As part of our Bodleian treasures series, former chorister Jon Snow recalls singing Henry Purcell’s Ode for St Cecilia’s Day – “a beautiful piece by the greatest cathedral music composer of all time”.

English composer Henry Purcell only lived to be 36, but by the time he died in 1695 he had already left behind an impressive body of work in many different forms, including the first British opera to ...

Henry Purcell was one of the great British composers whose mastery of the voice was absolute. Can such an old English composer be any good? Purcell was a creative phenomenon. By the time of his early ...

Imagine playing something wrong time and time again. It’s a musician’s worst nightmare, but it’s exactly what’s been happening to orchestras for the last 241 years who’ve performed Henry Purcell’s ...