The church music of Henry Purcell with special reference to its usefulness for performance in schools

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THE CHURCH MUSIC OF HENRY PURCELL WITH REFERENCE TO ITS USEFULNESS FOR PERFORMANCE IN SCHOOLS

A T h e s is P r e s e n te d to th e F a c u lty of th e School of Music U n iv e r s ity o f S o uthern C a l i f o r n i a

In P a r t i a l F u l f i l l m e n t of th e R equirem ents f o r th e Degree M aster o f Music

fcy Thomas Grlen Emmitt June 1942

UMI Number: EP61756

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TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I.

PAGE

JUSTIFICATION Method o f P ro c ed u re

1. 3

II.

LIFE FACTS

o/"*

III.

BACKGROUND

26

IV .

A sp ec ts of th e Era

26

G eneral M usical Background

28

Background of Vocal Music

36

E f f e c t of R efo rm ation on M usicians

43 47

STYLE In tro d u c tio n

47

C o nclusio n s

49

Word S e t t i n g

50

Example I

51

Example I I

52

Example I I I

53

Example IV

54

Voice Leading

56

Example V

58

Example VI

58

Example VII

58

Example V III

58'

Example

58

ii Example X

60

Example XI

60

Example XII

61

Example X III

61

Example XIV

61

Example XV

62

Example XVI

64

Example XVII

65

Harmony

66

Accompaniments

68

Use o f Continuo

69

S t r u c t u r e of Anthems

71

T reatm ent of R e c i t a t i v e

75

Example XIX A

74

Example XIX B

74

Example XX

75

Example XXI

76

C o n clu sio n

76

BIBLIOGRAPHY

78

APPENDIX

81

CHAPTER I JUSTIFICATION The n a t u r a l im pulse o f anyone who h as made a stu d y of a g iv e n problem i s to j u s t i f y i t i n term s of i n t e r e s t and th o ro u g h n e ss .

F o r t u n a t e l y , however, a stu d y of th e church

music o f Henry P u r c e l l need n o t be j u s t i f i e d on such sub­ j e c t i v e ev id e n c e . s ig n ific a n t.

Two a s p e c t s of th e problem a r e a t once

F i r s t , th e music o f Henry P u r c e l l , th e church

music i n p a r t i c u l a r , i s known m ainly as a s p le n d id t r a d i ­ t i o n ; second, i t i s , as any m u sicia n who h a s s t u d i e d i t w i l l ad m it, r e a l l y g r e a t m usic. I n r e f e r e n c e to th e f i r s t p o in t i t i s to be n o te d t h a t P u r c e l l ’s music i s p erform ed v e ry l i t t l e .

I n f a c t , much of

i t i s not a v a i l a b l e except i n th e b e t t e r l i b r a r i e s and t h a t n ee d s to be co p ie d to o b t a i n c o p ie s f o r u s e w ith c h o ru s e s . There a r e s e v e r a l e x c e p tio n s to t h i s sta te m e n t b u t th e y a r e m ainly i n th e f i e l d o f P u r c e l l ’ s i n s t r u m e n ta l music and as such l i e o u ts i d e th e scope o f t h i s stu dy which d e a l s only w ith th e anthem s, which a r e o n ly a p a r t o f th e church music as a whole. The anthems a r e a v a i l a b l e from t h r e e s o u rc e s : f i r s t , th e o r i g i n a l m a n u s c r ip ts i n v a r io u s museums; second, th e ^ o v e l lo E d itio n which i s n o t p e r f e c t l y a u t h o r i t a t i v e ; and t h i r d , th e volumes o f th e P u r c e l l S o c ie ty E d iti o n which i s

th e f i n e s t a v a i l a b l e sou rce o f t h e anthem s.

However, th e

mere f a c t t h a t t h e anthems a r e i n e x i s t e n c e i n t h e s e forms does n o t mean t h a t any c h o i r can o b ta in them f o r u s e .

As

a m a t t e r o f f a c t , th e c irc u m s ta n c e s of t h e i r p u b l i c a t i o n p r e c lu d e such u se as th e m a n u s c r ip ts a r e u n o b ta in a b le and b o th of th e e d i t i o n s l i s t e d a r e e x p e n siv e .

T h e r e f o re , t h i s

t h e s i s has as a g o a l th e s e t t i n g o f one of th e anthems i n an a u t h o r i t a t i v e f a s h io n f o r modern ch oru s and o r c h e s t r a . To b r i n g th e problem to b e a r on music e d u c a tio n , th e s e t t i n g has been k e p t w ith in th e l i m i t s o f th e t e c h n i c a l c a p a c i t y o f any competent h ig h scho ol o r c h e s t r a and c h o ru s. The w r i t e r h a s f u r t h e r av o id ed th e use of any u n u su a l in s t r u m e n ts which might n o t be found i n sc h o o l o r c h e s t r a s . Having e a r l y in th e s tu d y become convinced t h a t th e music b e in g s t u d i e d was w orthy to ran k w ith th e g r e a t e s t of a l l tim e, th e w r i t e r d ev o ted c o n s id e r a b le space and tim e to an a n a l y s i s of th e s t y l e and c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s which seem r e s p o n s i b l e f o r th e q u a l i t y o f t h e work.

T his in t u r n

demanded a study of th e man h im s e lf and a loo k i n t o th e age i n which he worked.

The c h a p te r on P u r c e l l ' s l i f e

p r e s e n t s a l l t h e known f a c t s o f h i s l i f e and many o f th e su p p o sitio n s. F i n a l l y , i t i s f e l t t h a t th e s e t t i n g o f th e P u r c e l l anthem f o r h ig h school ch o ru s and o r c h e s t r a f i l l s a r e a l

3.

e d u c a tio n a l n ee d .

While music e d u c a to r s have done much

f i n e work i n r a i s i n g th e s ta n d a r d s o f music u sed i n s c h o o ls , th e y have been f a c e d by an im passe i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e f o r c h o ru s and o r c h e s t r a .

There a r e many f i n e works f o r t h i s

co m bination i n e x i s t e n c e such as th e M essiah o f Handel and th e E l i j a h of Mendelssohn b u t th e y a l l have common weak­ n e s s f o r th e h ig h school g rou p.

They te n d to p u t d an g e r­

o u s ly heavy demands on immature v o i c e s . n o t p r e s e n t i n t h e anthem p r e s e n t e d h e r e .

T h is v/eakness i s The v o c a l p a r t s

a r e v e ry easy and th e o r c h e s t r a h as been so t r e a t e d t h a t t h e chorus can be h e a rd c l e a r l y a t a l l tim e s .

The r e a s o n s

f o r th e s i m p l i c i t y o f th e v o c a l work in t h e s e anthems i s d is c u s s e d i n th e c h a p te r on S t y l e , S e c tio n VI. For t h e s e r e a s o n s and to meet th e s e needs t h i s t h e s i s h as been u n d e r ta k e n . METHOD OF PROCEDURE The method o f p ro c e d u re i n p r e p a r in g t h i s stu d y o f th e l i f e and anthems o f Henry P u r c e l l h as b e e n -d e v e lo p e d to meet th e problem s e n c o u n te re d .

F i r s t , a l l th e a v a i l a b l e

m a t e r i a l on th e man and h i s music were r e a d to d is c o v e r what was known and what, i n many c a s e s , was m erely s u r ­ m ised.

T his p o r t i o n o f th e stu d y h as n o t been e n t i r e l y

f r e e from d i f f i c u l t i e s due to th e f a c t t h a t th e war has made i t im p o s s ib le to o b t a i n some o f th e m a t e r i a l which i s

i n t h e v a r io u s a r c h i v e s i n England.

I t has, th e re fo re ,

been n e c e s s a r y to r e s o r t to secondary q u o ta tio n s when a t r u s t w o r t h y so u rce co uld be found.

Such f o o t n o t e s a s la c k

page numbers and o t h e r u s u a l r e s e a r c h d a t a a r e th e r e s u l t of t h i s n e c e s s i t y . A f t e r c o v e rin g th e l i t e r a t u r e on th e s u b j e c t , th e second s te p was to examine th e anthems th e m selv es i n th e P u r c e l l S o c ie ty E d iti o n .

At th e s u g g e s tio n of th e w r i t e r ,

th e C lark L ib r a r y h as added th e N ovello E d itio n of th e P u r­ c e l l anthems to t h e i r c o l l e c t i o n so t h a t i t i s now p o s s i b l e t o examine a l l o f th e s e works w ith o u t r e s o r t i n g to p h o to ­ sta ts. From th e P u r c e l l S o c ie ty E d itio n a l i s t o f one hundred and e ig h ty cadences h as been p r e p a r e d to f a c i l i t a t e th e stu d y of th e com poser’ s harm onic s t y l e .

These have been

s u b je c te d to e x h a u s tiv e a n a l y s i s and s e m i - s t a t i s t i c a l tr e a tm e n t to a r r i v e a t p r o v a b le c o n c lu s io n s .

P u rc e ll’s

harm onic tr e a tm e n t was a l s o compared to t h a t of s e v e r a l c o n te m p o ra rie s and to Bach i n th e n e x t g e n e r a t i o n . To make t h i s stu d y as com plete and s e l f - c o n t a i n e d as p o s s i b l e , a copy of one of th e anthems i n i t s o r i g i n a l form h as been in c lu d e d to c o n t r a s t w ith s t i l l a n o th e r which h as been s u b je c te d to modern tr e a tm e n t and o rc h e s tra l a m p lific a tio n .

T h is l a s t p r o j e c t h as a d u a l

5.

p u rp o s e , to make one o f th e s e g r e a t works a v a i l a b l e to any­ one who may w ish to ad v e n tu re i n t o t h a t f i e l d o f p erfo rm ­ an c e , and to d e m o n strate th e f a c t t h a t th e s e a r e among th e few g r e a t c h o r a l works which a r e e a s i l y p o s s i b l e f o r th e a v e ra g e h ig h sc h o o l group. The b i o g r a p h i c a l m a t e r i a l h a s been ta k e n from ev ery a v a i l a b l e so u rce and h as been s u b je c te d to a v ery r i g o r o u s e x a m in a tio n f o r a c cu rac y to en a b le f u t u r e s tu d e n ts to f i n d a u t h e n t i c in f o r m a tio n on P u r c e l l i n a compact and r e a d a b le form. C o n s id e ra b le e f f o r t h as been sp e n t on a r r i v i n g a t an a c c u r a t e p i c t u r e o f th e background o f th e tim e .

I t h as

been th o u g h t im p o rta n t to p l a c e P u r c e l l a g a i n s t th e c e n tu r y i n which he l i v e d to a r r i v e a t th e re a s o n s b eh in d c e r t a i n a s p e c t s o f h i s work.

T his h as had two r e s u l t s :

f i r s t , a c h a p te r on background, and second, v a r io u s p a r a ­ g ra p h s th ro u g h o u t th e t h e s i s b e a r i n g on t h e r e a s o n s f o r such t h i n g s as v e r s e anthem s. F i n a l l y , to p ro v id e a c o n v e n ie n t r e f e r e n c e to th e anthems i n th e P u r c e l l S o c ie ty E d i t i o n , a th e m a tic c a ta lo g u e h as b een p r e p a r e d .

T his g iv e s a d e s c r i p t i o n of

th e work a s to v o ic e s used and th e accom panim ental medium w ith enough of th e th e m a tic m a t e r i a l to make i t e a s i l y re c o g n isa b le .

CHAPTER I I LIFE FACTS Before b e g in n in g any d i s c u s s i o n of th e l i f e o f Henry P u r c e l l , h o n e s ty demands th e p l a i n sta te m e n t t h a t v e ry l i t t l e i s known about i t and t h a t t h i s i s e x c e e d in g ly d i f f i c u l t to s i f t out of th e mass o f m is in fo r m a tio n which h a s c o l l e c t e d i n th e y e a r s s in c e 1695.

P r a c t i c a l l y every

b io g r a p h e r h as f a l l e n i n t o t h e e r r o r of making a t some p o i n t d e d u c tio n s from i n s u f f i c i e n t e v id e n c e , th e id e a b e in g t h a t i f n o th in g i s known, som ething must be deduced. A c t u a l l y , much harm h as been done th e memory o f a v e ry g r e a t composer by th e c red e n ce g iv e n to rumor and t r a d i ­ tio n .

T h is p a p e r w i l l a tte m p t to av o id such e r r o r s and

w i l l , a t th e same tim e, draw a t t e n t i o n to th e m ajor p o i n t s at issu e . We do n o t know th e d a t e o f Henry P u r c e l l ’ s b i r t h . The i n s c r i p t i o n on h i s monument i n W estm inster Abbey s t a t e s t h a t he d ie d ’’Anno A e t a t i s suae 37 rno.", o r i n th e th irty -s e v e n th year of h is l i f e

"which may be ta k e n as

p r o v in g him to have been b o rn between November 21, 1658 and November 21, 1659".

