Search Results - Purcell, Henry, 1659-1695

Henry Purcell

Henry Purcell (, rare: ; The stress on the second syllable is sometimes heard today, as mentioned by the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, but it and the Oxford Companion to Music emphasise that stress on the first syllable is the standard pronunciation in both the United Kingdom and North America. The stress on the second syllable is so rare that some English dictionaries do not even mention it, such as the [https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/purcell Collins English Dictionary] and the [https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/henry-purcell Oxford Learner's Dictionary].|group=n}} September 1659, there is uncertainty regarding the year and day of birth. No record of baptism has been found. The year 1659 is based on Purcell's memorial tablet in Westminster Abbey and the frontispiece of his ''Sonnata's of III. Parts'' (London, 1683). The day 10 September is based on vague inscriptions in the manuscript ''GB-Cfm 88''. It may also be relevant that he was appointed to his first salaried post on 10 September 1677, which would have been his 18th birthday.|group=n}} – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version of Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' called ''The Fairy Queen''.

Purcell's musical style was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest English opera composers, Purcell has been assessed with John Dunstaple and William Byrd as England's most important early music composer. Provided by Wikipedia Read More