Because of Queen Mary II's intense popularity with her British subjects, after her funeral publishers rushed to publish works in honor of her death. Purcell and Blow were two composers that wrote elegies on her death. They both set poems written specifically to honor her memory. Epicedium merely means funeral lament. The mood of this scena is tragic and stark. The text is rather dramatic and Purcell adapts his style to fit the poetry.

This is a passionate piece written for soprano voice. Its in a declamatory style befitting high tragedy; at times the words are set syllabically but repeated in phrases for emphasis. At others the melodic line becomes extended and ornate.There is much angularity to the solo line, and the rhythm shifts to fit the rhythm of the text. Purcell's writing is modern, extremely dissonant and anguished, as if poured from the heart continually onto the printed page. The grief expressed is real.

There are three sections. The opening melody is almost folklike, but is developed and repeated at higher and higher levels. The phrases get longer and longer and more complex as he builds the emotional tension of the song. Finally on "rogitas" he releases the tension in a syllabic declamation, and ends with a long melisma on "cantilenam".

The second section is in three, and lilting when compared to the first. There is a wistful feeling to the music here, following pastoral imagery in the poem. Each stanza has twice as much text to set as the one before, so that the final section is the longest of all. Again Purcell turns to a style that is free rhythmically and can adhere faithfully to the emotions and words of the poem in its expression. There are wide leaps and a large vocal range employed; the music covers a wide range of emotional states as well. The music becomes impassioned and dramatic.

In the seventeenth century there were a growing number of amateur musicians in the middle classes that wanted an ever increasing number of new pieces to perform for their own amusement. As a result, publishers began publishing songbooks, and Purcell was one of the most popular songwriters of his time. If your songbook had a song by Purcell in it, it would sell.

Public concert halls were a new feature of the commercial musical scene and performances of songs were usual. When songs such as the Queen's Epicedium when performed for a seventeenth century audience, the performance was also about the quality and accessibility of the poetic text. They were poetry readings set to music. It was therefore natural for Purcell's style to be adapted to the meaning and the rhythm of the poetry. This allowedT him to be as innovative, modern, and as expressive as he liked.

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