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...(+)
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).
PARTITION