I will be doing a few different listening log entries on catches and rounds by Henry Purcell, so I will introduce him here briefly as a composer and then refer back to this post later.

Henry Purcell (1659-1695)¹ is considered one of the greatest English composers due to the tremendous influence he had on his contemporaries and on the development of and English voice in music. Furthermore, he has been highly revered and influential subsequently with his music widely performed and adapted to this day. He composed widely for vocal ensembles, including secular and religious works, as well as various operas, sonatas, songs, and music for theatre.

Importantly to this section of the course, Purcell was a very prolific composer of rounds and catches, many of which were composed for entertainment purposes and which were very popular in their time². Common themes of these vocal works include wine, women, mythology, and politics. A collection of many of his catches and rounds, titled Henry Purcell: Catches, Rounds, Two-part and Three-part Songs lists some 57 catches and an addition 50 three and four part songs. Lyrics to many of these are unlikely to have been written by Purcell himself, with poets and lyricists contributing their words and crafting these to interplay with the overlapping lines.

One such work taken from the collection mentioned above is An Ape, a Lion, a Fox and an Ass, a catch detailing the stages of men and women throughout their lives, comparing them to animals in the way they behave. The lyrics are light and bawdy, comparing men to mammals and women to birds, with allusions to the deterioration in character with age. The music itself is simple enough harmonically and rhythmically, but would require a singer to stretch around an octave and a half in range, which could be tricky with a few drinks. I can’t sing at all, so I know I would struggle.

An Ape, a Lion, a Fox, and an Ass,
Do shew forth Man's Life as it were in a Glass:
For Apish we are till Twenty and one,
And after that, Lions till Forty be gone;
Then witty as Foxes till Threescore and Ten,
but after that Asses, and so no more Men.

A Dove, a Sparrow, a Parrot, a Crow,
As plainly sets forth how you Women may know:
Harmless they are, till Thirteen be gone,
Then Wanton as Sparrows till Forty draw on;
Then Prating as Parrots till Threescore be o'er,
Then Birds of ill Omen, and Women no more.

The version notated above is in D minor, and the common trope of having a V7 chord (A7 in this case) to lead back to D minor is employed. I’ve seen this with a few of the catches I’ve listened to and it’s not only good voice leading, but would also serve as a good cue to bring all the voices back to the start of the catch, should any one be lost (again: drinking).

References: 
1. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-Purcell
2. Shay, R., 2002. Review: Two Sides of Purcell's Vocal Music. Early Music, 30(2), pp.291-293.

Recording:
Deller, A. 2008. Alfred Deller: The Complete Vanguard Classics Recording. London: Musical Concepts.

Sheet music:
Purcell, H. Catches, Rounds, Two Part and Three Part Songs. New York: Novello & Co. 1922.[online]