(He d ie d November 21, 1 6 9 5 .)

The s ta te m e n t t h a t he l o s t h i s f a t h e r b e f o r e he was s i x y e a r s o f age (August 11, 1 6 6 4 ), i f i t can be a c c e p te d , s t i l l f u r t h e r l i m i t s th e tim e o f h i s b i r t h which must

7.

t h e r e f o r e have ta k e n p la c e betw een November 21, 1658 and A ugust 11, 1659.

Westrup q u o te s a n o th e r b i t of eviden ce 1. when he c i t e s t h e words na e t a t suae 24" on th e t i t l e page o f t h e S o n atas o f I I I P a r t s , p u b lis h e d i n 1683.

However,

t h i s must be h e l d \vith r e s e r v a t i o n as a l l r e c o r d s v/ere i n a g r e a t s t a t e o f c o n fu sio n a t th e tim e . A p a ra g ra p h from a n o th e r w r i t e r on th e s u b je c t de­ s e r v e s q u o tin g i n f u l l a s an example o f im a g in a tiv e f i c ­ tio n . "With th e d e a th of Cromwell, t h e sun of th e P u r i t a n w orld v a n is h e d , b u t h a p p ily a t th e same tim e a new s t a r i n th e m u sic a l firm am ent a r o s e . Cromwell d ie d i n 1658, a t W h ite h a ll, and i n th e same y e a r , w ith in bowshot of th e p a l a c e was b o rn th e fa v o re d c h i l d o f th e Muses, d e s t i n e d to r a i s e th e m u sical fame o f England to a h e i g h t i t had n ev er b e f o r e a t t a i n e d , and by b e a u t i f u l c r e a t i o n s to make f o r him­ s e l f a name o f undying fam e." We might c o n t r a s t t h i s w ith th e

sim ple o b j e c t i v e

p o i n t of view shown by Westrup who s t a t e s t h a t : " th e r e g i s t e r of h i s b a p tis m h as n o t been d is c o v e r e d and may n ev e r have been r e c o r d e d . "3* ^he whole a f f a i r ends as i t began; we do n o t know th e d a te o f Henry P u r c e l l ' s b i r t h .

1 W estrup, J . A.. P u r c e l l . (London: Dent, 1939) p . 4 2 Cummings, Wm. H., P u r c e l l , (London^ Low. 1881) p . 3 W estrup, J . A ., P u r c e l l . (London: Dent, 1939) p . 4

8.

The le n g th y q u o ta tio n g iv e n c o n tin u e s w ith a d i s ­ c u s s io n of th e p la c e of th e b i r t h : 11T h is welcome p r o d ig y was Henry P u r c e l l , h i s b i r t h p l a c e S t. Ann’s Lane, Old pye S t r e e t , Westmin­ s t e r . The p r e c i s e day o f h i s b i r t h t h e r e i s unknown, b u t t h e r e i s no doubt abo ut th e y e a r 1658. Some r e ­ mains o f th e house a r e s t i l l s ta n d in g . A s k e tc h of i t and th e a d j o in in g p re m is e s was made on th e f i f t e e n ­ t h of A p r i l , 1845, by R. W. W h i th a l l." However, i n s p i t e of t h i s sta te m e n t f o r \¥hich th e a u th o r b r i n g s forw ard no d e f i n i t e p r o o f , we do n o t know th e p la c e o f P u r c e l l ’ s b i r t h .

Westrup d is m is s e s th e whole

m a t t e r r a t h e r l i g h t l y by s a y in g : ”he may have been bo rn a t W e stm in ste r, s in c e h i s f a t h e r l i v e d t h e r e a f t e r th e R e s t o r a t i o n ”4 * The g e n e r a l c o n c lu s io n to be draivn from th e r e a d in g of many b io g r a p h ie s i s t h a t P u r c e l l was, p ro b a b ly , as Westrup sa y s, b o rn i n W e stm in ste r.

T his c o n c lu s io n i s n o t b a s e d on e v i­

dence b u t upon a judgment o f th e l i k e l i h o o d of th e o c c u r­ re n c e a s i n t i m a t e d .

No d e f i n i t e c o n c lu s io n seems l i k e l y

e v e r to be p o s s i b l e . Henry P u r c e l l , th e e l d e r , d ie d i n 1664 and th e g e n e r a l assum p tion i s t h a t , due to th e i n f l u e n c e o f Thomas

4. W estrup, J . A ., P u r c e l l .

(London: D ent, 1939) p . 4

9.

P u r c e l l , h i s b r o t h e r , Henry, th e younger, was a d m itte d a t once to th e Chapel R oyal. T h is d a te to o i s q u e s tio n e d by 5. Westrup who p l a c e s th e d a te o f P u r c e l l ' s e n tr y i n t o th e Chapel as l a t e as 1669.

The l i n e o f r e a s o n in g le a d in g to

t h i s c o n c lu s io n i s : "A p o p u la r t r a d i t i o n f o r which t h e r e i s no found­ a t i o n , a s s e r t s t h a t he ( P u r c e l l ) was o n ly s i x y e a rs o ld a t th e tim e . (Of h i s e n tra n c e to th e c h a p e l . ) I t seems an u n u s u a lly e a r l y age; and in d e ed analogy would su g g e st t h a t th e t r a d i t i o n i s f a l s e . Blow, Wise and Humphrey, who a r e c i t e d by Hawkins as b e lo n g in g to what he c a l l s ' t h e f i r s t s e t o f c h a p el c h i l d r e n ' a f t e r th e R e s t o r a t i o n were r e s p e c t i v e l y e le v e n , tw elve and t h i r t e e n i n 1660, and th e s e a g e s , i f th e y a re n o t e x c e p tio n a l would su g g e st t h a t a n c i e n t and modern p r a c t i c e were much th e sam e.'1 No d e f i n i t e c o n c lu s io n i s p o s s i b l e .

We do know, however,

t h a t P u r c e l l d i d e n t e r th e c h a p e l. The f a c t s we can q uo te w ith c e r t a i n t y c o n c ern in g ' P u r c e l l ' s c a r e e r i n th e Chapel Royal may be summarized as f o llo w s : 6.

1 . Westrup says t h a t " a l l we know d e f i n i t e l y about P u r c e l l ' s h i s t o r y a s a c h o irb o y i s t h a t h i s v o ic e b ro k e in 1673". T his sta te m e n t seems based on p a p e rs l i s t e d i n " K in g 's M usick". 7. 8. 2. Both Dupre and Cummings p o i n t o u t t h a t P u r c e l l i s c r e d i t e d w ith h a v in g w r i t t e n i n 1670, "The

6. W estrup, J . A ., P u r c e l l . (London: Dent, 1939) p . 8 7. Dupre, H e n ri, P u r c e l l . (New York: A.A.Knapp, 1928) p . 47 8. Cummings, Wm. H ., P u r c e l l . (London: Low, 1881) p . 20

10 .

a d d re s s o f th e C h ild re n of th e Chapel Royal to th e % n g and t h e i r m a s te r , C a p tain Cooke, on His M a je s t ie s B irth d a y , A. D. 1670, Composed by M aster P u r c e l l , one o f th e c h i l d r e n of th e s a id C hapel." Henry P u r c e l l was a l l th ro u g h l i f e to be b l e s s e d w ith many ap p o in tm en ts from th e Royal e s ta b li s h m e n ts .

The

f i r s t was so u n u su a l to a modern accustom ed to th e contem­ p o r a r y concept o f composers t h a t i t d e s e r v e s to be quoted in f u l l .

On June 10, 1673, a w a rra n t was is s u e d

"to admit Henry P u r c e l l in th e p la c e o f k e e p e r , maker, mender, r e p a y r e r and tu n e r o f th e r e g a l l s , o rg a n s, v i r g i n a l l s , f l u t e s and r e c o r d e r s and a l l o t h e r k in d o f wind in s t r u m e n ts w h atso ev er, i n o r d in a r y w ith o u t f e e , to His M a jesty , and a s s i s t a n t to John H in g sto n e , and upon th e d e a th o r o t h e r avoydance o f th e l a t t e r , to come i n o r d in a r y w ith f e e . " 9. I n l i t t l e more th a n a y e a r a f t e r t h i s appointm ent he was ch arg ed w ith th e tu n in g o f th e organ i n W estm inster Abbey r e c e i v i n g th e u s u a l sum o f two pounds f o r th e y e a r ' s w ork.19, 11 . A ccording to Dupre, P u r c e l l was a p p o in te d o f f i c i a l c o p y i s t to W estm in ster Abbey i n 1676.

Some w r i t e r s have

made much o f th e i n f l u e n c e o f so r e s p o n s i b l e a p o s i t i o n on one so young and have e n la r g e d upon th e e f f e c t copying so much f i n e o ld music must have had on th e f o rm a tio n of

9 K in g 's M usick, p . 225 10 W estrup, J . A ., P u r c e l l . (New York: Dent, 1939) p . 24 11 Dupre, Henry. P u r c e l l . (New York: A-A«Knapp, 1928) p . 50

11.

P u r c e l l ' s t a s t e and te c h n iq u e .

They i n t i m a t e t h a t he th u s

came i n c o n t a c t w ith th e o ld church music t r a d i t i o n as i t e x i s t e d b e f o r e th e R e fo rm a tio n .

While such d e d u c tio n s and

i n f e r e n c e s make i n t e r e s t i n g r e a d in g th e y have no s o l i d b a s i s o f f a c t to su p p o rt t h e m . ’ I n f a c t , Westrup a s s e r t s t h a t W estm in ster Abbey had no o f f i c i a l c o p y is t a t th e tim e b u t employed such work a s i t needed done from th e most con­ v en ien t c o p y ist. . I n th e summer o f 167? d e a th came to Matthew Locke o f whom Roger N orth

12.

speaks h i g h l y .

P u r c e l l succeeded him 13. a s composer f o r t h e K in g 's v i o l i n s . At th e age o f e ig h te e n P u r c e l l was g iv e n one o f th e h i g h e s t p o s t s to be

had in th e Royal e s ta b li s h m e n t.

Here i s p r e c o c i t y in d e e d .

I n c i d e n t l y , young Henry had as a c o l le a g u e , Thomas P u r c e l l , who had been i n a s i m i l a r p o s i t i o n s in c e 1672. There i s a g e n e r a l agreem ent a s to th e d a te of P u r­ c e l l ' s n ex t ap p o in tm e n t, t h a t o f o r g a n i s t to W estm inster Abbey, which o c c u r r e d in 1680.

The manner o f th e a p p o i n t­

ment, however, h a s g iv en r i s e to much c h a r a c t e r i s t i c d i s 14. p u t e . Cummings and H olland have i t t h a t Dr. Blow, r e c o g n i z in g th e g en iu s o f h i s p u p i l , r e t i r e d i n h i s f a v o r .

12 N orth, Roger, Memoirs, p . 96 13 K in g 's M usick, pp . 305-7 14 H o lla n d , A. K ., Henry P u r c e l l : t h e E n g lish M usical T r a d i t i o n : (London. G-. B e ll & Sons, L td . 1932 )p. 68

12.

W estrup and Dupre w ith v a r y in g d e g re e s o f t a c t ta k e i s s u e . They h o ld t h a t P u r c e l l ’ s p o p u l a r i t y was such t h a t p r e s s u r e was b ro u g h t on Blow who, as Dupre so a p t l y p u ts i t , ”s m ilin g ly com plied w ith good g r a c e ” . W estrup, who h as been v e ry f r e q u e n t l y quoted i n t h i s p a p e r , assumes t h a t : ’’P u r c e l l was p ro b a b ly m a rrie d sometime d u r in g 1681, s in c e h i s f i r s t c h i l d was b o rn i n th e summer of th e fo llo w in g y e a r . ” Dupre s e t s th e p r o b a b le d a te as sometime i n 1680 w h ile Cummings co ncu rs w ith W estrup. Of P u r c e l l ’ s w ife n o th in g i s known ex cep t t h a t h e r 15. C h r i s t i a n name was F ra n c e s . On th e ground t h a t one of th e c h i l d r e n was c h r i s t e n e d Mary P e t e r s , i t h as been assumed t h a t h e r maiden name was P e t e r s .

