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Scan 891
Biographical dictionary of musicians, 1940
10 lines. Read by computer on 8 September 2026. Printed page 871. See the scan on archive.org.
1biography, and Office of St. George's Day (1926); II, Offices and Masses (1932). An Introit (1614) was publ. in Schering's Geschichte der Musik in Beispielen (No. 179).
3Pulver, Jeffrey, violinist and musicologist; b. London, June 22, 1884; st. with Ševčík (Prague), Heermann (Frankfort), Marteau (Geneva) and A. Moser (Berlin). He has made a specialty of old Engl. mus., and plays the viola d'amore, the tenor viola and other old str.-instrs.—Works: A Dictionary of Musical Terms (1913); A Dictionary of Old Engl. Mus. and Musical Instrs. (1923); A Biographical Dictionary of Old Engl. Mus. (1927); also articles in 'M.T.', 'Monthly Mus. Record', 'Sackbut', 'Strad.', the 'Mus. Quart.', etc. His lectures before the Mus. Assoc., London, are printed in their 'Proceedings': The Ancient Dance Forms (2 parts; 1912, '14); The Intermezzi of the Opera (1917); The Viols in Engl. (1920); The Mus. of Ancient Egypt (1921); Brahms (1926); etc.
5Pun'to, Giovanni. See STICH.
7Purcell', Daniel, brother of Henry; b. London, c. 1660; d. there, Dec. 12, 1717. He became org. of Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1688; took his brother's place as dramatic composer in 1695, and was org. of St. Andrew's, Holborn, from 1713.—Works: Incid. music to ten dramas; several odes (e. g., funeral ode for his brother); publ. The Psalm Tunes set full for the Organ or Harpsichord … (n. d.); songs in collections.—Six anthems are in the choir-books of Magdalen Coll. chapel.—See Q.-Lex.
9Purcell', Henry, one of the greatest of English composers; b. London (?), ca. 1659; d. Dean's Yard, Westminster, Nov. 21, 1695. Until recently it was believed that his father was Henry P. (d. 1664), Gentleman of the Chapel Royal and Master of the choristers at Westminster Abbey. But the latest evidence indicates that he was the son of Henry's brother, Thomas P., who was also a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal and held other important posts at the court. From 1669 he was a chorister of the Chapel Royal under Cooke and Humfrey, also receiving instruction from Dr. Blow. When his voice broke in 1673, he was app. asst. 'Keeper of the Instruments'. In 1677 he was app. comp. to the King's band, and in 1679 he succ. Blow as org. of Westminster Abbey. In 1682 he became one of the 3 organists of the Chapel Royal as Lowe's successor; in 1683, Keeper of the King's wind-instrs. His first printed comp. is a song in vol. I (1676) of Playford's 'Choice Ayres'; vol. II (1679) contains several other songs, and an elegy on the death of Matthew Lock. In 1680 P. wrote the first of 29 'Odes' and 'Welcome Songs'. His first publ. chamber-music dates from 1683, Sonatas of III Parts: two violins and bass: to the Organ or Harpsichord (with engraved portrait), 12 numbers, based on Italian models, each having an Adagio, a Canzone (fugue), a slow movem., and an air (3 reprinted by Augener). The Yorkshire Feast Song, called by D'Urfey, the author, 'one of the finest compositions he ever made', was composed and produced in 1690. This is one of the 29 'Welcome Songs', which he wrote (on an average of 2 annually) in his capacity of 'composer-in-ordinary'. Although the texts are almost invariably stupid or bombastic, P. wrote some of his finest music for these occasional odes. During the last five years he developed extraordinary activity in theatrical composition, to which he had given some attention since 1680, when he began to write incidental dances and occasional airs for various dramas. In spite of this close connection with the stage, he wrote only one opera, Dido and Aeneas, prod. in 1689. He lies in the north aisle of Westminster Abbey, and his burial-tablet well expresses contemporary estimation of his worth: "Here lyes Henry Purcell, Esq.; who left this life, and is gone to that blessed place where only his harmony can be exceeded". His church-music shows the original melodist, and a master of form, harmony, and all contrapuntal devices; his dramatic music is equally original in invention, dramatic instinct, and power of characterization; his chamber-works surpass those of his predecessors and contemporaries.—Works: Besides the comps. mentioned there were publ. during P.'s life a theoretical treatise, The Art of Descant, in the 10th ed. of Playford's 'Briefe Introduction of the Skill of Musick' (1683); Playford also publ. several airs and 'symphonies' [written for various dramas] in 'The Theatre of Musick' (1685), anthems and sacred songs in 'Harmonia Sacra' (1688), and pieces for harpsich. in 'Musick's Handmaid' (part II, 1689); of the incid. music to plays there appeared Amphitryon (1690; the airs in the text, the instrl. pcs. in 'Ayres for the Theatre'), Dioclesian (1691), and 'Select ayres' from the Fairy Queen (1692). The full list of plays for which P. wrote music is as follows: 1680, Lee's Theodosius, D'Urfey's The Virtuous Wife (1694?); 1681, Tate's arr. of Shakespeare's Richard II, D'Urfey's Sir Barnaby Whigg; 1682, Beaumont and Fletcher's The Double Marriage (1685?); 1685, Davenant's Circe, Lee's Sophonisba; 1688, D'Urfey's A Fool's Preferment; 1698, Betterton's Dioclesian, Settle's Distressed Innocence, Southerne's Sir Anthony Love, Dryden's Amphitryon, Lee's The Massacre of Paris; 1691, Dryden's King Arthur, The Gordian Knot Untyed (author unknown), Dryden's The Indian Emperor, Southerne's The Wives' Excuse; 1692, Dryden's Cleomenes,
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