1659
Composers' Life and Careers
Henry Purcell born
Contemporary Events
Rembrandt paints Self Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar
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Rembrant Self Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar
Historical Timeline:
The Lover
The life and careers of our featured composers and the contemporary events of the time. Timeline provided by Lynne Murray and formatted by staff at the Brandenburg.
1660
Composers' Life and Careers
Pelham Humphrey and John Blow (Henry Purcell's future tutor) become members of the Chapel Royal
Contemporary Events
Restoration of the monarchy under Charles II after the English Civil War
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John Michael Wright's portrait of King Charles II
1664
Composers' Life and Careers
Daniel Purcell born in London.
Contemporary Events
John Vanbrugh, architect of Blenheim Palace, dies
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Blenheim Palace, 2021
1668
Composers' Life and Careers
John Eccles born in London
Contemporary Events
Isaac Newton invents the reflecting telescope
Image
Godfrey Kneller's portrait of Sir Isaac Newtown
1671
Composers' Life and Careers
Nicola Matteis arrives in London
Contemporary Events
The first prize given for poetry by the Académie française is awarded to Antoinette Du Ligier de la Garde Deshoulières
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Portrait attributed to Élisabeth Sophie Chéron of Antoinette Du Ligier de la Garde Deshoulières
1677
Composers' Life and Careers
Henry Purcell receives first royal appointment
Contemporary Events
Population of Paris first exceeds 500,000
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The Palais-Royal and its Garden, 1679
1678
Composers' Life and Careers
Vivaldi born in Venice
Contemporary Events
Edmund Halley publishes the first systematic southern sky survey, a catalogue of 341 southern stars
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Anonymous portrait of Antonio Vivaldi
1679
Composers' Life and Careers
Henry Purcell appointed organist of Westminster Abbey
Contemporary Events
The Great Plague of Vienna (likely bubonic plague) claims around 76,000 people
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Jan van Kessel II's Portrait of a Family in a Garden, 1679
1685
Composers' Life and Careers
Handel born in Halle
Contemporary Events
JS Bach born in Eisenach; Domenico Scarlatti born in Naples
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Balthasar Denner's portrait of George Frideric Handel
1689
Composers' Life and Careers
First performance of Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas
Contemporary Events
James II forced to abdicate; William and Mary of Orange become joint English monarchs
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Peter Lely's portrait of James II of England
1690
Composers' Life and Careers
Veracini born in Florence
Contemporary Events
Dutch polymath Christiaan Huygens publishes his pioneering book, Treatise on Light
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Engraving of Veracini
1695
Composers' Life and Careers
Henry Purcell dies in London; The Mad Lover with music by John Eccles performed in London.
Contemporary Events
The 7.8 magnitude Linfen earthquake strikes in Shanxi Province (Qing dynasty, North China), knocking down tens of thousands of homes and structures and killing over 50,000 people
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Mei Quing's Two Immortals on Huangshan, 1695
1709
Composers' Life and Careers
Charles Avison born in Newcastle, North East England
Contemporary Events
The Great Frost, the coldest European winter in the past 500 years, hits Western Europe causing famine, death, and food riots
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Gabriele Bella's Le lagon gelé, 1709. This painting depicts part of a lagoon which froze over in 1709, Venice, Italy.
1713
Composers' Life and Careers
Nicola Matteis the elder dies in London
Contemporary Events
Physicist and inventor Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit switches from using alcohol to mercury in his thermometers; creates first mercury-in-glass thermometer
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Anonymous illustration of Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit
1717
Composers' Life and Careers
Daniel Purcell dies in London
Contemporary Events
Handel's Water Music suites premièred on a barge on the Thames
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Anonymous painting of Daniel Purcell
1721
Composers' Life and Careers
Veracini composes Op. 1 Violin Sonatas
Contemporary Events
JS Bach completes his six Brandenburg Concertos
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E. G. Haussmann's portrait of JS Bach, 1748
1735
Composers' Life and Careers
John Eccles dies in Hampton Wick; Henry Eccles dies between 1735 and 1745
Contemporary Events
English lawyer and amateur meteorlogist George Hadley publishes first explanation of the trade winds; his theory remained widely used almost to the the 19th century
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Chardin's painting Boy with a Top, 1735
1737
Composers' Life and Careers
According to Viennese court archives, Nicola Matteis the younger dies there in 1737, but Charles Burney states Matteis returned to England that year and died in Shrewsbury about 1749
Contemporary Events
The first study correlating past weather conditions with tree ring growth is published by French scientists Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau and Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
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Ambroise Tardieu's engraving of Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau
1741
Composers' Life and Careers
Vivaldi dies penniless in Vienna
Contemporary Events
Handel composes Messiah; completes the 53 movement oratorio in just 24 days
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Section of holograph manuscript for Handel's Messiah, 1741
1744
Composers' Life and Careers
Avison's 12 Concerti Grossi after Scarlatti first published
Contemporary Events
The first known rules of golf are drawn up at Leith (Edinburgh), in Scotland
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Jeremiah Davison's painting The MacDonald boys playing golf, 18th century
1759
Composers' Life and Careers
Handel dies in London
Contemporary Events
The British Museum opens its doors to the public
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Entrance ticket to the British Museum, 1790
1768
Composers' Life and Careers
Veracini dies in Florence
Contemporary Events
James Cook leaves Plymouth on the HMS Endeavour to observe the transit of Venus in Tahiti on an expedition to the south Pacific.
Image
Samuel Atkin's painting of HMS Endeavour off the coast of New Holland during Cook's voyage of discovery, 1768-1771
2023
Contemporary Events
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra presents The Lover concert series in Sydney and Melbourne from September 1st.
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Théotime Langlois de Swarte