Such d e d u c tio n s ,

u n su p p o rte d by r e a l f a c t , g iv e r i s e to b l i s t e r i n g e s sa y s on th e f a i l u r e s of th e v a r i o u s P u r c e l l b io g r a p h e r s . I t would be q u i t e p o s s i b l e f o r th e w r i t e r to add s e v e r a l s e a r i n g p a ra g ra p h s to th e c o l l e c t i o n i f th e y would se rv e any good p u rp o s e . Among th e w orst o f f e n d e r s i n t h i s 16. m a t t e r i s Hawkins who h as t a l e s to t e l l o f d o m estic s t r i f e

15 The Abbey R e g i s t e r s , p 72' 16 Hawkins, S i r John, A G-eneral H is to r y of th e S cience and P r a c t i c e o f M usic. (London: N o v ello , Ewer ana Co., 1875) p p . 748-49

13.

i n th e P u r c e l l f a m ily .

Hawkins o f f e r s no p ro o f to sub­

s t a n t i a t e th e t a l e s which do him no h o n o r. The Mf i r s t " c h i l d o f F ra n c e s and Henry P u r c e l l was 17. c h r i s t e n e d John B a p t i s t a , on August 9, 1681, j u s t one week a f t e r th e d e a th of Thomas P u r c e l l on th e l a s t day o f J u l y of th e same y e a r .

The name John B a p t i s t a h a s g iv en

r i s e to c o n s id e r a b le s p e c u l a t i o n .

Some have a t t r i b u t e d i t

to an i n d i r e c t compliment to one o f P u r c e l l ’ s I t a l i a n m u sic a l c o n te m p o ra rie s , o t h e r s say t h a t a more l i k e l y clu e i s a f f o r d e d in a J . B. (John B a p t i s t a ) P e t e r s who w itn e s s e d P u r c e l l ' s w i l l i n 1695.

T h is J . B. P e t e r s was so fond o f

h i s name t h a t he gave i t to two of h i s own c h i l d r e n . Common r e p o r t h as made t h i s man F ran ces P u r c e l l ’s b r o t h e r , th u s v e r i f y i n g th e t r a d i t i o n t h a t h e r maiden name was P e te rs.

The whole makes a n e t o f s i g n i f i c a n t s p e c u l a t i o n

b u t no p ro o f can be b ro u g h t to b e a r on th e q u e s tio n .

Un­

f o r t u n a t e l y , th e young P u r c e l l d ie d when he was l i t t l e more th a n two months o f age b e in g b u r ie d O ctober 17, 1682 i n 18. th e c l o i s t e r s o f th e Abbey. There i s a p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t John B a p t i s t a was n o t th e

17 Abbey K e g i s t e r s , p . 206 18 I b i d . , p . 74

14 .

f i r s t son of P ra n ces and Henry P u r c e l l .

The r e g i s t e r s of

A ll Hallows th e L ess r e c o r d th e b ap tism of Henry, son of Henry and F ra n c e s P u r c e l l , on th e 9 t h o f J u l y , 1681.

If

th e p a r e n t s were th e composer and h i s v/ife th e m a rria g e d a te must be p u t bach d e f i n i t e l y to 1680, and John B a p t i s t a r e g a r d e d a s th e second son. In June 1683 P u r c e l l e n t e r e d on h i s f i r s t p u b l i s h i n g v en tu re .

A s e t o f tw elve s o n a ta s was p u b lis h e d i n s e p a r ­

a t e p a r t s a t a s u b s c r i p t i o n p r i c e o f t e n s h i l l i n g s , th e p r i c e a f t e r p u b l i c a t i o n b e in g r a i s e d to f i f t e e n s h i l l i n g s . S u b s c r ib e r s were i n v i t e d to come p e r s o n a l l y f o r t h e i r 19. c o p ie s to t h e com poser’ s house i n S t. A n n 's Lane. As ev id en ce o f some re a s o n f o r th e esteem i n which P u r c e l l was h e l d by h i s c o n te m p o ra rie s , th e p r e f a c e i s h e re qu oted i n fu ll.

However, i t i s w orth h o ld in g i n mind t h a t t h i s was

a p u b l i c a d d r e s s and th e men w r i t i n g i n th e s e v e n te e n th c e n tu r y were a r t i s t s a t p r e s e n t i n g a smooth fa c e to th e w orld when n e e d f u l . " I n s t e a d o f an e l a b o r a t e h aran g e on th e b e a u ty and th e charms o f Musick (which a f t e r a l l th e le a r n e d Encomions t h a t words can c o n t r i v e commends i t s e l f b e s t

19 London G a z e tte , May 24-28 and June 7-11, 1683

15 .

by th e perfo rm ance o f a s h i l l f u l h and, and an a n g e lic v o i c e : ) I s h a l l say b u t a v ery few t h i n g s by way of p r e f a c e , co n c e rn in g th e fo llo w in g Booh and i t s A uthor; f o r i t s A u th o r, he h as f a i t h f u l l y endeavoured a j u s t i m i t a t i o n of th e most famed I t a l i a n M a ste rs; p r i n c i ­ p a l l y to b r i n g th e s e r io u s n e s s and g r a v i t y of t h a t s o r t of Musick i n t o vogue, and r e p u t a t i o n among o u r Country-men, whose humour, ’ t i s tim e now, sh ou ld b e g in to l o a t h e th e l e v i t y , and b a l l a d r y o f our n e ig h b o rs : th e a tte m p t he c o n f e s s e s to be b o ld , and d a r in g , th e r e b e in g pens and A r t i s t s of more em inent a b i l i t i e s , much b e t t e r q u a l i f i e d f o r th e employment th a n h i s , o r him­ s e l f , which he w ell hopes th e s e h i s weak endeavours w i l l i n due tim e p ro v o k e, and in fla m e to a more a c c u r a te u n d e r ta k in g . He i s n o t ashamed o f h i s own u n s k i l l f u l n e s s i n th e I t a l i a n la n g u a g e ; b u t t h a t ’ s th e u n h a p p in e ss of h i s e d u c a tio n , which cannot j u s t l y b e ac co u n te d h i s f a u l t , however he t h i n k s he may w a r ra n ta b iy a f f i r m , t h a t he i s n o t m ista k e n i n th e power o f th e I t a l i a n N otes, o r e le g a n c y of t h e i r Com­ p o s i t i o n s , which he would recommend to th e E n g lis h A r t i s t s . There h as been n e i t h e r c a r e , n o r i n d u s t r y w anting , as w e ll i n th e c o n t r i v i n g , a s r e v i s i n g th e whole Work; which had been ab ro ad i n th e w orld much so o ner, b u t t h a t he h as now th o u g h t f i t to cause th e whole Thorough Bass to be Engraven, which was a t h i n g q u i t e b e s i d e s h i s f i r s t R e s o lu ti o n s . I t rem ains on ly t h a t th e E n g lis h P r a c t i t i o n e r be in fo rm ed , t h a t he w i l l f i n d a few term s o f A rt p e rh a p s u n u su al to him, th e c h i e f of which a r e th e fo llo w in g : Adagio and Grave, which im port n o th in g b u t a v e r y slow movement; P r e s to L argo, Poco L argo, or Largo by i t s e l f , a middle movement: A lle g r o , and V ivace, a v e ry b r i s k , s w if t, or f a s t movement; P ian o , s o f t . The A uthor h as no more t o add, b u t h i s h e a r t y w ish e s, t h a t h i s Book may f a l l i n t o no o t h e r hands b u t t h e i r s who c a rr y M usical S ouls abo ut them; f o r he i s w i l l i n g to f l a t t e r h im s e lf i n t o a b e l i e f , t h a t w ith such h i s l a b o r s w i l l seem n e i t h e r u n p le a s a n t, nor u n p r o f i t a b l e . " In December, .1683, John H in g sto n e, a c o u r t m u sicia n and In stru m e n t k e e p e r , d ie d and P u r c e l l came 11i n o r d in a r y w ith fe e " to t h e p o s t t o which he had been a p p r e n t ic e d i n 1673.

I t w i l l be remembered t h a t th e o r d e r which made him

16.

an a p p r e n t ic e prom ised him th e p o s t on th e 11d e a th o r o t h e r avoydance of th e l a t t e r ( H in g s to n e ) 11. 20.

pounds a y e a r and ex p en ses.

The s a l a r y was s i x t y

■ The p o s i t i o n had made heavy

demands on H in g s to n e f s tim e and d o u b tle s s made th e same demands on P u r c e l l .

However, i f s p e c u l a t i o n has any v a lu e ,

i t p o s s i b l y b ro u g h t him i n c o n t a c t w ith Bernard Smith who was engaged i n a l i v e l y o r g a n - b u ild in g c o n t e s t w ith R enatu s H a r r i s .

In 1684 H a r r i s announced t h a t h i s o rg an -

was read y f o r th e c o m p e titio n .

Smith eng;aged P u r c e l l and

Blow to p la y f o r him i n th e c o n t e s t and H a r r i s engaged D ra g h i.

So in th e Temple Church th e c o n t e s t d ragged on

f o r n e a r l y tw elve months.

F i n a l l y , ' S m ith ’ s organ was

s e l e c t e d a lth o u g h th e p u rc h a s e was n o t com pleted u n t i l 1668.

T h is i n t e r e s t i n g l i t t l e

s i d e - l i g h t on th e m u sic a l

l i f e o f th e tim e i s p r e s e r v e d i n a l e t t e r by Tudway to 21.

h i s son which i s quoted by Hawkins. I n 1684 P u r c e l l was a p p o in te d h a r p s ic h o r d p l a y e r in th e p r i v a t e music e s ta b lis h m e n t o f th e new k in g who had b een crowned James I I i n A p r i l o f th e same y e a r.

A nother

20 K in g’ s Musick, pp. 361 and 364 21 Hawkins, S i r John, A G-eneral H is to r y o f th e S cien ce and p r a c t i c e of M usic, p . 691

17 .

p o s t to occupy th e co m p o ser's tim e and make demands on h i s energy was h e r e g iv en P u r c e l l by th e man who was a l r e a d y weakening th e o r g a n i z a t i o n w ith which P u r c e l l was most c l o s e l y a s s o c i a t e d , th e Chapel R oyal.

The y e a r 1685 i s a

b la n k as f a r a s any b i o g r a p h i c a l d a t a i s concerned b u t in 1686 a c h i l d , Thomas, d ie d .

23.

In th e r e g i s t e r s he i s d e s ­

c r ib e d sim ply a s a c h i l d w ith o u t any m ention of h i s 24. f a t h e r ' s C h r i s t i a n name. However, Westrup th in k s i t r e a s o n a b le to assume him th e co m p o ser's son. I n June 1687 a t h i r d son, Henry, was b o rn .

He too

l i v e d on ly a l i t t l e o v e r two months and was b u r ie d in th e 25. Abbey. I n t h i s y e a r new d i f f i c u l t i e s dogged th e composer a s th e new regim e was n o t p a y in g him f o r h i s work a s Hing­ s to n e ' s s u c c e s s o r .

I t a ls o became a p p a re n t t h a t no p r o ­

v i s i o n was made f o r h i s c o n tin u a n c e in th e p o s t .

As a

r e s u l t he s u b m itte d a v e ry r e v e a l i n g ac co u n t to th e T re a s u ry . A f t e r g oing, w ith th e u s u a l d e l a y s , i n t o every p o s s i b l e o f f i c e th e b i l l was f i n a l l y allo w ed i n March 1688.

What

th e fa m ily d i d i n th e meantime i s food f o r i n t e r e s t i n g sp e c u la tio n .

22 23 24 25

ic in g 's M usick, p . 372, H.M.C., R eport 8, P a r t I , p . 12 Abbey R e g i s t e r s , p . 216 W estrup, J . A ., P u r c e l l . (London: Dent, 1939) p . 56 Abbey R e g i s t e r s , p . 219

18 .

I t i s n o t n e c e s s a r y to lo o k f a r f o r th e r e a s o n f o r th is n e g le c t.

As a H om an-C atholic, James I I had h i s own

26.

c h a p e l i n W h ite h a ll which was opened a t th e end o f 1686. The e s ta b lis h m e n t was e n t i r e l y s e p a r a te from th e Chapel Royal which s u f f e r e d s e v e r e ly from n e g l e c t as no expense was sp a re d to make th e new e s ta b lis h m e n t worthy of th e k in g .

A s i g n i f i c a n t l i g h t i s shed on th e e f f e c t which t h i s

n e g l e c t had on th e Chapel Royal by th e f a c t t h a t w h ile t h i r t y - t w o gentlem en sang a t Jamies II* s c o r o n a tio n i n 27. 1685, th e number had d w indled by 1689 to t w e n t y - th r e e . I n May of 1688, i n th e co m p o se r's tw e n ty - n in th (? ) y e a r , a d a u g h te r , F ra n c e s , was b o rn .

