Born in the year of Purcell’s death, Maurice Greene was a pupil of Jeremiah Clarke as a chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. An organ pupil, at St Paul’s, of Richard Brind, he succeeded his teacher in 1718 at the Cathedral and was appointed organist and composer of the Chapel Royal in 1727; simultaneously he then held the positions of professor of music at Cambridge (from 1730) and Master of the King’s Musick (from 1735). His friendship with Handel is said to have been broken after the scandal with Handel’s rival Bononcini that led Greene to withdraw from the Academy of Ancient Music and found his own concert society, the Apollo Academy. His pupils included William Boyce.

Church Music

Greene is particularly known for his contribution to Anglican church music, with a notable set of works, Forty Select Anthems, published in 1743. Italianate in style, in common with other composers of the time, such as Handel, his compositions include services, and solo and verse anthems.