Henry Purcell

This article is about the 17th-century composer. For the New York judge, see Henry Purcell (judge).
"Purcell" redirects here. For more uses, see Purcell (disambiguation).

Henry Purcell
Portrait by John Closterman, c. 1695
Bornc. 10 September 1659
Westminster, London, England
Died21 November 1695 (aged 36)
Marsham Street, London, England
EducationWestminster School
EraBaroque
WorksList of compositions
Children6, including Edward
RelativesEdward Henry Purcell (grandson)

Henry Purcell (/ˈpɜːrsəl/, rare: /pərˈsɛl/; c. 10 September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer and organist of the middle Baroque era. He was extremely prolific, having composed more than 100 songs, a tragic opera Dido and Aeneas, and wrote 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. Purcell is generally considered to be one of the greatest English composers.


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