Robert White (c.1536-c.1574) Musical period: Late Renaissance Style: Sacred, Choral, Polyphony, Instrumental Fun Facts: Robert White was part of a small group of composers who looked back to the franco-flemish style for inspiration. Unlike Tallis (and his student Byrd) who moved to a simpler homophonic style and composed in English, White continued to use polyphony, even in [...]
Archive for July, 2011
Robert White – British Composers Series #6
Posted in British Composers, Music, tagged Christopher Tye, Classical music, Lamentations, polyphony, Reformation, Renaissance, Robert White on July 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
John Sheppard – British Composers Series #5
Posted in British Composers, Music, tagged Classical music, John Sheppard, Media vita, polyphony, Reformation, Renaissance on July 22, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
John Sheppard (c.1515-c.1559) Musical period: Late Renaissance Style: Sacred, Choral, Elaborate Polyphony Fun Facts: Another Tudor composer, John Sheppard wrote for both Catholic and Protestant services. He wrote a cantus firmus mass based on the secular tune “Westron Wynde,” which must have been a trend at the time; John Taverner and Christopher Tye also wrote cantus firmus [...]
Thomas Tallis – British Composers Series #4
Posted in British Composers, Music, tagged Church of England, Classical music, If Ye Love Me, Reformation, Renaissance, Spem In Alium, Thomas Tallis on July 19, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Thomas Tallis (c.1505-1585) Musical period: Late Renaissance Style: Sacred, Choral Fun Facts: Like Christopher Tye, Thomas Tallis lived during the Tudor period of England when the church flip-flopped between catholicism and protestantism. Tallis composed for both liturgies, even though he was a catholic himself. His music moved away from the florid style and employed polyphony as [...]
Christopher Tye – British Composers Series #3
Posted in British Composers, Music, tagged Christopher Tye, Church of England, Classical music, Edward VI, In Nomine, Reformation, Renaissance, Tudor on July 14, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Christopher Tye (c.1505-1573) Musical period: Late Renaissance Style: Sacred, Choral, Instrumental Fun Facts: Tye composed during a tumultuous time in England – especially for church composers. Tye composed during the reigns of four monarchs and witnessed the rise of the Church of England under Henry VIII and Edward VI, the reinstatement of Roman Catholicism under Mary I, and [...]
John Taverner – British Composers Series #2
Posted in British Composers, Music, tagged Classical music, Council of Trent, Gloria tibi trinitas, John Taverner, polyphony, Renaissance, Thomas Wolsey on July 13, 2011 | 2 Comments »
John Taverner (c.1490-1545) Musical period: Renaissance Style: Sacred, Choral, florid, melismatic Fun Facts: Taverner worked at Christ Church in Oxford, where he was appointed by Thomas Wolsey. Most of his compositions were written during his appointment there, and in 1530 (after Wolsey had become quite unpopular), he moved back to his hometown of Lincolnshire where he worked [...]
John Dunstable – British Composers Series #1
Posted in British Composers, Music, tagged cantus firmus, Classical music, John Dunstable, mass, motet, Quam pulcra es, Renaissance on July 12, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
John Dunstable (c.1390-1453) Musical period: Early Renaissance Style: Early Burgundian School, Sacred, Choral Fun Facts: Dunstable worked mainly as a court musician and became well known in France and Italy for developing the “countenance angloise,” that special and distinctively English sound. A well rounded Renaissance man, he was a mathematician and astronomer in addition to being a composer. Dunstable [...]
British Composers: My Next Series
Posted in British Composers, Music on July 12, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Hello, dear readers. For my next series I am going to post on British composers and their music. I love English music, and I’m really excited to share some of my favorite pieces with you, and learn more about these composers. Right now I have about 50 or so composers on my list, and I [...]
Rackett – Obscure and Unusual Instruments #20
Posted in Music, Unusual Instruments, tagged Bassoon, double reed, rackett, Renaissance, Renaissance Instruments on July 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Rackett The appropriately named rackett is my favorite obscure and unusual instrument. It is a Renaissance double reed instrument that could be considered an ancestor of the bassoon. It has a deep, loud, low sound that is rougher and blatty-er than the bassoon. What I really love about this instrument (besides its sound) is its [...]
Nose Flute – Obscure and Unusual Instruments #19
Posted in Music, Unusual Instruments, tagged Nose Flute, Nose Flute Orchestra, Pipe, Whistle, