English composer. Brother of Henry Purcell. He is mentioned in 1679 as a chorister of the Chapel Royal. While organist of Magdalen College, Oxford (1688-95), he wrote anthems and an ode for St. Cecilia's Day. He also wrote a number of songs and supplied music for the final masque of his brother's The Indian Queen. Between 1696 and 1707 he supplied incidental music for more than forty plays by Dryden, D'Urfey, Cibber, Motteux, Farquhar, and others. In 1700 he was awarded third prize in a competition for setting Congreve's masque The Judgment of Paris. In 1713 he became organist of St. Andrew's, Holborn, London. Other compositions include eleven solo anthems, six cantatas, court odes, and a few instrumental works.