Henry Purcell

Paper Summary:

Henry Purcell (1659-1695) was one of the greatest English composers. In a very short lifetime he managed to write a large amount of music in various genres, much of which is still played and admired today.

From the Paper:

"Henry Purcell (1659-1695) was one of the greatest English composers. In a very short lifetime he managed to write a large amount of music in various genres, much of which is still played and admired today. But Purcell's greatest talent was in the composition of vocal works and English opera had not yet developed sufficiently in Purcell's lifetime to give him the scope his talent required. Rather than writing full-scale operas Purcell wrote scores for a hybrid form of dramas with music and incidental music for a great number of plays and masques. Despite the failure to find a perfect match between his talent and the complementary musical form, Purcell wrote theatrical music of great dramatic power and works of other types, such as those for keyboard, that were both charming and brilliant.

It is assumed from later evidence that Purcell was born in ..."

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