In 1680, Blow, who had been appointed organist of
Westminster Abbey in 1669, resigned his office in favour of his pupil, who was still only twenty-two. Purcell now devoted himself almost entirely to the composition of sacred music, and for six years severed his connection with the theatre. However, during the early part of the year, probably before taking up his new office, he had produced two important works for the stage, the music for
Nathaniel Lee's Theodosius, and
Thomas D'Urfey's Virtuous Wife. The composition of his
opera Dido and Aeneas, which forms a very important landmark in the history of English dramatic music, has been attributed to this period, though its earliest production has been shown by
W. Barclay Squire to have been between 1688 and 1690. It was written to a
libretto furnished by
Nahum Tate, at the request of
Josiah Priest, a professor of dancing, who also kept a boarding school for young gentlewomen, first in
Leicester Fields and afterwards at
Chelsea, where it is thought the opera was first performed. It is occasionally considered the first genuine
English opera, though that title is usually given to Blow's
Venus and Adonis: as in Blow's work, the action does not progress in spoken dialogue but in Italian-style
recitative. Dido and Aeneas never found its way to the theatre, though it appears to have been very popular among private circles. It is believed to have been extensively copied, but only one song was printed by Purcell's widow in
Orpheus Britannicus, and the complete work remained in manuscript until 1840, when it was printed by the
Musical Antiquarian Society under the editorship of Sir
George Macfarren.
Soon after Purcell's marriage, in 1682, on the death of Edward Lowe, he was appointed organist of the Chapel Royal, an office which he was able to hold simultaneously with his position at
Westminster Abbey. His eldest son was born in this same year. His first printed composition,
Twelve Sonatas, was published in
1683. For some years after this, he was busy in the production of sacred music, odes addressed to the king and royal family, and other similar works. In 1685, he wrote two of his finest anthems, "I was glad" and "My heart is inditing", for the coronation of King
James II.
In 1687, he resumed his connection with the theatre by furnishing the music for
Dryden's tragedy,
Tyrannick Love. In this year, Purcell also composed a march and quick-step, which became so popular that
Lord Wharton adapted the latter to the fatal verses of
Lillibullero; and in or before January 1688, he composed his anthem "Blessed are they that fear the Lord" by express command of the King. A few months later, he wrote the music for D'Urfey's play,
The Fool's Preferment. In
1690, he wrote the songs for
Dryden's version of Shakespeare's
The Tempest, including "Full fathom five" and "Come unto these yellow sands", and the music for
Betterton's adaptation of
Fletcher and
Massinger's Prophetess (afterwards called
Dioclesian) and Dryden's
Amphitryon. In
1691, he produced what is sometimes considered his dramatic masterpiece,
King Arthur, also written by Dryden and first published by the Musical Antiquarian Society in 1843. In 1692, he composed songs and music for
The Fairy-Queen (an adaptation of Shakespeare's
A Midsummer Night's Dream), the score of which was rediscovered in 1901 and published by the
Purcell Society. However, in these semi-operas (the term for which at the time was "dramatic operas"), the main characters of the plays do not sing but speak their lines: the action moves in dialogue rather than recitative, with music introduced only in isolated scenes and masques. In these works, Purcell suffered the handicap of being unable to characterize through music, largely due to the aesthetics of mass audiences of that time.
Purcell's
Te Deum and Jubilate was written for
Saint Cecilia's Day, 1693, the first English
Te Deum ever composed with orchestral accompaniment. This work was annually performed at
St Paul's Cathedral until
1712, after which it was performed alternately with
Handel's Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate until 1743, when both works were replaced by Handel's
Dettingen Te Deum.
He composed an anthem and two elegies for
Queen Mary II's funeral. Besides the
operas and
semi-operas already mentioned, Purcell wrote the music and songs for Thomas D'Urfey's
The Comical History of Don Quixote,
Boudicca,
The Indian Queen and others, a vast quantity of sacred music, and numerous
odes, cantatas, and other miscellaneous pieces. The quantity of his instrumental chamber music is minimal after his early career, and his keyboard music consists of an even more minimal number of harpsichord suites and organ pieces.
He died at his house in Dean's Yard, Westminster, in 1695, at the height of his career; he was in his mid-thirties. The cause of Purcell's death is unclear: one theory is that he caught a chill after returning late from the theatre one night to find that his wife had locked him out; another is that he succumbed to chocolate poisoning; perhaps the most likely is that he died of
tuberculosis. The beginning of Purcell's will reads:
:
In the name of God Amen. I, Henry Purcell, of the City of Westminster, gentleman, being dangerously ill as to the constitution of my body, but in good and perfect mind and memory (thanks be to God) do by these presents publish and declare this to be my last Will and Testament. And I do hereby give and bequeath unto my loving wife, Frances Purcell, all my estate both real and personal of what nature and kind soever...
Purcell is buried adjacent to the organ in Westminster Abbey. His epitaph reads, "Here lyes Henry Purcell Esq., who left this life and is gone to that blessed place where only his harmony can be exceeded."
Purcell's wife Frances and three of his six children survived him. Frances died in
1706, having published a number of his works, including the now famous collection called
Orpheus Britannicus, in two volumes, printed in 1698 and 1702, respectively. Purcell's son Edward (1689-1740) became organist of
St Clement Eastcheap, London, in 1711. His son Edward Henry Purcell (d. 1765) succeeded him in ths post. Both men are buried in St Clement's.