So f a r as we know, F ra n c e s

was th e f i r s t d a u g h te r b o rn to F ra n c e s and Henry P u r c e l l . T h is d a u g h te r o u t l i v e d b o th o f h e r p a r e n t s and was a p p o in t­ ed e x e c u t r i x o f h e r m o th e r 's w i l l i n F eb ruary of 1706. 28. A ccording to Baker she was m a rrie d to Leonard W elsted , a p o e t and d r a m a tis t* We have no i n k l i n g o f P u r c e l l ' s p o l i t i c a l v ie w s. Q u ite p ro b a b ly , s in c e a man i n th e s e r v ic e of a monarch k eeps h i s p o s t by th e f a v o r o f t h a t monarch, he d e l i b e r a t e l y

26 Evelyn, 2 9 th December 1686 27 Checque Book, pp. 129-30 28 B a k e r 's H is to r y of N o rth a m p to n s h ire . Vol. I , p . 17

19.

r e f r a i n e d from any p o l i t i c a l d i s c u s s i o n .

Again, some

a r t i s t s a r e so wrapped up i n t h e i r work t h a t th e y a r e l i t e r ­ a l l y immune to any p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n i n which th e y f i n d th e m s e lv e s .

Here th e m u sic ia n has a supreme advantage ov er

th e l i t e r a r y a r t i s t . id e a s.

Music .as such e x p r e s s e s no C oncrete

U nless a work i s programmed to i n d i c a t e i t s i n t e n t ,

a f i r e y p o l i t i c a l document i n music m ight p a s s f o r some­ th in g q u ite d i f f e r e n t . P u r c e l l was a t t a c h e d t o th e m u sical e s ta b li s h m e n ts o f t h r e e d i f f e r e n t regim es i n h i s s h o r t l i f e .

I n s o f a r as we

know he was as much a t home u n d er one a s u n d er th e o t h e r u n l e s s he was f r e t t e d by James I I 1s n e g l e c t of th e Chapel R o y a l. In th e s e r v i c e o f W illiam I I I , th e t h i r d monarch o f England s in c e th e R efo rm atio n , P u r c e l l a t te n d e d h i s second c o r o n a tio n i n f o u r y e a r s .

For p r o v id in g th e s p e c i a l organ

to accompany t h e K in g 's C hoir a t th e ceremony he r e c e iv e d 29. t h i r t y - t w o p ounds. On t h i s o c c a s io n P u r c e l l c o l l e c t e d f e e s from s p e c t a t o r s who were a d m itte d to th e organ l o f t to view th e ceremony.

He n e g l e c t e d to t u r n th e s e f e e s over

to th e Abbey a u t h o r i t i e s . They l o s t no tim e i n rem inding 30. him in a t a r t message t h a t h i s p o s t depended upon a

29 B o d le ia n , Rawlinson A. 306, p . 170 ( S e c r e t S e rv ic e A c c o u n ts) 30 W. A. C h a p ter M inu tes, 1683-1714, f o . 2 5 . (A p r.18,1689)

20 .

s a t i s f a c t o r y s e t t l e m e n t o f th e m a tte r . Edward and Mary P e t e r s , th e l a s t two c h i l d r e n o f th e composer, were h o rn Septem ber, 1689, and December, 1693, re sp e c tiv e ly .

The l i f e span o f Mary P e t e r s i s n o t known 31. a lth o u g h one w r i t e r assumes t h a t she co u ld n o t have s u r ­

v iv e d h e r f a t h e r more th a n a few months.

The d a u g h te r ,

F ra n c e s , who m a rrie d Leonard W elsted l i v e d u n t i l 1724 and d ie d l e a v in g a d a u g h te r a l s o named F ra n c e s . th e on ly son o f th e composer to s u rv iv e him.

Edward was He fo llo w e d

somewhat i n h i s f a t h e r ' s f o o t s t e p s b e in g o r g a n i s t i n v a r i o u s London c h u rc h e s. As f a r as any r e v e a l i n g f a c t s a r e con cern ed , P u r c e l l ' s l i f e i s ended w ith th e s e s ta te m e n ts .

Each s p r in g , a f t e r

th e c o r o n a tio n of W illiam and h i s Queen, P u r c e l l p roduced an ode f o r th e Q ueen's b i r t h d a y .

Most o f h i s l a s t f i v e

y e a r s were sp e n t w r i t i n g f o r th e s ta g e .

The y e a r s 1690-95

r e p r e s e n t th e b u lk of h i s d ra m a tic music j u s t a s h i s e a r l i e r y e a r s show h i s most e x te n s iv e work f o r th e ch urch . One of P u r c e l l ' s l a s t d u t i e s f o r r o y a l t y was to com­ p o se Queen M ary's f u n e r a l m usic.

The Queen d ie d of sm all

31 Cummings, Win. H., P u r c e l l , p . 106

21 .

pox on December 28, 1694 and was b u r ie d i n W estm in ster Abbey on March 5, 1695.

One o f th e works, ’’Thou know est,

L ord, th e S e c r e t s o f our H e a r t s ” , h as been used a t ev e ry c h o r a l f u n e r a l i n W estm inster Abbey and S t. P a u ls C a th e d ra l 32. s in c e i t s f i r s t p r o d u c tio n . °n November 21, 1695 P u r c e l l made h i s w i l l : In th e Name of God Amen I , Henry P u r c e l l o f th e C ity o f W estm r., G e n tl. b e in g d an g e ro u sly I l l e as to th e C o n s t i t u t i o n o f ray body But i n good and p e r f e c t Mind and Memory (th a n k s bee to God) Doe by th e s e p r e s e n t s p u b l i s h and D ec lare t h i s to bee my l a s t W ill and t e s t a m t . And I doe h ereb y Give and b e q u e a th unto my Loving Wife F ra n c e s P u r c e l l A ll my E s t a t e b o th r e a l and p e r s o n a l l of what N ature and k in d so e v e r, to h e r and to h e r A ssig n e s f o r Ever and I doe hereb y C o n s t i t u t e and A ppoint my s a id Loving Wife My s o ld E ( x ) e c u t r i x of t h i s my l a s t W ill and Testament re v o k in g a l l Former W ill o r W ills W itness My Hand and s e a le t h i s Tewent ( i ) e t h F i r s t Day o f Novembr. Annog. Dno. 1695 And i n th e s e a v e n th y e a re of th e Raigne of King W illiam th e Therd and c. H. P u r c e l l S ig n ’d s e a l ’d p u b lis h e d and D e c l a r ’d by th e sd. Henry P u r c e l l i n th e p re s e n c e o f Wm. E c le s ; John C a p elin J . B. P e t e r s On th e same day he d ie d .

’’The dean and c h a p te r o f

W estm in ster d e c id e d unanim ously t h a t he should be b u r i e d i n

32.

Cummings, Wm. H ., P u r c e l l , p . 106

22 .

t h e Abbey w ith o u t any charge b e in g l a i d upon h i s widow.

At

h e r s u g g e s tio n th e l a s t r e s t i n g - p l a c e was chosen i n th e n o r t h a i s l e , a t t h e f o o t o f th e organ which he had p la y e d 33. f o r over f i f t e e n y e a r s .” The f u n e r a l music was by P u r c e l l h i m s e l f , anthems and d i r g e s which he had w r i t t e n f o r th e f u n e r a l of th e queen. As a f i n a l problem r e l a t i n g to P u r c e l l , th e i d e n t i t y o f h i s f a t h e r h a s been l e f t to th e l a s t .

I t h a s been com­

monly assumed t h a t Henry P u r c e l l s e n io r was th e com poser1s fa th e r.

A ll b u t one o f th e b io g r a p h e r s c o n s u lte d i n t h i s

stu d y makes t h i s assu m p tio n .

The one e x c e p tio n i s

J . A. Westrup whose s c h o l a r l y work d e s e r v e s th e h i g h e s t p ra ise .

Westrup h as t r a c e d th e b e g in n in g o f th e assum ption

to Hawkins who q u o te s th e "Ashmolean M. S ." which c o n s i s t s o f Anthony Wood's m a n u sc rip t n o te s on th e l i v e s o f E n g lish com posers, now i n th e B o d leia n L ib r a r y .

Westrup comments

i n c o n c lu s io n t h a t "Wood's n o te on P u r c e l l c o n ta in s no j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r sa y in g t h a t Henry P u r c e l l was th e c o m p o ser's f a t h e r . " The l e t t e r to Reverend John G o s tlin g i n which Thomas P u r c e l l r e f e r s to young Henry as h i s son i s c o n s tru e d by

33 W estrup, J . A ., P u r c e l l , p . 85

23.

a l l subsequent w r i t e r s to r e p r e s e n t m erely a s ig n o f a f f e c t i o n betw een th e two.

The t e x t of th e l e t t e r i s as

f o llo w s : 11T his f f o r Mr. John G o a tlin g , C haunter of ye q u ir e of C an terb u ry C a th e d r a l, London Ye 8 th of f f e b . 9 78 S i r , I have r e e d ye f a v o r o f yo urs of ye 4 th w ith ye i n c l o s e d f o r my sonne Henry. I am s o rry wee a r e l i k e to be w ith o u t you soe lo n g as yours m entio ns; But t i s v e ry v ery l i k e l y you may have a summons to ap p e a r among us sooner th a n you im ag in e: f o r ray sonne i s composing w h erein you w i l l be c h i e f l y co ncern ed. However, your o c c a s io n s and t y e s where you must be c o n s id e re d and your co n venien ces e v e r complyde w i t h a l l ; i n ye meantime a s s u r e y o u r s e l f I s h a l l be c a r e f u l of your co n c ern s h e i r by minding and r e f r e s h i n g our m a s t e r 's memory o f h i s G ra tio u s prom is when t h e r e i s o c c a s io n . My w ife r e t u r n s th a n k s f o r ye compliment w ith h e r s e r v i s : and p ra y ye g iv e b o th our r e s p e c t s and humble s e r v i c e s to Dr. Belk and h i s Lady, and b e le e v e e v e r t h a t I am, S i r , your a f f e c t i o n a t e and humble s e r v a n t, 34. T. P u r c e l l . " Westrup t a k e s th e p o s i t i o n t h a t th e most n a t u r a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i s th e c o r r e c t one and t h a t Thomas P u r c e l l was t h e c o m p o ser's f a t h e r .

The only p ro v en o f f s p r i n g o f

Henry P u r c e l l , th e e l d e r , i s a d a u g h te r , K a th e rin e , who was b a p t i s e d March 13, 1662. For a f u l l e x p o s itio n of W e stru p 's r a t h e r in v o lv e d b u t

34 W estrup, J . A ., P u r c e l l , Appendix S, p . 302

24 .

v e ry s i g n i f i c a n t r e a s o n in g th e r e a d e r i s r e f e r r e d to Appendix S o f J . A. W estrup 1s " P u r c e l l " .

The argument as

p r e s e n t e d makes a v ery s tr o n g l i n e o f r e a s o n in g to j u s t i f y c a l l i n g Thomas P u r c e l l Henry P u r c e l l ' s f a t h e r . I t i s n o t en co urag in g to th in k t h a t th e r e s e a r c h on hand a t th e p r e s e n t tim e may be a l l t h a t e v e r w i l l b e done on t h i s g r e a t c o m p o ser's l i f e .

The g r e a t c e n t e r o f P u r c e l l

knowledge, London, i s u n d er c o n s ta n t t h r e a t of f i r e and bomb which may cause th e l o s s o f v i t a l documents p r e c lu d in g f u t u r e d is c o v e r y o r c l a r i f i c a t i o n .

A f t e r th e war, s tu d e n ts

may meet th e same d i f f i c u l t i e s a s have been f e l t f o r y e a rs by s tu d e n ts t r y i n g to t r a c e th e l i v e s o f men l i v i n g i n P a r i s b e f o r e th e French R e v o lu tio n . im p o r ta n t.

P o s s ib ly i t i s n o t

We have th e m an's music; i t i s p a r t o f th e

g r e a t m u sical h e r i t a g e o f t h e w orld.

As to P u r c e l l ' s l i f e ,

e v e n ts seem to have c o n s p ire d i n k ee p in g i t s e c r e t .

Such

b e in g th e ca se i t i s a t l e a s t en co u rag in g to remember t h a t th e b a r e f a c t s o f h i s l i f e a r e n o t o f g r e a t im p o rta n c e ; i t i s t h e music which c o u n ts .

