 Purcell wrote several anthems at different times for his extraordinary voice, a basso profondo, which is known to have had a range of at least two full octaves, from D below the bass staff to the D above it.The dates of very few of these sacred compositions are known; perhaps the most notable example is the anthem "They that go down to the sea in ships".In thankfulness for a providential escape of the King from shipwreck, Gostling, who had been of the royal party, put together some verses from the Psalms in the form of an anthem, and requested Purcell to set them to music.