As England's greatest composer of the Baroque, Henry Purcell was dubbed the "Orpheus Britannicus" for his ability to combine pungent English counterpoint with expressive, flexible, and dramatic word settings. While he did write instrumental music, including the important viol fantasias, the vast majority of his output was in the vocal/choral realm. His only opera, Dido and Aeneas, divulged his sheer mastery in the handling of the work's vast expressive canvas, which included lively dance numbers, passionate arias and rollicking choruses. Purcell also wrote much incidental music for stage productions, including that for Dryden's King Arthur. His church music includes many anthems, devotional songs, and other sacred works, but few items for Anglican services.

Purcell was born in 1659 to Henry Purcell, master of choristers at Westminster Abbey, and his wife Elizabeth. When he was five, his father died, forcing his mother to resettle the family of six children into a more modest house and lifestyle. In about 1668, Purcell became a chorister in the Chapel Royal, studying under chorus master Henry Cooke. He also took keyboard lessons from Christopher Gibbons, son of the composer Orlando Gibbons, and it is likely that he studied with John Blow and Matthew Locke. In 1673, Purcell was appointed assistant to John Hingeston, the royal instrument keeper.

On September 10, 1677, Purcell was given the Court position of composer-in-ordinary for the violins. It is believed that many of his church works date from this time. Purcell, a great keyboard virtuoso by his late teens, received a second important post in 1679, this one succeeding Blow as organist at Westminster Abbey, a position he would retain all his life. That same year saw the publication of five of the young composer's songs in John Playford's Choice Ayres and Songs to Sing to the Theorbo-lute or Bass-viol. Around the same time, he began writing anthems with string accompaniment, completing over a dozen before 1685, and welcome songs. Purcell was appointed one of three organists at the Chapel Royal in the summer of 1682, his most prestigious post yet.

This verse anthem appears in many manuscripts copied during the twenty years after Purcell’s death, suggesting that it was an especially popular piece around the British cathedrals. The majority of the work is for an alto/tenor/bass trio, and the chorus appears briefly twice, with material that an average choir could learn rapidly. Perhaps the Chapel Royal choir was busy or just rather weak when Purcell wrote the anthem: with no known date of composition we can only guess, though the indications are that it is maybe one of Purcell’s later works. The vocal writing in the opening section is quite simple, with the main triple-time theme passed between the three solo voices. The mood changes briefly at ‘I have sworn and am steadfastly purposed’, and there is graphic rising chromaticism for ‘I am troubled above measure’: the dancing triple metre returns for ‘Quicken me’, the ‘O’ of ‘O Lord’ neatly thrown between the upper and lower voices, and this material is repeated by the full chorus. ‘Let the freewill offerings’ is delightfully tuneful in its back-dotting, with ‘and teach me thy judgements’ equally charmingly treated. The light mood briefly disappears at ‘The ungodly have laid a snare for me’ but the lilting triple time returns for the melismatic ‘They are the very joy of my heart’ and leads into a final Alleluia. Simple the individual melodic phrases may be, but the overall effect is perfect in its balance.

Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Purcell).

Although originally composed for Voices (SSATB) & Basso Continuo, I created this interpretation of "Thy word is a lantern" (Z.61) for Winds (Flute, Oboe, French Horn & Bassoon) & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).