For a brief period, from 1689 to 1702, the royal houses of Britain and Holland were linked in the person of William III (1650–1702), also widely known as "William of Orange," the sovereign Prince of Orange, and Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the 1670s. In 1677, he married his cousin Mary II (1662-1695), the eldest daughter
of his maternal uncle James, Duke of York, the younger brother and later
successor of King Charles II. He ruled Britain alongside his wife and popular histories usually refer to their reign as that of "William and Mary". A staunch Protestant, William participated in several wars against the powerful Catholic French ruler Louis XIV in coalition with both Protestant and Catholic powers in Europe. Many Protestants heralded William as a champion of their faith.
The couple had become betrothed when Mary was only fifteen. They were married in St James's Palace by Bishop Henry Compton on 4 November 1677. Mary accompanied her husband on a rough sea crossing to the Netherlands later that month, after a delay of two weeks caused by bad weather. On 14 December, they made a formal entry to The Hague in a grand procession. Mary's animated and personable nature made her popular with the Dutch people, and her marriage to a Protestant prince was popular in Britain. She was devoted to her husband, but he was often away on campaigns. Within months of the marriage Mary was pregnant; however, on a visit to her husband at the fortified city of Breda, she suffered a miscarriage, which may have permanently impaired her ability to have children.
In early 1689, Mary ascended the
thrones of the British lands thanks to the Glorious Revolution, in which
her Roman Catholic father, James II, was deposed. William of Orange became her co-regent.
Mary was tall (180 cm) and apparently fit; she regularly walked between her palaces at Whitehall and Kensington. In late 1694, however, she contracted smallpox. She sent away anyone who had not previously had the disease, to prevent the spread of infection. She suffered from a dangerous strain and died at Kensington Palace shortly after midnight on the morning of 28 December, at the young age of 32.
William, who had grown increasingly to rely on Mary, was devastated by her death, and said that "from being the happiest" he was "now going to be the miserablest creature on earth". She was widely mourned in Britain. During a cold winter, in which the Thames froze, her embalmed body lay in state in Banqueting House, Whitehall. On 5 March, she was buried at Westminster Abbey. Her funeral service was the first of any royal attended by all the members of both Houses of Parliament.
This concert contains several Mary-related pieces of music, including her funeral music.
(1) Henry Purcell - My heart is inditing (Anthem for the coronation of King James II)
The coronation of King James II (the father of Mary) on 23 April 1685 was an opulent affair. Trumpeters, drummers and kettle-drummers led the procession to Westminster and the magnificent service in the Abbey was accompanied by a large instrumental ensemble. Nine anthems were sung - the final one, during the crowning of the queen, was Purcell’s specially-composed setting
of "My heart is inditing of a good matter." This anthem was ‘performed by the whole
consort of voices and instruments’. It must have made a splendid climax
to a fine pageant.
(2) Henry Purcell - Celebrate this festival (Ode for the birthday of Queen Mary)
Purcell composed six of his finest odes to honor the birthdays of Queen Mary in successive years from 1689. "Celebrate this festival" (1693) contains writing on all scales, from eloquent chamber music to joyous choruses with strings, trumpet and oboes. This is a very substantial piece.
(3) Henry Purcell - The Queen's funeral march Z.860
The March, in C minor, was written for a quartet of "flatt trumpets," which, as slide trumpets, could play notes outside of the harmonic series and thus in a minor key.
(4) Thomas Morley - The first dirge anthem "I am the resurrection and the life"
We know now that Purcell's three Funeral Sentences were not written for the funeral of Queen Mary in 1695. Following the tradition of the English court, it was pieces by Thomas Morley, originally written for the funeral of Elizabeth I, that were sung there. Text:
I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord:
he that believeth in me,
yea, though he were dead,
yet shall he live.
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me
shall never die.
I know that my redeemer liveth,
and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.
And though after my skin, worms destroy this body,
yet in my flesh shall I see God:
whom I shall see for myself
and mine eyes shall behold,
and not another.
We brought nothing into this world,
and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away.
blessed be the name of the Lord.
(5) Thomas Morley - The second dirge anthem "Man that is born of a woman".
Text:
Man that is born of a woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of misery.
He cometh up, and is cut down like a flower;
He fleeth as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one stay.
In the midst of life we are in death:
Of whom may we seek for succour, but of Thee, O Lord,
Who for our sins art justly displeased?
Yet, O Lord God most holy, O Lord most mighty,
O holy and most merciful Saviour,
Deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death.
(6) Henry Purcell - Canzona Z.860
Following the March is the Canzona, also in C minor. "Thou Knowest Lord" is in E-flat major and is a stirring hymn-like setting with all the voice parts moving in the same rhythm. Text:
Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts;
Shut not thy merciful ears unto our pray'rs;
But spare us, Lord most holy, O God most mighty.
O holy and most merciful Saviour,
Thou most worthy Judge eternal,
Suffer us not at our last hour,
For any pains of death to fall away from Thee. Amen.
(7) Thomas Morley - The third dirge anthem "I heard a voice from heaven"
Text:
I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me,
Write, From henceforth, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord:
Even so, saith the Spirit: for they rest from their labors [and their works do follow them].
(8) Henry Purcell - Music for the funeral of Queen Mary: Man that is born of a woman; In the midst of life; Thou knowest Lord.
When the much-loved Queen Mary II died on 28 December 1694, Purcell adapted his 1680-82 funeral service for her funeral. Purcell's earlier setting of the fourth sentence of the Burial Service, "Man that is born of a woman", introduces a melancholy theme. Purcell brings tension to the phrase with "hath but a short time to live", and the melody rises and falls with the words "he cometh up and is cut down like a flower". The music stays in the key of C minor throughout and is of a desolate starkness. The text:
Man that is born of a woman
hath but a short time to live,
and is full of misery.
He cometh up, and is cut down like a flower;
he fleeth as it were a shadow,
and ne'er continueth in one stay.
With "In the midst of life we are in death", an earlier setting of the fifth sentence, Purcell begins with a soprano part that is passed on to the choir. The music portrays with chromaticism an air of anguish. It can be seen as an expression of man's dismay in the face of death. The text:
In the midst of life we are in death:
of whom may we seek for succor,
but of thee, O Lord,
who for our sins art justly displeased?
Yet, O Lord, O Lord most mighty,
O holy and most merciful Savior,
deliver us not into the bitter pains
of eternal death.
There are two earlier versions of "Thou Knowest Lord"; it reminds one of the chorales of Bach reassuring the faithful and gently leading them back to confidence and faith. The text:
Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts;
shut not thy merciful ears unto our pray'rs;
but spare us, Lord most holy, O God most mighty.
O holy and most merciful Savior,
thou most worthy Judge eternal,
suffer us not, at our last hour,
for any pains of death, to fall from thee. Amen.
(9) Henry Purcell - O dive custos (Elegy on the death of Queen Mary)
O dive custos Auriacae (sung in Latin) "shows Purcell’s florid and strongly Italianate vocal style, with the voices intertwining jagged melodic intervals amongst passages containing chains of discords" (from the liner notes in the Hyperion CD of this work).
Listen to Vox Luminis conducted by Lionel Meunier ( (1) and (2) are played before the break, the funeral music in the second part of the concert, starting at 50:00):