[2][3][4] The first volume of Orpheus Britannicus was published in 1698 by Henry Playford;[5]: 63  it was printed by John Heptinstall using an improved movable type he had invented, which allowed for beaming of quavers and shorter notes.

[6] A second volume, " ... the second book, which renders the first compleat ...", was published by Playford in 1702;[5]: 63  it and all subsequent editions were printed by William Pearson using a font similar to Heptinstall's, but smaller and neater.

[5]: 63  Various volumes were published under this name by John Walsh between about 1730 and 1747; at least one of them was a collection of single-sheet editions of songs from the early years of the eighteenth century.

Belinda" in Orpheus Britannicus, transposed up one step, from C to D.[8] Henry Hall, who had studied composition with Purcell under John Blow, wrote the dedicatory poems at the beginning of each volume, (1698 and 1702) and also wrote one for Blow's Amphion Anglicus.

[9] Amphion Anglicus, a collection of songs, excerpts from odes and chamber music by John Blow, was published in 1700 in emulation of Orpheus Britannicus'.