We can o n ly be th a n k f u l t h a t

i t h as n o t jo in e d th e music o f such men as S t r a d e l l a i n b e­ in g l o s t to th e w orld e x c e p t f o r a t r a d i t i o n of g r e a t n e s s . P u r c e l l was p r i v i l e g e d to w r i t e g r e a t music and we should be th a n k f u l f o r i t , however much we w ish we co uld r e s o l v e some o f th e p u z z le s of h i s l i f e .

SUGGESTED GENEALOGICAL TREE Henry M E li z a b e t h (d .A u g .11, (B ur.A ug.26, 1664) 1699) K a th e rin e M' (B apt. M ar.13, 1662)

John Bapt 1 s t a 1 Thomas (Bur. (B ap t.A u g .9, Aug. 3, 1682, Bur. 1686) O c t.17,1682)

3.

M

K a th e rin e

Wm. S ale

Edward Henry M. ( b .1653, ( b .1659 d .J u n e 20, d .N o v .21, 1717) 1695)

1. 2.

Thomas (d . J u ly 31, 1692)

F ran ces (? ) Peters^* D an ie l Jo sep h (d .F e b . .1706) (d .1 7 1 7 )

Matthew Chas. E l i z . Kath. (d.1702) (d.1686)

Henry F ran ces M Leonard W eisted ■ Edward M Anne Mary p e t ( B a p t. (B apt. (B apt. May 30, D ec.10, (B apt. S ep t. 6, June 9, 1688) 1689, d. J u ly 1, 1693) 1687, Bur. 1740) S e p t.23, 1687) F ra n ces Edward Henry F rances (B .A p ril 19, (? b . Nov. (B apt. S e p t . 2,1708) 1711) 26,1716)

P r e r o g a t i v e Court of C an terb u ry , J u l y l l , 1706 The r e g i s t e r s of A ll Hallows th e Less r e c o r d th e bap tism o f Henry, son of Henry and F ra n ces P u r c e l l . I f th e f a t h e r i s th e composer, th e m a rria g e w i l l have to be p u t back to 1680 and John B a p t i s t a w i l l be th e second son. Cummings, Wm. H ., P u r c e l l , p . 106

CHAPTER I I I BACKGROUND I.

ASPECTS OF THE ERA

Dickens once wrote of t h e p e r i o d i n England p r e c e d i n g t h e French R e v o lu tio n t h a t ° I t was t h e b e s t of tim e s ; i t was t h e w orst o f t i m e s 11.

The words a r e s i n g u l a r l y f i t t i n g

f o r t h e s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r y which was f i l l e d w ith c o n t r a ­ d ictions.

P o s s i b l y t h e c o n f u s i o n r e s u l t e d from t h e f a c t

t h a t t h i s v/as a c e n t u r y i n which p r o g r e s s was so r a p i d t h a t t n e new time over r a n and was c o - e x i s t e n t w i t h t h e o l d .

A

q u o t a t i o n from Westrup g iv e s a very i l l u m i n a t i n g p i c t u r e of the era. 11On one hand we have t h e development of an i n t e l l e c t u a l c u l t u r e t h a t v/as th e i n h e r i t a n c e of th e R e n a is s a n c e , t h e lo v e of b e a u ty and s p le n d o r i n l i t e r ­ a t u r e , music and a r c h i t e c t u r e , t h e i n q u i s i t i v e i n t e r ­ e s t i n p h i l o s o p h i c a l s p e c u l a t i o n and s c i e n t i f i c experiment t h a t l a i d t h e f o u n d a tio n of modern know­ l e d g e , and an elegance i n d r e s s and deportm ent t h a t verged on f o p p i s h n e s s h u t none th e l e s s gave c o l o r and d i g n i t y to London l i f e ; on th e o t h e r hand, a system of s a n i t a t i o n t h a t was ’o r i e n t a l and i t s simple g r a n d e u r 1, | l ) a c o a r s e n e s s i n t h e enjoyment of animal p l e a s u r e s t h a t almost b e l i e s th e s u p e r ­ f i c i a l r e f i n e m e n t , t h e most p r i m i t i v e methods of

1 B ryant, A r t h u r , King C h a rle s I I (London, New York and T oronto. Longmans G-reen & Co., 1931) p . 91

27.

d e a l i n g w i t h th e problems of d e a t h and d i s e a s e , and a c a l l o u s n e s s toward t h e s a n c t i t y of human l i f e t h a t has a l l t h e a i r of a savage s u r v i v a l . ” Pepys g i v e s p o i n t to t h i s l a s t s t a te m e n t i n t h e c o l d ­ b lo o d e d e n t r y of October 13, 1661 where he observed t h a t : ” ..............I went o u t t o Charing Cross t o see M a j o r - g e n e r a l H a r r i s o n hanged, drawn and q u a r t e r e d , which was done t h e r e , he l o o k i n g a s c h e e r f u l a s any man could do i n t h a t c o n d i t i o n . ” We a r e w e ll aware t h a t , d e s p i t e t h e brave show made by s i l k s and s a t i n s , th e y c o v e re d up a h o r r o r of d i r t and disease.

I n f a n t m o r t a l i t y was almost i n c r e d i b l y h i g h ,

p l a g u e s n o t unknown, and th e p o o r l i v e d i n slums such a s th e w orld has n e v e r s in c e known.

I n London, one of t h e g r e a t

c a p i t o l s of t h e w orld, t h e s e a s p e c t s of t h e c e n tu r y were g a t h e r e d t o g e t h e r and i n t e n s i f i e d .

Oreat extremes of pov­

e r t y and w e a lth were p r e s e n t a s w e l l as v i r t u e and c o r r u p ­ t i o n , f i l t h and com parative c l e a n l i n e s s . The e l e v a t i o n of C h a rle s I I to th e th r o n e was t h e s i g ­ n a l for a g r e a t wave of r e v u l s i o n a g a i n s t t h e s e v e r i t y of th e P u r i t a n s who had sought to f o r c e unwanted moral c e n s u r e s on the people.

R id in g th e c r e s t o f th e new wave, some of the

b lo o d s of t h e c i t y even went so f a r a s t o arouse the p e o p le

2 Westrup, J . A*, P u r c e l l , p. 87 3 Pepys, Samuel, D i a r y , October 13, Volune I , p . 258

w ith t h e i r d i s p l a y of decadence. T a le s of t h e K i n g 's m i s t r e s s e s and h i s c r u e l t y to h i s Queen were t h e g o s s i p the co u rt.

of

I f P epys' Diary g i v e s a t r u e p i c t u r e of h i s

g e n e r a t i o n , and we have no r e a s o n t o b e l i e v e th e c o n t r a r y , p r i v a t e m o r a l i t y was t h e e x c e p t i o n and c o r r u p t i o n o f a l l s o r t s th e r u l e .

One h i s t o r i a n 4 goes t o g r e a t l e n g t h s to

p o i n t out t h e d i s c r e p t a n c y between Bacon, th e g r e a t s c h o l a r , and Bacon, t h e c o r r u p t judge on t r i a l f o r d e r e ­ l i c t i o n in o ffic e .

Yet t h i s same c e n t u r y produced a Crom­

w e l l , a Dryden, and a M i l t o n I II.

GENERAL MUSICAL BACKGROUND

The com plete m usical scene i n England of th e l a t t e r s i x t e e n t h and s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r i e s i s v e r y d i f f i c u l t to establish.

J u s t a s i n t h e f i e l d of drama and l i t e r a t u r e

t h e r e seems to have been a very r i c h m u s i c a l l i f e which was e s s e n t i a l l y English in c h a ra c te r.

However, our knowledge

o f t h i s l a t t e r f i e l d i s ex tre m ely b a r e when compared to what we know of t h e o t h e r two.

Not only h a s c o n s i d e r a b l e

amount of s c h o l a r l y r e s e a r c h been done i n th e l i t e r a r y

4 Cross, A. L . , A H i s t o r y o f England and G r e a t e r B r i t a i n . (New York; McMillan Co., 1914) p. 297

29 .

f i e l d b u t much of the work l e f t by th e w r i t e r s of t h e s e c e n t u r i e s h as remained an a c t i v e c u l t u r a l h e r i t a g e f o r su c c e e d in g g e n e r a t i o n s .

The music of t h e tim e, which does

n o t s u f f e r from a q u a l i t a t i v e comparison w ith th e l i t e r a t u r e , has su ffe re d a v a s tly d i f f e r e n t f a t e .

Were i t n o t f o r th e

work of a b a r e h a n d f u l of modern m u s i c o l o g i s t s , many of t h e s e g r e a t works might s t i l l be u t t e r l y unknown even to t h e p r e s e n t t im e .

Now a t l e a s t enough h a s been done t h a t

s c h o l a r s know t h e r e i s much more to be done and much t o be d i s c o v e r e d which w i l l be of t h e utmost v a l u e . Fellow es a r g u e s very s t r o n g l y t h a t t h e E n g l i s h musi­ c a l g e n iu s h a s a t i t s b e s t always been s t r o n g l y v o c a l .

The

i n s t r u m e n t a l music has ta k e n i t s i n s p i r a t i o n from and been s u b s e r v i e n t to t h e v o c a l .

Fellow es

i s so a u t h o r i t a t i v e

i n t h e f i e l d of E n g l i s h v o c a l music t h a t an ex ten d ed q u o ta ­ t i o n of h i s views w i l l se rv e t o c l a r i f y t h e p i c t u r e . "In England c h o r a l music has e v e r been t h e most marked f e a t u r e of t h e n a t i o n a l m u s ic a l g e n i u s , and i t i s t h i s more th a n a n y t h i n g e l s e t h a t has g iv e n t h e stamp of n a t i o n a l i t y to B r i t i s h music i n a l l s t a g e s of i t s development. The c o n t i n u i t y o f th e e x i s t e n c e of an E n g l i s h school o f com position f o rn o l e s s th a n f i v e hundred y e a r s cannot be d e n ie d , even i f i t must be a d m itte d f r a n k l y t h a t a t s e v e r a l p e r i o d s our composers d i d not r i s e above m e d i o c r i t y . Nov/ t h i s

30 .

unbroken c o n t i n u i t y , which i s w it h o u t p a r a l l e l i n the h i s t o r y of any o t h e r European n a t i o n , i s to be t r a c e d almost e n t i r e l y i n th e f i e l d of v o c a l m u s i c . 11 5 Before th e time of Henry V I I I , a t l e a s t as e a r l y as Henry V, th e monarchs of England took an a r d e n t i n t e r e s t i n music.

As a r e s u l t th e y k e p t l a r g e m u s ic a l e s t a b l i s h ­

ments which s e rv e d as c e n t e r s of m usical c u l t u r e .

More­

o v e r , s i n c e each monarch was i n t i m a t e l y co n n e cte d w ith the chu rch of th e day, t h i s i n f l u e n c e c a r r i e d o v er and was f e l t in re lig io u s c ir c le s . With such a background i t i s small wonder t h a t Canon F ellow es i s a b l e t o claim f o r England a g r e a t h e r i t a g e of v o c a l music. Although England h as always been, i n some r e s p e c t s , i n s u l a r , a l i v e l y c o n t a c t w i t h c o n t i n e n t a l movements h as p l a y e d i t s p a r t i n moulding i t s deve lo p m e n t.

It is in ter­

e s t i n g to n o te j u s t when t h e s e c o n t i n e n t a l i n f l u e n c e s be­ came e v id e n t i n t h e E n g lis h m u sical sc e n e .

One modern

Y /riter o f f e r s t h i s comment: 11I t i s d i f f i c u l t t o e s t a b l i s h t h e a c t u a l d a t e of i n t r o d u c t i o n of t h e nev/ p r i n c i p l e d o f com position, but i t must have ta k e n p l a c e i n th e l a s t q u a r t e r of th e f i f t e e n t h c e n t u r y ; f o r a t the b e g i n n i n g o f th e s i x ­ t e e n t h , i n th e works of T av e rn e r, t h e p o l i s h e d t e c h n i -

5.

F e llo w e s , Horace Edmund, The E n g l i s h Madrigal Composers. Oxford Clarendon P r e s s , 1931, p . 27

31 .

ques of m o ti v ic work and of s y s t e m a t i c - c o n t i n u o u s i m i t a t i o n ap p e a r i n a rem a rk a b ly advanced s t a g e , h e n c e f o r t h i n f l u e n c i n g t h e E n g lis h c h o r a l s t y l e by adding to i t s s t a t e l i n e s s and c l e a r g o n o r i t y t h e ad­ v a n ta g e of c l o s e - k n i t c o n s t r u c t i o n . ,,D I n a d d i t i o n to p o i n t i n g out t h e approximate tim e o f t h e b e g i n n in g o f • im p o r ta n t C o n t i n e n t a l i n f l u e n c e i n E n g lis h m usic, Lang has h i n t e d a t a q u a l i t y which l a t e r became one of t h e o u t s t a n d i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r y a r t , th e f e e l i n g f o r form.

