Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

It is assumed from later evidence that Purcell was born in 1659. The following year the restoration of the monarchy brought Charles II to the throne and Purcell's father Henry was among the musicians who benefited from the return of the royal music, "the nation's largest musical institutions," which had been disbanded at the outbreak of the Civil War in 1642. Purcell died in 1664 and the young Henry was raised by his paternal uncle Thomas. Thomas and Henry were active office seekers and Thomas held no fewer than seven royal posts, ranging from Groom of the Robes to being one of the composers for the newly-instituted Twenty-four Violins--a royal ensemble on call for the provision o

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ormed at the end of the eighteenth century. It was fortunate that this proved to be such a strong area for Purcell since the royal patronage of music underwent serious reversals in the 1780s. Under Charles II spending was out of control and musicians sometimes had to wait as long as five years to collect their salaries. As a result they "had been forced to supplement their incomes by teaching, playing in theaters, and giving public concerts" and when the arrears were finally paid in 1685 it was too late and the royal musical establishment was no longer the center of England's musical life. Charles died in the same year and James II engaged in a series of reforms and financial retrenchments so extensive that by 1690 court employment became "just an occasional activity on ceremonial occasions" and this year saw the beginning of Purcell's truly "hectic life in the theatre." Purcell had written his only true opera (with continuous music) Dido and Aeneas during the 1680s, ostensibly for performance by a girls' academy in London--but the piece does not seem to have been given a public performance during Purcell's life. Charles II had tried several times to establish an English opera company of the Italian type and Purcell was
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2128
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)