Composer
Henry Purcell
English composer (1659–1695)
1659–1695
1,568 works and musical collections
- Born
- 1659
- Died
- 1695
- Birthplace
- Westminster
- Place of death
- Westminster
- Citizenship / historical state
- Kingdom of England
- Period (estimated from birth year)
- Baroque
Biography
Purcell is the last great English composer before the twentieth century and wrote for a world of theatre music, court odes and church anthems that no longer exists, which makes the practical repertoire smaller than the catalogue suggests.
What singers actually use are the songs and the Dido and Aeneas arias, and 'When I am laid in earth' is one of the most-performed pieces in this index. Keyboard players have the harpsichord suites and the grounds, several of which are accessible early. Choirs have the anthems and the funeral music.
His notation leaves ornaments and continuo to convention even more than his continental contemporaries, so editions differ substantially. For the songs in particular, a realised edition with a written-out keyboard part is worth having unless you are able to play from a figured bass.
Life and musical career
- Occupations
- composer; organist; musicologist; music theorist; author
- Education
- Westminster School
- Teachers
- Pelham Humfrey; John Blow; Henry Cooke; Matthew Locke
- Instruments played
- pipe organ; harpsichord
- Movements
- Baroque music
- Notable works
- Dido and Aeneas; Who can from joy refrain?; The Fairy-Queen; Hail, bright Cecilia; I attempt from Love's sickness to fly; Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts; Abdelazer Suite
- Official website
- http://www.henrypurcell.org.uk
- Languages used
- English
- VIAF ID
- 5118737
- ISNI
- 0000000121188274
- GND ID
- 118742973
- Library of Congress ID
- n79095298
- MusicBrainz ID
- ddea5540-2c7d-4266-8507-b367c2635d35
Recorded in Wikidata. Affiliations may refer to earlier stages of the composer's career.
In this catalogue
- Common listed instruments
- Voice, Piano, harpsichord, Organ, Choir
- Genres represented
- Classical, pop, Baroque, Pop, Latin
- Source entries with composition dates
- 12
These details describe the indexed sheet music, including arrangements.
Catalogue
Sheet music catalogue page 1 of 33
Instruments describe listed editions, including arrangements. Composition dates and keys appear where recorded; collection pages show their individual contents.
| Title | Work details | Listed instruments | Sheet music |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dido and Aeneas, Z. 626: Act III "Thy Hand Belinda" / Dido's Lament "When I am Laid in Earth" | See work details |
9 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| Trumpet Tune | See work details |
12 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| Dance | See work details |
| View sheet music |
| Overture | See work details |
10 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| Trumpet tune, ZT. 698 | See work details |
12 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| If music be the food of love (3rd version) | See work details |
7 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| 'Tis Nature's Voice | See work details |
5 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| I Attempt from Love's Sickness to Fly |
|
6 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| Work & excerpts Rondeau | See work details | Check individual editions | View sheet music |
| Hornpipe | See work details |
11 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| Man Is for the Woman Made | See work details |
3 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| I'll Sail Upon The Dog Star | See work details |
| View sheet music |
| Hark! The Ech'ing Air | See work details |
| View sheet music |
| 6. Air | See work details |
11 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| Rondo In D Minor (Abdelazer) |
|
| View sheet music |
| Purcell: Fifteen Songs and Airs for Contralto or Baritone from the Operas and Masques | See work details |
| View sheet music |
| Purcell: Fifteen Songs and Airs for Soprano or Tenor from the Operas and the Odes | See work details |
| View sheet music |
| Rondo (I attempt from love's sickness) | See work details |
9 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| Menuet (Fron Die Singende Muse An Der Pliebe) | See work details |
| View sheet music |
| Rondeau from Abdelazar | See work details |
| View sheet music |
| 6. Minuet | See work details |
4 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| Rondo from Abdelazer | See work details |
| View sheet music |
| Work & excerpts Hail, bright Cecilia! | See work details | Check individual editions | View sheet music |
| Thus To A Ripe Consenting Maid (The Old Bachelor) | See work details |
1 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| Rigadoon (H Purcell) | See work details |
11 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| Birthday Ode for Queen Mary "Come Ye Sons of Art", Z. 323: III. Sound the Trumpet | See work details |
9 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| Suite from the Fairy Queen | See work details |
1 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| Ah! Belinda | See work details |
2 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| Fear No Danger | See work details |
| View sheet music |
| Sweeter than roses | See work details |
2 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| What Can We Poor Females Do | See work details |
| View sheet music |
| I saw that you were grown so high | See work details |
| View sheet music |
| Ah! how pleasant 'tis to love | See work details |
| View sheet music |
| Thou Knowest, Lord, The Secrets Of Our Hearts | See work details |
4 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| Minuet in A Minor |
|
| View sheet music |
| March (From Suite No. 5) | See work details |
5 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| What A Sad Fate (Version A & B) | See work details |
| View sheet music |
| Tis Too Late For a Coach | See work details |
| View sheet music |
| Sonata for Trumpet and Strings | See work details |
| View sheet music |
| 2. Trumpet Air | See work details |
2 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| Sonatina in G Major [Op. 4, No. 10] Additional credits Samuel Wesley |
|
| View sheet music |
| Music for A While |
|
2 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| The Knotting Song | See work details |
| View sheet music |
| Hear My Prayer, O Lord | See work details |
4 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| We Praise Thee (Te Deum) Purcell | See work details |
| View sheet music |
| An Epithalamium (Wedding Song) | See work details |
| View sheet music |
| Take Not A Woman's Anger Ill (The Rival Sisters) | See work details |
1 more instruments
| View sheet music |
| Trumpet Tune in D | See work details |
| View sheet music |
Biographical record: Wikidata, matched on name and checked against dates held in the catalogue. The period label is an estimate from birth year. The biography above is our own. Authority record: VIAF 5118737. Portrait: anonymous, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.