISBN 978-1-86096-298-1 .

Film adaptations

Web links

Commons : Henry Purcell  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files