The Great Musicians: Purcell

The biography traces the life, family, and musical career of Henry Purcell, situating his development within the revival and later suppression of English music under changing regimes. It scrutinizes available evidence, challenges earlier inaccuracies in musical histories, and reconstructs a chronological account of appointments, compositions, and contemporaries while acknowledging gaps from lost manuscripts and neglected sources. The narrative combines critical commentary on church and theatrical works with practical material—family notes, lists of organists, chronological memoranda, footnotes, and an index—to provide a compact scholarly introduction and a foundation for further research.