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BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

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Composer of the Week

Music: Classical

Kate Molleson

An informative guide to composers' lives and their music.

An informative and accessible guide to composers' lives and their music.

Composer of the Week: Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

Composer of the Week: Henry Purcell (1659-1695): Episode 2: Breaking New Ground

Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

Episode 2

Episode 2: Breaking New Ground

Breaking New Ground

BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week, Henry Purcell (1659-1695), Breaking New Ground

Donald Macleod discusses Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and Music for a while.

How Purcell's innovative theatrical production of Dido and Aeneas laid the artistic foundation for subsequent projects with the most famous writer of the day, John Dryden.

Henry Purcell's stageworks: Purcell's innovative theatrical production "Dido and Aeneas" lays the artistic foundation for subsequent projects with the most famous writer of the day, John Dryden.
Across the week Donald Macleod charts Purcell's activities during the reign of William and Mary. Cutbacks at court meant fewer commissions, but even though Purcell was asked to write less church music, he was able to cater admirably to the Royal taste for music for special occasions and write prolifically for the theatre.

Walk along the North Quire Aisle of Westminster Abbey and you'll come to the tablet commemorating Henry Purcell. One of the pre-eminent musicians of the age, he died, unexpectedly and tragically early in 1695 at the age of 37. Yet despite the brevity of his life, Purcell left behind a rich musical legacy. Indeed, with little in the way of biographical detail remaining, it's through his music that glimpses of his character emerge. He was a gifted and prolific composer who wrote with skill and imagination for the opera, the church, theatre, royal patrons and even small domestic forces. Born a few hundred yards away from the Abbey, just south of Tothill Street, as a child he survived the Great Plague and the Fire of London. A chorister of the Chapel Royal, he went on to hold positions at court and at Westminster Abbey over three reigns, Charles II, James II and William and Mary, seemingly able to weather the political storms and prosper under each successive monarchy.

As William and Mary's reign gathered pace, Purcell became more involved in writing music for stage productions. He had critical success with the groundbreaking opera "Dido and Aeneas", leading to a fruitful association with the United Company, a theatrical monopoly of London's theatres.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Donald Macleod explores Purcell's theatrical works

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Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

Episode 2: Breaking New Ground

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