Edward Henry Purcell
Encyclopedia
Edward Henry Purcell organist, printer, and music publisher, was the son of Edward Purcell
, and grandson of the English
Baroque
master, Henry Purcell
. He was a chorister in the Chapel Royal
in 1737. Upon the death of his father in 1740, he succeeded him as organist of St Clement, Eastcheap
.
He was also organist of St Edmund, King and Martyr
, between 10 September 1747 and 10 October 1753, from whence he became organist at St John, Hackney, all the while retaining his post at St Clement's. (N.B. the present Hackney church
is a later building). At Hackney he was rebuked for lightness and for irregular attendance.
It may be that Edward Henry is the same Purcell, a printer, who was publishing music at the sign of the Handel's Head, Wood Street in 1751.
Evidently Edward Henry was living very close to poverty at the end of his life, for it was noted in the 23 June 1761 edition of the London Gazette that he was being pursued for debt:
He was buried, alongside his father, near the organ gallery in St Clement Eastcheap
.
Edward Purcell (musician)
Edward Purcell was born in Westminster, London, the only surviving son of the English Baroque master, Henry Purcell. When his mother Frances died in February 1706, she stated in her will, and apparently in accordance with her husband's wishes, that she had given him a good education.Holman, Peter,...
, and grandson of the English
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
master, Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
. He was a chorister in the Chapel Royal
Chapel Royal
A Chapel Royal is a body of priests and singers who serve the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they are called upon to do so.-Austria:...
in 1737. Upon the death of his father in 1740, he succeeded him as organist of St Clement, Eastcheap
St Clement Eastcheap
St. Clement Eastcheap is a Church of England parish church in Candlewick Ward of the City of London. It is located on Clement's Lane, off King William Street, and close to London Bridge and the River Thames....
.
He was also organist of St Edmund, King and Martyr
St Edmund the King and Martyr
St Edmund, King and Martyr is an Anglican church in Lombard Street, in the City of London dedicated to St Edmund the Martyr.-History:In 1292, the church is first recorded as 'Saint Edmund towards Garcherche', and it reappears in 1348 as 'Saint Edmund in Lombardestrete'...
, between 10 September 1747 and 10 October 1753, from whence he became organist at St John, Hackney, all the while retaining his post at St Clement's. (N.B. the present Hackney church
Church of St John-at-Hackney
The Church of St John at Hackney is situated in the London Borough of Hackney. It was built in 1792, in an open field, north east of Hackney's medieval parish church, of which only St Augustine's Tower remains...
is a later building). At Hackney he was rebuked for lightness and for irregular attendance.
It may be that Edward Henry is the same Purcell, a printer, who was publishing music at the sign of the Handel's Head, Wood Street in 1751.
Evidently Edward Henry was living very close to poverty at the end of his life, for it was noted in the 23 June 1761 edition of the London Gazette that he was being pursued for debt:
Purcell, Edward Henry: To compel Edward Henry Purcell, late of Mincing LaneMincing LaneMincing Lane is a one-way street in the City of London linking Fenchurch Street southward to Great Tower Street.Its name is a corruption of Mynchen Lane - so-called from the tenements held there by the Benedictine 'mynchens' or nuns of St Helen's Bishopsgate .It was for some years the world's...
, musician, to make a schedule of his estate and effects, as an insolvent debtor, prisoner in the King's Bench PrisonKing's Bench PrisonThe King's Bench Prison was a prison in Southwark, south London, from medieval times until it closed in 1880. It took its name from the King's Bench court of law in which cases of defamation, bankruptcy and other misdemeanours were heard; as such, the prison was often used as a debtor's prison...
, SurreySurreySurrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. Witness my hand the 22d day of June 1761, Henry Saffery
He was buried, alongside his father, near the organ gallery in St Clement Eastcheap
St Clement Eastcheap
St. Clement Eastcheap is a Church of England parish church in Candlewick Ward of the City of London. It is located on Clement's Lane, off King William Street, and close to London Bridge and the River Thames....
.