Henry Purcell (1659–1695) was an English Baroque composer regarded as the greatest English figure in the history of music up to the 20th century. In a short life — he died at 36 — Purcell created a vast and varied body of work: sacred music, odes, theatrical scores, songs, and instrumental pieces.
His operatic masterpiece is “Dido and Aeneas,” and Dido's final lament, “When I am laid in earth,” built over a descending ground bass, is considered one of the most moving arias of all time. Purcell brilliantly combined the French and Italian styles with the English choral tradition and the natural flow of the English language. His music defined the face of English art for centuries, and his melodies inspired composers as late as Benjamin Britten, who revered Purcell as a teacher across the ages.