For i t must be remembered t h a t

d u r i n g t h i s e v e n t f u l c e n t u r y th e groundwork f o r many of t h e p r e s e n t - d a y forms was l a i d .

The im portance of t h i s

f o r m i s t i c te n d en cy w i l l be seen when i t i s remembered t h a t t h e a r i o s o , t h e da caoo a r i a , th e s u i t e , t h e s o n a ta , r e c i t a t i v e , c a n t a t a , and o r a t o r i o were among the forms which e x p e rie n c e d a v ery g r e a t development.

In a d d itio n

to t h i s th e o p e r a was deve loped as such from the F l o r e n t i n e Monodies u s i n g th e t e c h n i q u e s of t h e p r e v i o u s c a n t a t a s , o r a t o r i o s , and r e l i g i o u s dramas.

The development was so

v a s t t h a t modern h i s t o r i a n s r e f e r to t h e s e v e n t e e n t h cen­ t u r y as th e b e g i n n in g of modern music. These i n f l u e n c e s had t h e i r e f f e c t on t h e E n g l i s h

6 Lang, Paul Henry, Music i n Western C i v i l i z a t i o n , p . 277

32 .

m u s ic a l scene. Italy .

The m a d rig a l i t s e l f came to England from

The f i r s t e d i t i o n o f I t a l i a n M a d rig a ls to he pub­

l i s h e d i n England equipped w ith E n g lis h words was ^ u s i c a T ransalpina.

T h is c o l l e c t i o n , e d i t e d by N ic h o la s Younge

c o n t a i n e d f i f t y - s e v e n c o m p o s itio n s , i n c l u d i n g two works by Byrd.7

From t h i s i t i s e v i d e n t t h a t t h e E n g l i s h composers

had some c o n t a c t w ith t h e form b e f o r e t h e i n t e r e s t was s u f ­ f i c i e n t to j u s t i f y th e p u b l i c a t i o n o f such a p r i n t e d volume. The E n g lis h o p e r a was a l s o i n f l u e n c e d by th e I t a l i a n ex p e rim en ts a l t h o u g h Dent o b s e r v e s : ". ............ I t i s c u r i o u s to n o t e t h a t some y e a r s b e f o r e P e r i and h i s f r i e n d s h a d .e v o l v e d t h e i r system of d e c la m a ti o n E n g lis h composers had a r r i v e d by a very d i f f e r e n t r o a d w i t h i n s i g h t of th e same i d e a . In t h e o f f n a i v e tr a g i c o m e d i e s a c t e d by t h e c h i l d r e n of th e r o y a l ch a p e l d u r in g E l i z a b e t h 1s r e i g n , music of a com­ p a r a t i v e l y e l a b o r a t e n a tu re , was i n t r o d u c e d i n th e form of songs sung by th e p r i n c i p a l c h a r a c t e r s a t moments o f em otional c r i s i s . 11® The E n g l i s h opera a l s o had i t s r o o t s i n t h e masque which was ex tre m e ly p o p u l a r i n t h e s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r y . Evans ^ i n h i s l i s t i n g of t h e masques e x t a n t i n p r i n t g iv e s t i t l e s b e g i n n in g i n 1604 and ending i n 1640.

I n t h e s e works

? Lang, P au l Henry, Music i n Western C i v i l i z a t i o n , p . 285 8 Dent, Edward J . , F o u ndation s of E n g l i s h Opera, pp. 2-3 9 Evans, H e r b e r t A r t h u r , E n g lis h Masques, p . I x

33 .

to which Evans la m e n ta b ly g i v e s only t h e t e x t , music was used f r e e l y f o r i n t r o d u c i n g t h e a c t s , as i n t e r l u d e s , and t o g i v e s o l o i s t s o r chorus an o p p o r t u n i t y to emphasize c e r t a i n p a r t s o f th e t e x t . The form of E n g lis h o p e r a a s i t e x i s t e d up to the tim e o f P u r c e l l ’ s Dido and Aeneas o f f i c i a l l y cameinto b e i n g i n 1650.

Dent g i v e s t h e p i c t u r e i n t h e s e words:

f,The o p e r a s o r g a n i z e d by S i r W illiam D’Avenant i n 1650 were a c u r i o u s and o r i g i n a l experiment on a form which had l i t t l e i n common w i t h t h e I t a l i a n o p e r a s which a t th e tim e were th e o n ly models i n e x i s t e n c e . T h e i r u l t i m a t e i n f l u e n c e was i n t h e main l i t e r a r y r a t h e r th a n m u s i c a l ; Dryden acknowledged th e ’Siege o f Rhodes’ as t h e s t a r t i n g p o i n t of th e h e r o i c drama o f t h e R e s t o r a t i o n . I t v e r y soon became c l e a r t h a t E n g l i s h a u d i e n c e s , p a s s i o n a t e l y devoted though th e y s t i l l were to music, could n e v e r be brought to r e g a r d music a s a normal language o f d ra m a tic e x p r e s ­ s io n . I f th e l a s t sta te m e n t i n t h i s q u o t a t i o n i s founded on an a c c u r a t e e s t i m a t i o n o f t h e temper o f t h e E n g l i s h t h e a t r i ­ c a l a u d i e n c e s o f t h e tim e, i t i s r e a s o n enough f o r th e r e l a t i v e l y slow p r o g r e s s of o p e r a on t h e E n g lis h s t a g e . The i n s t r u m e n t a l music of t h e tim e was f a r b e h i n d th e v o c a l as h as been n o te d .

However, t h i s does not mean t h a t

t h e r e was n o t c o n s i d e r a b l e a c t i v i t y i n t h a t f i e l d .

The

10 Dent, Edward J . , F o u n d atio n s o f E n g l i s h O pera, p . 3

34 .

music to M i l t o n ’ s masque Gomus which i s supposed to have been w r i t t e n by Henry Lawes c o n t a i n s e l e v e n i n s t r u m e n t a l numbers out of a t o t a l o f t w e n t y - f o u r m u s ic a l e x c e r p t s as g iv e n i n th e Novello e d i t i o n of t h e work.

In a d d i t i o n to

t h i s i n s t r u m e n t a l a c t i v i t y t h e r e was an e q u a l l y r i c h f i e l d l a t e r i n th e c e n t u r y i n t h e i n c i d e n t a l music to t h e p r e ­ v i o u s l y mentioned R e s t o r a t i o n Drama.

The church composers

of t h a t and p r e v i o u s days wrote e x t e n s i v e l y f o r th e organ and have l e f t a l a r g e amount of l i t e r a t u r e f o r t h a t medium, some o f which i s s t i l l i n u s e .

The v i r g i n a l was a f a m i l i a r

i n s t r u m e n t i n England and composers wrote much music of g r e a t b e a u ty f o r i t .

The m a d r i g a l s , which were so p o p u l a r

i n t h e f i r s t h a l f of th e c e n t u r y , were f r e q u e n t l y p u b l i s h e d as b e i n g a p t f o r v o i c e s o r v i o l s .

The L u t e n i s t A i r w r i t e r s

g a in e d t h a t t i t l e f o r t h e i r co m p o sitio n s due to t h e i r p r e ­ o c c u p a t i o n w ith t h a t accompanimental medium.

John Dowland

was i n h i s own day w idely known a s a v i r t u o s o l u t i s t and, s e e k in g w ider f i e l d s of en deavo r, t o u r e d t h e c o n t i n e n t i n th a t capacity. The w idespre ad d i s s e m i n a t i o n of i n s t r u m e n t a l music seems to have been a development of th e l a t e s i x t e e n t h and e a rly seventeenth c e n tu r ie s . emphasize t h i s p o i n t .

Two q u o t a t i o n s from Lang

35 .

"The f i r s t p r i n t e d volume of E n g l i s h v i r g i n a l music, P a r t h e n i a , a p p e ared i n 1611." "But th e most rem a rk a b le c o l l e c t i o n of E n g lis h keyboard music i s c o n t a i n e d i n t h e s o - c a l l e d F i t z w il l i a m V i r g i n a l book. W r i t t e n i n t h e f i r s t q u a r t e r of th e s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r y , and now p r e s e r v e d i n the F i t z w i l l i a m museum i n Cambridge, t h e book c o n t a i n s a l ­ most t h r e e hundred keyboard p i e c e s by B u l l , Byrd, morley, P h i l l i p s , T a l l i s , and Dowland."11 I n t h e l a s t h a l f of t h e s i x t e e n t h c e n t u r y th e fancy a p p e a r e d i n keyboard music: "The f a n c i e s of Byrd and G i b b o n s . . . . a r e n o t only incom parable m a s t e r p i e c e s . . . .but t o g e t h e r w ith t h e o t h e r works of t h e f i r s t h a l f of t h e s e v e n t e e n t h cen­ t u r y , th e y f u r n i s h e d t h e backbone of t h e E n g lis h baroque m u s i c .These f a n c i e s a r e th e r i g h t f u l an­ c e s t o r s o f E n g lis h chamber music, and w ith o u t them t h e wonderful f a n t a s i a s of P u r c e l l would n ever have been w ritten. The o v e r a l l view of E n g l i s h music r e v e a l s t h a t t h e r e have been two im p o r ta n t Reform ations which have p la y e d t h e i r p a r t i n p r o d u c in g t h e v a r i o u s m u s i c a l m a n i f e s t a t i o n s of t h e tim e.

F i r s t , th e R eform ation u nder Henry V III which

l e d to se verance from t h e C a t h o l i c church gave g r e a t im­ p e t u s to t h e growth of s e c u l a r music; second, t h e P u r i t a n R eform ation which r e - r e f o r m e d t h e church gave g r e a t impetus t o t h e o p era and t h e development o f i n s t r u m e n t a l music.

11 Lang, P aul Henry, Music i n Western C i v i l i z a t i o n , p. 290 291

12 I b i d . p .

36 .

A l l th e s e t h i n g s a r e i m p o r ta n t to t h e s tu d e n t o f Pur­ c e l l "because th e y made h i s work p o s s i b l e .

As has been

ob se rv e d above, t h e f a n t a s i a s depended upon t h e f a n c i e s and t h e o p era depended on t h e masque and t h e s o - c a l l e d o p e r a which f o llo w e d . , The anthems, the odes, t h e s e r v i c e s , and t h e welcome songs a r e th e p ro d u c t o f t h e i r tim es p l u s the English t r a d i t i o n . III.

BACKGROUND OF VOCAL MUSIC

For t h e p u r e l y v o c a l music c u l t u r e i n England b e f o r e t h e Reform ation we must lo o k to th e work of the w r i t e r s of l u t e n i s t a i r s , m a d r i g a l s , and music f o r t h e chu rch.

Dr.

E. H. F ellow es i s a pro fo u n d s c h o l a r of th e music of the period.

I n h i s book on th e E n g lis h M adrigal Composers

he makes some s t a t e m e n t s of profound i n t e r e s t .

D i s c u s s in g

t h e b r i l l i a n c e of th e Tudor p e r i o d i n l i t e r a t u r e , Canon F ellow e s observed: "Now i t i s an e q u a l l y t r u e f a c t , a l t h o u g h known and r e c o g n i z e d by a v e r y small f r a c t i o n o f E n g l i s h speaking p r o p l e , t h a t t h e h ig h e x c e l l e n c e of Tudor L i t e r a t u r e has i t s p a r a l l e l i n t h e music of th e same p e r i o d ; f o r t h e music of th e Tudor composers, whether i n th e departm ent of e c c l e s i a s t i c a l , of i n s t r u m e n t a l , o r of s e c u l a r v o c a l w r i t i n g ran k s a s A rt of t h e f i r s t c l a s s . "1?

13 F e llo w e s, Edmund Horace, The E n g l i s h Madrigal Com­ p o s e r s , p . 20

37 .

L a t e r i n t h e sarae c h a p t e r th e a u t h o r o b s e rv e s : " I t must here be s t a t e d f r a n k l y t h a t s i n c e th e decay of t h e Tudor School, n o t h i n g of f i r s t - r a t e m e r i t h as been produced by B r i t i s h composers, a s compared w ith t h e g r e a t c o n t i n e n t a l s c h o o ls o f t h e s e v e n t e e n t h , e i g h t e e n t h , and e a r l y n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r i e s , w i t h t h e i m p o r t a n t , b u t so le e x c e p t i o n of t h e work of Henry P u r c e l l and some of h i s c o n t e m p o r a r ie s , n o t a b l y John Blow and Pelham Humphries." I f F ellow e s may be b e l i e v e d i n h i s f i r s t s t a t e m e n t , what _happened t o t h i s g r e a t m u sic a l development v/hich caused i t to alm ost v a n i s h from s i g h t e n t i r e l y ?

