Anthony Purnell is a Kent-based composer with wide-ranging interests. Until he retired in 2017 he taught recorder, piano, classical guitar and electric keyboard and still performs on a variety of early wind and string instruments in the Early Music Group Cancionero. He makes some of their rarer stringed instruments!

With 40 years experience of recorder teaching at all levels he has evolved a successful format, the Festival Series, to allow mass performances with upwards of 200 young players of varied abilities. The pieces can also be played on a smaller scale, even one to a part.

His output also includes works for smaller groups of recorders, concertos for young players with junior orchestras and teaching materials for electronic keyboards.

The Associated Board's Prep Test for Descant Recorder includes two of Anthony's pieces.

Anthony is an experienced choral conductor and has written church anthems and produced choral arrangements and editions of folk songs and medieval works including the Llibre Vermell, the medieval Carmina Burana, Italian laude from the Laudario di Cortona and Sephardic songs. Some of these are currently available from IMSLP.ORG and more will be added in the near future.

 

The Welsh folksong "The Ashgrove"

 

 

Five Sephardic Songs

 

 

© Weald Music Services, 2012.