Charles Henry Purday composer

date of birth: 11.01.1799
date of death: 23.04.1885

January 11, 1799, Folkestone, Kent, England.

April 23, 1885, London, England




Purday was appointed conductor of psalmody at Crown Court Scots Church in Covent Garden, London, in the 1840’s, during the ministry of Dr. John Cumming. Dr. Cumming’s church was so popular that it was said traffic could not move in Bow Street and Drury Lane for the throng of carriages making their way to services. Purday was a fine vocalist and had sung at the coronation of Queen Victoria. He became a music publisher, and was a pioneer in the movement for copyright law reform. His works include:

The Sacred Musical Offering, 1833
Crown Court Psalmody: One Hundred Psalm Tunes and Chants, 1854
A Few Directions for Chanting, 1855
A Church and Home Tune Book, 1857
Copyright, a Sketch of Its Rise and Progress, 1877