With a whet, whet, whet, and a sweep, sweep, sweep.
But above all this still abounds
With a zingle, zingle, zing, and a zit zan zounds."
In 1680 Dr. Blow magnanimously resigned the appointment of organist of Westminster Abbey in favour of Purcell,[26] who thus became possessed of one of the most distinguished musical positions in the kingdom at the early age of twenty-two.
In the same year Purcell composed the music for Lee's tragedy, Theodosius, or the Force of Love. It was performed at the Duke's Theatre, and the music of the songs was soon after published by Bently as an Appendix to the play. He also wrote music for D'Urfey's comedy, The Virtuous Wife, and two odes, the first, addressed to the Duke of York, entitled "An Ode or Welcome Song for his Royal Highness on his Return from Scotland," and the second called "A Song to Welcome Home His Majesty from Windsor."
But the most remarkable work of Purcell in this year (1680) was the composition of the opera Dido and Æneas, usually ascribed to his seventeenth year, 1675, a complete mistake. An original copy of the libretto still exists, with the following title, "An Opera performed at Mr. Josias Priest's Boarding-school at Chelsey, by young gentlewomen, the words made by Mr. Nat. Tate. The musick composed by Mr. Henry Purcell."
That this was the first performance is tolerably certain, for we find in D'Urfey's New Poems, 1690, "An Epilogue to the Opera of Dido and Æneas, performed at Mr. Priest's Boarding-school at Chelsey: spoken by the Lady Dorothy Burk." We know that Priest removed to Chelsey in 1680 by an advertisement in the London Gazette, November 25th, 1680: "Josias Priest, dancing-master, who kept a boarding-school of gentlewomen in Leicester-fields, is removed to the great school-house at Chelsey, that was Mr. Portman's. There will continue the same masters and others to the improvement of the said school."
Dido and Æneas will always remain a monument to Purcell's extraordinary genius; it is in perfect opera form, with an entire absence of dialogue, the whole of the libretto being set in recitative, solos, duets, and chorus. The opera is short, yet we cannot but recognise the fact that had there been a public demand for absolute music-drama, or even a proper appreciation of a work cast in such a mould, the composer had arisen who possessed the necessary genius, inspiration, and feeling for building up a school of opera which would have proved a model for his own and succeeding generations, but the time was not ripe for such a development. Purcell, like many other gifted mortals, lived before his time, and thus his perfect specimen of music-drama remains unique: so far as we know he never attempted such another work.
There is a tradition that the part of Belinda (or Anna), written for alto voice, was sung and acted[27] by Purcell himself. The music of this opera remained in MS. until 1840, when it was published by the "Musical Antiquarian Society," edited by G. A. Macfarren, unfortunately from an imperfect copy of the score, the only one then attainable. It has been frequently performed since Purcell's time, notably at the "Ancient Concerts" in London, and more recently at Liverpool. In this eventful year, or the succeeding one, 1681, Purcell took unto himself a wife, and in the latter year he again composed an ode or "Welcome Song" which must have brought him favourably under the notice of the King. It commences, "Swifter Isis, swifter flow."
In July, 1682, his abilities were publicly recognised by giving him the appointment of Organist of the Chapel Royal in place of Edward Lowe, deceased. The honour and the additional income would be welcomed by the young couple just starting on the voyage of life as a favourable augury for their future comfort and prosperity.