Introduction

Biography

Purday was ap­point­ed con­duct­or of psalm­ody at Crown Court Scots Church in Co­vent Gar­den, London, in the 1840’s, dur­ing the min­is­try of Dr. John Cum­ming.

Cumming’s church was so po­pu­lar that it was said traf­fic could not move in Bow Street and Dru­ry Lane for the throng of car­ri­ages mak­ing their way to ser­vic­es.

Purday was a fine vo­cal­ist and had sung at the co­ro­na­tion of Queen Victoria.

He be­came a mu­sic pub­lish­er, and was a pio­neer in the move­ment for co­py­right law re­form.

Works

• The Sacr­ed Mu­sic­al Of­fer­ing, 1833
• Crown Court Psal­mo­dy: One Hun­dred Psalm Tunes and Chants, 1854
• A Few Di­rect­ions for Chant­ing, 1855
• A Church and Home Tune Book, 1857
• Copyright, a Sketch of Its Rise and Pro­gress, 1877