Did th e

m u s ic a l s t y l e change o r was t h e t e r m i n a t i o n of t h e p e r i o d due to l a c k of men of s u f f i c i e n t g e n iu s to c a r r y i t on? The f a c t t h a t such men as P u r c e l l , Humphries, and Blow f o llo w e d c l o s e l y on the h e e l s o f th e Tudor e r a seems to i n d i c a t e t h a t th e l a t t e r q u e s t i o n must be answered i n th e negative.

F ellow es, d i s c u s s i n g th e n e g l e c t o f Tudor music

makes th e f o l l o w i n g s t a t e m e n t s : "Very s h o r t l y a f t e r i t s o r i g i n a l p r o d u c t i o n t h i s music f e l l i n t o complete d i s u s e i n England, w i t h t h e r e s u l t t h a t much of i t s a c t u a l l i t e r a t u r e s u f f e r e d d e s t r u c t i o n and l o s s , w h ile i t s t r a d i t i o n s were ab­ s o l u t e l y o b l i t e r a t e d . T h is la m e n t a b le f a c t was due to th e marked decay i n p u b l i c t a s t e y/hich s e t i n r a p i d l y a s r e g a r d s music a t th e b e g i n n in g o f th e s e v e n t e e n t h c e n tu r y , a l t h o u g h i n o t h e r b r a n c h e s of A rt t h i s decay was d e l a y e d u n t i l t h e l a t e r y e a r s . o f th e S t u a r t d y n a s ty . The d e t e r r e n t i n f l u e n c e of the C i v i l War, coupled w ith a l l th e d i s t o r t e d i d e a s which p r e v a ile d , among c e r t a i n c l a s s e s i n t h e middle of th e s e v e n t e e n t h c e n tu r y a s to th e wickedness of any form of s i n g i n g o r dan c in g , and f i n a l l y th e l i v e l i e r t a s t e s of t h e Count of C h a rle s I I , due t o French e d u c a t i o n

38 .

and e x p e r i e n c e , p u t an almost complete end to t h e c u l t i v a t i o n of p o ly p h o n ic music i n England. f,l 4 C ontinuing h i s d i s c u s s i o n of t h e s u b j e c t , Canon F ello w e s o b s e r v e s : f,The v e r y g r e a t n e s s o f Henry P u r c e l l and h i s c o n te m p o r a r ie s was i n i t s e l f f u r t h e r f a t a l to t h e g e n e r a l perform ance o f th e Tudor music, b ec ause t h e i r p r o l i f i c o u t p u t almost immediately p r e c l u d e d any n e c e s s i t y f o r i t s c o n t in u e d u s e . I n c i d e n t a l l y i t happened t h a t t h i s r e a c t i o n t o l d w ith more f o r c e a g a i n s t t h e m a d rig a ls th a n a g a i n s t th e Church music of t h e E l i z a b e t h a n s , f o r t h e r e i s evidence t h a t i n t h e m a j o r i t y of p r o v i n c i a l c a t h e d r a l s , away from Court i n f l u e n c e , c e r t a i n anthems and s e r v i c e s h e l d t h e i r p l a c e i n a l i m i t e d d e g r e e , s i d e by s id e w ith th e newer t y p e s of co m p o sitio n , u n t i l some of them were g iv e n a new l e a s e on l i f e i n t h e middle of th e eighteenth ce n tu ry H These q u o t a t i o n s may seem over l o n g b u t th e y a r e th e o b s e r v a t i o n s o f th e one man who p r o b a b ly , w ith one p o s s i b l e e x c e p t i o n , knows more about t h i s p e r i o d of music i n Eng­ land

th a n any o t h e r .

To t h e w r i t e r

i t seems t h a t

Fellowes

h a s p a i n t e d a v e r y g r a p h ic p i c t u r e i n t h e s e l i n e s o f the f a i l i n g away o f t h e g l o r i o u s o l d E n g l i s h m u sic a l t r a d i t i o n and i t s r e p la cem en t w ith a new s h o r t - l i v e d e r a i n the group which c e n t e r e d around th e P o s t - R e s t o r a t i o n Chapel R oyal. I n th e days b e f o r e t h e Reform ation, music was th e

14 I b i d .

p . 23

39 .

home d i v e r s i o n of th e c u l t u r e d p e o p le o f England.

Thomas

Morley g i v e s evidence i n h i s opening c h a p t e r to t h e MP l a i n e and E a sie I n t r o d u c t i o n to P r a c t i c a l l Musicke11 when he t e l l s of t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s and s o c i a l c e n s u r e enc o u n tered by P h ilo m a th es when he was f o r c e d t o admit h i s i n a b i l i t y to do h i s p a r t i n t h e a f t e r - d i n n e r s i n g i n g .

The p a s sa g e

i n M orley1s own words i s so r i c h i n i m p l i c a t i o n s t h a t i t i s give n h e r e i n f u l l . 11. . . .But supper- b e i n g ended and, t h e Musicke bookes ( a c c o r d in g to t h e custo m e) b e i n g b r ought to th e t a b l e s , the m i s t r e s s e of t h e house p r e s e n t e d me w ith s. p a r t , e a r n e s t l y r e q u e s t i n g me to s i n g . But when, a f t e r many ex c u se s , I p r o t e s t e d u n f a i n e d l y t h a t I co u ld n o t ; everyone began to wonder. Yea some w hispered to o t h e r s demaunding how I was broug ht up: "15 Here i s a g r a p h ic i l l u s t r a t i o n of t h e e x t e n t to which music was a h o u se h o ld usage i n Tudor England g iv e n by a man who p r o b a b l y was c a l l e d upon to t e a c h some of the s o c i a l l y e l e c t of th e day t h e i r m u s i c a l r u d im e n ts . A l l t h i s r i c h m u sical c u l t u r e must have had some beginning.

The mere f a c t t h a t t h e Tudors were fond of th e

p r a c t i c e of music i s n o t n e a r l y enough to account f o r th e r i c h n e s s h e r e evidence d.

T h is f a c t was f i r s t brought' to

15 Morley, Thomas, P l a i n e and E a s ie I n t r o d u c t i o n to P r a c t i c a l l M usicke. p. 1

40 .

t h e w r i t e r ’ s a t t e n t i o n when, i n a p r i v a t e c o n v e r s a t i o n w i t h Percy G ra in g e r who h as been a s s o c i a t e d w ith Dolraetch, t h e g r e a t E n g l i s h m u s i c o l o g i s t , I was a s s u r e d t h a t Dolmetch h o l d s t h a t England i s t h e s t a r t i n g p l a c e of European music and produced m u sic a l g i a n t s , now f o r g o t t e n , long b e f o r e t h e time of Bach or even t h e Tudor p e r i o d .

This p o i n t i s

g iv e n v ig o r o u s support by F e llo w e s, who says: •'And n o t a t t h e c l o s e of th e Tudor p e r i o d alone was E n g l i s h music supreme i n Europe. I f t h e r e a r e few E n g l i s h p eo p le who a p p r e c i a t e th e f a c t of th e supremacy of E n g l i s h music i n E l i z a b e t h a n day s, t h e r e a r e f a r few er who r e a l i z e t h a t i n the f i r s t h a l f of t h e f i f t e e n t h c e n t u r y , a l s o , t h i s c o u n try was i n th e f o r e f r o n t of European music, and t h a t England may be r e g a r d e d as t h e c r a d l e of t h e Art of modern r n u s i c . ,,lb I f th is great au th o rity is correct in h is a sse rtio n s, and modern s c h o l a r s a re f i n d i n g only su p p o r t f o r h i s s t a t e ­ m ents, we may w e l l a c c e p t as a f a c t th e i d e a t h a t th e Tudor m u sic a l c u l t u r e was th e r e s u l t of a lon g period, of development and s u s t a i n e d t r a d i t i o n . I n v o c a l music of th e p e r i o d t h e r e were t h r e e main f i e l d s of a c t i v i t y , th e church , t h e m a d rig a l (and k i n d r e d t y p e s ) , and t h e l u t e n i s t a i r s .

These l i n e s of a c t i v i t y

i n t h e i r v a r i o u s s t a t e s of development were c o - e x i s t e n t

16 F ello w e s, Edmund Horace, E n g lis h M adrigal Composers, p . 28

w i t h one a n o t h e r and the composers f r e q u e n t l y worked i n more th a n one f i e l d .

Arecent

I rp

h i s t o r y - 1* g iv e s th e f o l ­

lo w ing l i s t o f r e p r e s e n t a t i v e E n g lis h m a d r i g a l i s t s and t h e i r •d a t e s : B y r d ................... 1 5 4 2 . .............. 1623 M o r l e y ... 1557 . . . . . . . P i l k i n g t o n . . . - cl5 6 2 ........................ D o w l a n d ................. • 1563 ......................... B a t e s o n .......... 1570 ................................ T o m k i n s .......... 1573 ................................ Willbye . . . . . 1574 ......................... Weelkes . . . . .c l 5 7 5 ........................ Gibbons . . . . . 1583 ........................

1602 1638 1626 1630 1656 1638 1623 1625

^ e t e r Warlock ( P h i l i p H e s e l t i n e i n h i s study of th e a i r l i s t s many w r i t e r s o f a i r s , among whom we f i n d : Dowland Danyel Jones F erra bo sco (The Younger) Campion Ford P ilkington Morley Of th e s e l i s t e d , Gibbons, Weelkes, Morley, and Byrd wrote im p o r ta n t music f o r th e church. Such a comparison seems to r e v e a l t h a t t h e men who wrote a i r s d i d n o t w r i t e f o r th e church.

I t i s also nota­

b l e t h a t th e l i s t s of m a d r i g a l i s t s and composers o f a i r s

17 McKinney and Anderson, Music i n H i s t o r y , p . 305 18 Warlock, P e t e r , The E n g lish A ir ( S e l e c t e d throughou book)

42.

a r e almost m u tu a lly e x c l u s i v e .

Indeed, Warlock19 says

Morley was t h e only w r i t e r of a i r s who 11d i s t i n g u i s h e d him­ s e l f in o t h e r f i e l d s " . With th e advent o f th e R eform ation which became r e a l l y e f f e c t i v e when i n 1664, a f t e r seven y e a r s of C i v i l War, C h a rle s I d i e d on t h e headsman’s b l o c k . on music of t h e church was d e v a s t a t i n g .

The e f f e c t

The s o l d i e r s of

t h e Commonwealth f a r exceeded t h e i r l e a d e r s i n h a t r e d of t h e e s t a b l i s h e d r e l i g i o u s i n s t i t u t i o n s ; a t l e a s t th e y used such h a t r e d as an excuse f o r p i l l a g e .

Cummings q u o t i n g

M e rc u riu s R u s t i c u s draws t h i s p i c t u r e of c o n d i t i o n s : "The s o l d i e r s v i o l a t e d t h e monuments of t h e dead, sp oyled t h e o rg an s, b ro k e down th e a n c i e n t r a i l s s e a t s w ith the b r a z e n e a g le which d i d su p p o r t t h e b i b l e , f o r c e d open t h e cupboards of th e s i n g i n g men, r e n t some of t h e i r s u r p l i c e s , gowns, and B i b l e s , and c a r r y e d away o t h e r s , mangled a l l our s e r v i c e books and books of common P r a y e r , b e s t r e w i n g t h e whole pave­ ment w ith th e l e a v e s t h e r e o f . " 99 The music of t h e ch u rch was d e m o ra liz e d , the p l a y was f o r b i d d e n , and th e Chapel Royal abandoned.

I n p l a c e of

t h e sensuous a t t i t u d e toward l i f e which was th e mark of t h e e a r l y y e a r s o f the c e n t u r y , t h e P u r i t a n s i n s i s t e d on a t l e a s t l i p s e r v i c e t o a s t e r n e r moral code.

19 I b i d . p . 117 20 M ercurius R u s t i c u s

These same

43.

P u r i t a n s , however, were not above c o n t r a d i c t i n g th e m s e lv e s . Organs were too s e c u l a r f o r t h e church so o t h e r i n s t r u m e n t s • were used; p l a y s were immoral and a c t o r s o b j e c t s of h a t r e d and p e r s e c u t i o n so masques and the E n g l i s h approxim ation of th e o p era were given im p e tu s, th e common s o l d i e r s ’’pawned th e p i p e s ( o f th e o r g a n s ) a t s e v e r a l a l e - h o u s e s " ^ * y e t Cromwell saved th e o rg an which sto o d i n Magdalen C o lle g e , Oxford.

99-

So d i s a s t e r s t r u c k th e r i c h m u sic a l c u l t u r e o f Eng­ l a n d and d i d i t immense harm, b r e a k i n g t h e l i n e s o f t r a d i ­ t i o n and s u p p l a n t i n g them w i t h n o th in g perm anent. IV

EFFECT OF REFORMATION ON MUSICIANS

Among th e w orst s u f f e r e r s when th e R e form a tion wrecked t h e r o y a l e s t a b l i s h m e n t s and t h e church music were th e m u s ic ia n s th e m s e l v e s .

Many were f o r c e d to t u r n to o t h e r

means of e a r n i n g a l i v i n g ;

some c o n tin u e d to e x i s t i n some

m y s t e r i o u s f a s h i o n by m usic.

Equally s e r i o u s was th e

e f f e c t on t h o s e who would norm ally have e n t e r e d t h e f i e l d during t h i s p e rio d .

With no hope f o r th e f u t u r e , th e y , too,

t u r n e d elsew here f o r a v o c a t i o n .

The t r u e e x t e n t of the

21 I b i d 22 Cummings, Wm. H., P u r c e l l , p. 6

44 .

d e v a s t a t i o n was not r e v e a l e d u n t i l C h a rl e s I I s e t about r e - e s t a b l i s h i n g th e r o y a l music i n s t i t u t i o n s .

Then, as

Cummings23 p o i n t s o u t , o nly t h r e e men, Dr. Wilson, Gibbons, and Henry Lawes, out of th e l a r g e m u sic a l e s t a b l i s h m e n t of C h a r l e s I came forw ard to cla im t h e i r former a p p o in tm e n ts. C aptain Cooke who assumed th e t a s k o f r e b u i l d i n g th e Chapel Royal was f a c e d w ith an enormous t a s k .

A ll the

p r e v i o u s t r a d i t i o n s which had te n d ed t o s i m p l i f y th e work o f t h e d i r e c t o r had d i e d from s t a g n a t i o n .

No new t a l e n t

had come i n t o f i l l p l a c e s ; a l l th e boys had to be brought i n and s t a r t e d from th e b e g i n n i n g .

A s l i g h t h i n t of the

d i f f i c u l t i e s Cooke e n c o u n te r e d i s found i n a r e c o r d which g r a n t s two pounds, s i x t e e n s h i l l i n g s " f o r t o r c h e s and l i g h t s f o r p r a c t i c i n g t h e musick a g a i n s t th e k i n g ' s coro ­ nation" The r o y a l m u s ic ia n s u n d e r C h a rle s I I had one t r o u b l e i n common, th e y a l l had g r e a t d i f f i c u l t y i n c o l l e c t i n g money owed them by th e t r e a s u r y .

C h a rle s I I was a g e n e r ­

ous p a t r o n of music and g e n e r o u s ly gave o r d e r s f o r c l o t h f o r t h e men and boys of t h e Chapel Royal and f o r s a l a r i e s t o be p a i d .

The d i f f i c u l t y l a y i n t h e f a c t t h a t h i s

23 I b i d . p . 6 24 La F o n t a i n e , Henry C art de, K i n g 's Musick S e p t. 16, 1661, p. 136

45.

t r e a s u r y was c o n t i n u a l l y empty.

T his emptyness was an un­

welcome i n h e r i t a n c e of every E n g l i s h r u l e r a f t e r t h e time of E l i s a b e t h .

I t speaks volumes f o r t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s ex­

p e r i e n c e d by subsequent r u l e r s t h a t t h e f r u g a l E l i s a b e t h w i t h a l l h e r Tudor shrewdness d ie d l e a v i n g a s t a t e debt b e h in d h e r . Yet, i n s p i t e o f many d i f f i c u l t i e s ,

the P o s t - R e s t o r a ­

t i o n period, was a golden time f o r t h e m u s i c ia n .

The

c hurches were an x io u s to r e - e s t a b l i s h t h e i r c h o i r s and r e ­ b u i l d t h e i r o rg a n s and, s i n c e t h e t a s t e had swung away from t h e Tudor music, t h e r e was a cry f o r more and more new works.

F u r t h e r , as t h e e a r l i e r p a r t of t h i s t h e s i s s t a t e d ,

men such as P u r c e l l were a b l e to c a r r y many p o s i t i o n s a t t h e same time which gave them many s o u r c e s of income. T h i s , coupled w ith t h e absence of t h e c u r s e of th e modern composer, l a c k of p e r f o rm a n c e s , was s u f f i c i e n t s ti m u lu s to cause a g e n e r a t i o n of composers to come forw ard to meet t h e needs of t h e tim e . I t i s r a t h e r i n t e r e s t i n g to s p e c u l a t e as to how much o f th e ’‘p r o l i f i c o u t p u t ” mentioned by Fellow es was th e r e s u l t of t h e f a c t t h a t t h e s e men were composers i n o r d e r to e a rn a l i v i n g .

As f a r a s p r o v in g a n y t h i n g i s concerned,

t h e e f f o r t i s f r u i t l e s s b u t i t i s none t h e l e s s a r i p e f i e l d f o r t h e s p e c u l a t i v e mind.

J u s t what i n f l u e n c e a l l t h i s had on Henry P u r c e l l , -we. do n o t know.

As has been s t a t e d b e f o r e , we kno?/ v ery

l i t t l e about h i s l i f e and even l e s s about th e man.

How­

e v e r , th e study of h i s background i s v e r y v a l u a b l e i n r e a c h i n g an u n d e r s t a n d i n g of h i s work and p l a c i n g him i n a proper h i s t o r i c p ersp e ctiv e .

CHAPTER IV STYLE INTRODUCTION Having examined t h e b i o g r a p h i c a l f a c t s and th e back­ ground of Henry P u r c e l l , i t i s now im p o r t a n t t h a t an a t t e m p t be made t o a r r i v e a t an u n d e r s t a n d i n g of h i s s t y l e o f c o m p o sitio n .

What c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of h i s work have made

i t endure i n s p i t e of n e g l e c t ? I t must be h e l d i n mind t h a t t h e s t y l e under d i s ­ c u s s i o n h e r e i s t h e s t y l e of t h e anthems o n ly .

While i t i s

q u i t e p o s s i b l e t h a t any im p o r ta n t f a c t which i s t r u e of the anthems w i l l a l s o be t r u e of th e o t h e r works of t h e man, i t i s s c a r c e l y com patible w ith sound s c h o l a r s h i p to make such an assum ption w ith o u t f i r s t examining t h e ev idence. Beginning a d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e s t y l e o f th e P u r c e l l anthems, i t i s im p o r ta n t to d i s c o v e r j u s t what i s meant by th e term anthem.

Dr. E. H. F ellow e s, w r i t i n g i n the Grove

D i c t i o n a r y of Music and M u sic ia n s, says: “Anthem, d e r i v e d from t h e o l d E n g l i s h a n t e f n , e a r l y Romanic a n t e f e n a and th e Greek a n t ip h o n a , i s th e term a p p l i e d i n modern usage to a p i e c e of c o n c e r te d v o c a l music sung i n t h e O f f i c e s of th e A n glic an and

48.

k i n d r e d Churches to words which do n o t belo n g t o t h e p r e s c r i b e d L i t u r g y . The p o s i t i o n of th e anthem i s s i m i l a r t o t h a t of th e Motet i n t h e L a t i n Church; a u t h o r i z e d though n o t l i t u r g i c a l . The term, i n s l i g h t l y d i f f e r i n g forms., was i n common use i n England* lo n g b e f o r e t h e Ref o r m a tio n . L a t e r i n t h e same a r t i c l e , Fellowes 'goes on t o d e c l a r e t h a t th e anthem i s e x c l u s i v e l y an E n g lis h p r o d u c t n o t only b e c a u se of i t s language b u t a l s o because i t i s t h e e x c lu ­ s i v e p r o p e r t y o f t h e E n g lia h and k i n d r e d chu rch e s. D i s c u s s in g t h e R e s t o r a t i o n anthem, Fellowes o b s e r v e s th a t: MThe more im p o r ta n t anthems of th e s e two compos­ e r s ( P u r c e l l and Blow) were of much g r e a t e r l e n g t h th a n t h o s e of e a r l i e r d a y s , c o n s i s t i n g o f s e v e r a l move­ ments on t h e l i n e s of s h o r t c a n t a t a s , I n t e r s p e r s i n g w ith c h o r a l numbers i m p o r ta n t a r i a s , d u e t s and q u a r­ t e t t e s f o r solo v o i c e s . A s p e c i a l f e a t u r e o f t h e anthems o f P u r c e l l , i n p a r t i c u l a r , a r e th e i n t e r l u d e s f o r s t r i n g o r c h e s t r a . "2 This l a s t o b s e r v a t i o n i s p a r t i c u l a r l y im p o r ta n t to the s t u d e n t of P u r c e l l f o r i t c l e a r l y p i c t u r e s two o f t h e o u t ­ s t a n d i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e anthems.

F i r s t , th e y a r e

of t h e ty p e c a l l e d v e r s e ( c a l l i n g f o r solo v o i c e s ) and second, they c o n t a i n much i n s t r u m e n t a l music.

R eferring

back t o th e f i r s t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c i t i s im p o rta n t to n o te t h a t th e anthems which c a l l f o r th e use of solo v o i c e s

1 F ellow e s, E. R ., Anthem, A r t i c l e i n G-rove, Vol. I P • 95 2 I b i d . p . 96

49.

and ensembles w i t h i n the form o f t h i s t y p i c a l l y c h o r a l type a r e c a l l e d v e r s e anthem s.

Those s e c t i o n s of any anthem

which a r e marked v e r s e a r e i n t e n d e d f o r perform ance by solo voices. The f i r s t approach to t h i s s tu d y , which- was made on the b a s i s o f t h e P u r c e l l S o c i e t y E d i t i o n , was a complete th e m a t i c in d e x .

The second t a s k was t h e copying of one

complete anthem f o r c a r e f u l a n a l y s i s .

F in a lly , seeing t h a t

no study of P u r c e l l ' s s t y l e would be complete w ith o u t com­ ment on h i s a t t i t u d e to harmony, a cadence c a ta l o g u e has been p r e p a r e d .

T h is l a s t s tu d y h as been h i g h l y s i g n i f i c a n t

i n r e v e a l i n g elem e n ts of P u r c e l l ' s s t y l e . The o r d i n a r y approach w i l l h e r e be r e v e r s e d , t h e con­ c l u s i o n s o f t h e study b e in g s t a t e d f i r s t and the m a t e r i a l to suppo rt them second. CONCLUSIONS 1.

One of Henry P u r c e l l ' s g r e a t e s t g i f t s was th e

a b i l i t y to s e t words p r o p e r l y w ith a t r u e i n f l e c t i o n and r e - i n f o r c e t h i s i n f l e c t i o n w ith m e aningful harmonic and in te rv a l m aterial. 2.

I n P u r c e l l ' s anthems t h e v o i c e l e a d i n g and th e

melodic c o n t e n t of t h e v o ic e p a r t s took precedence ov er a l l other considerations.

50 .

3.

The harmony, p a r t i c u l a r l y a t o r n e a r t h e cadences,

i s n o t a b l e f o r t h e use of d i s s o n a n c e and u n - o rth o d o x t r e a t ­ ment o f th e p a r t s . 4.

The anthems a r e n o t a b l e f o r th e amount of i n s t r u ­

m ental accompaniment. 5.

A l l anthems a r e c o n s t r u c t e d on a c o n t in u o .

6.

The s t r u c t u r e of t h e anthems as r e g a r d s chorus and

so lo work and t h e com bination of th e v o i c e s i s s i g n i f i c a n t i n r e v e a l i n g t h e m u sical c o n d i t i o n s of t h e t im e s . 7.

R e c i t a t i v e s a r e to be sung i n s t r i c t rhythm. I.

WORD SETTING

For th e convenience of t h e s tu d e n t who may wish to check th e c o n c l u s i o n s of t h i s study f o r h i m s e l f , o n ly ex­ amples which a r e i n c l u d e d i n t h i s p a p e r w i l l be qu oted t o pro v e any p o i n t .

The f i r s t example i s from th e opening of

t h e anthem "Who h a t h b e l i e v e d our r e p o r t ? " .

At f i r s t

g l a n c e i t w i l l seem o v e r - s i m p l e - almost i n s i g n i f i c a n t . But w ith i n c r e a s e d study i t w i l l ta k e on added im port as a p h a s e to be w r i t t e n o n ly by a g en iu s of t h e h i g h e s t o r d e r .

51.

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