Henry Purcell was an English composer and organist of the middle Baroque era. He was extremely prolific, his compositions including more than 100 songs, the tragic opera Dido and Aeneas, and incidental music to a version of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream called The Fairy Queen. Purcell's musical style was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Purcell is generally considered to be one of the greatest English composers. September 10, 1659 – November 21, 1695; died at 36. Alive at the same time as Isaac Newton, Molière, John Locke, Rembrandt, and Louis XIV of France. Wiki link