Henry Purcell: A Great Composer

Both Haydn and Beethoven are known as two of the greatest classical/romantic composers in the history of music. Haydn is identified as the father of modern symphony, as well as the father of the string quartet. He has played an essential role in developing the piano trio and the sonata form. Beethoven is also a widely recognized composer in Western music, his style joined the lull between the Classical and Romantic eras. Beethoven traveled to Vienna when he was young to study under Haydn. However, due to disputes and differences between the two composers, lessons only lasted for a little over a year. The teachings, if only for a short period, left a mark on Beethoven, and can be observed in his compositions.

and tyranny. Henry was born on May 29th, 1736 in Studley, Virginia. His schooling was

In 1894, a young, quietly colorful Charles Ives enters Yale University. He enters with a strong musical foundation provided by his father and community and a vision of what he thinks music can be. Horatio Parker, Ives’s composition professor unashamedly informs Ives that his vision of music seems blurry, perhaps even nauseating, to the astute, cultured musician. Ives quickly develops anger towards Parker’s traditional tutelage and rarely recognizes the positive effects Parker has on his compositions. Here begins the battle between new and old that Ives and Parker embarked upon during Ives’s college years, however the story starts and ends far from their four short years together.

An Austrian composer and performer who showed astonishing precocity as a child and was an adult virtuoso, musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born to Leopold Mozart and Anna Maria Pertl in Salzburg, Austria on January 27, 1756. Leopold Mozart was a successful composer and violinist and served as assistant concertmaster at the Salzburg court. Mozart and his older sister Maria Anna "Nannerl" were the couple's only

Leonard Bernstein is seen as one of the greatest composers in America. Bernstein composed great music, conducted great music, and also preformed great music as a pianist. Bernstein is probably most known for his film score in the production West Side Story. According to The New York Times, he was "one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history.” Being born and educated in the United States, Bernstein was the first American to obtain worldwide acclaim. He is also cited in the Encyclopedia of World Biography, that “his special gift of bridging the gap between the concert hall and the world of Broadway made him one of the most glamorous musical figures of his day.”

Henry Hudson was an English explorer in the 1600s. He was born during 1565 in England, United Kingdom. His parents’ names are unknown, but he had three siblings named Thomas Hudson, Christopher Hudson, and John Hudson. Henry got married to Katherine Hudson in the late 1500s. Together they had three children, Oliver Hudson, John Hudson (who went on voyages with his father), and Richard Hudson. On his last voyage his crew decided to cast him out. He soon later died of exposure in or near the Hudson River.

Henry Purcell was a famous English composer during the Baroque period of music. There is very little known about Henry Purcell’s life. Purcell was born September 10, 1659 in the Westminster area of central London, England. His father, who was also named Henry Purcell was a gentleman at the Chapel Royal and the master of Choristers in Westminster Abbey but he died in 1664 when Purcell was around six years old. After the death of his father his mother Elizabeth was forced to raise their Henry and his brothers. It is unknown how many brothers Henry actually had but it is known that he had at least two, Edward and Daniel. Daniel was also a musical composer. Henry 's uncle, Thomas Purcell was also a gentleman of

Henry Purcell is seen as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque period and one of the greatest of all English composers. His earliest surviving works date from 1680 and show a complete command of musical composition. They include some fantasias for viols, masterpieces of contrapuntal writing, and more contemporary sonatas for violins, which reveal some acquaintance with Italian models. Purcell, in his time, became increasingly in demand as a composer, and his theatre music in particular made his name familiar to many who knew nothing of his church music or the odes and welcome songs he wrote for the court of three different kings over twenty-five years.

Henry Purcell was born on September the 10th of 1659 in St Anne’s Lane, Old Pye Street, Westminster. He was the son of Henry Senior, and Elizabeth Purcell and brother to Edward and Daniel, also an organist. He died at his home in Westminster on the 21st November of 1695. He was only 36 years old. His nationality was English and he attended Westminster School.

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was an Italian Baroque composer, artist, teacher, and a very influential person in the baroque. Vivaldi was born in Venice, Italy on March 4th, 1678. He was immediately baptized after his birthday which leads people to believe he was an unhealthy infant or a recipient to other natural causes. Throughout his life, he has composed many pieces such as his numerous amounts of concertos for a variety of different instruments, his operas, and one of his most famous pieces, The Four Season. Even though Vivaldi was a very successful composer and virtuoso he died on the 28th of July in 1741, in poverty with little to no money.

Henry VIII was the son of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York; he was born June 28, 1491, at Greenwich Palace. Henry had six siblings three had died at birth and his other three siblings survived, Arthur, Mary, and Margret. At the age of two Henry been appointed Constable of the Dove Castle and Lord Warden

Joseph Haydn was born in a small Austrian town named Rohrau. His mother was Maria Koller a cook, and his father was Mathias Haydn who was a step under the village mayor in Rohrau. His Parents were hard working people his father would be the one who did have interests similar to his Mathias enjoyed performing folk music. Haydn would also discuss memories of his family singing and being very musically inclined with one another. He was very shart and extremely talented in the Musical Arts and his parents would notice and knew he needed a change of scenery to help him attain a better career in the art. Haydn's parents would send him with

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was probably the greatest genius in Western musical history. He was born in Salzberg, Austria on January 27, 1756. The son of Leopold Mozart and his wife Anna Maria Pertl. Leopold was a successful composer and violinist and assistant concertmaster at the Salzberg court.

First off, I found it interesting that Purcell had a hand in creating English odes. His mastery of complex, polyphonic music made it a good fit in creating new stylings that could be used to push Baroque music forward. Another interesting fact I found was how he had prior experience in music before and while writing, through his family and working as a tuner for the church. While I understand the importance of why composers wrote what they did, it doesn’t change much for me. What they wrote and how they developed the style at the time means more to me than backstory and knowledge of why they decided to start writing.

In the course of the development of music, many great composers have contributed their brilliance towards the revolution of music. To be a great composer does not necessarily mean that they have reached a vast amount of fame. However, it means that their compositions have ingenuity and value. The melodies they have cleverly created have reached a point of worthiness in the world of music. For it is the sweet harmonies a composer creates that defines who he is. One of these gifted composers was Frederic Chopin, born on February 22, 1810 in Zelazowa Wola, Poland. Young Chopin was already composing by the age of eight and as his musical career developed he became known as a master of piano composition. Although he was often misunderstood