The Locke Consort - Purcell: Ten Sonatas in Four Parts (2018)

Ten Sonatas in Four Parts (1697) Henry Purcell died unexpectedly on 21 November 1695. In the next few months there was an unprecedented outpouring of grief for Englands foremost musician: odes in his memory were written, and moves were made to publish some of his music. His most enduring monument was the song collection Orpheus Britannicus (1698 and 1706), though his widow Frances also issued two collections of hitherto unpublished instrumental music. On 2 April 1696 she announced proposals to print a Collection of Sonatas and other Ayres by subscription. The advertisement was repeated several times in the following weeks, but the time limit for subscriptions had to be extended, and the collect-ions did not appear until the following year, as A Collection of Ayres, Composd for the Theatre and Ten Sonatas in Four Parts…..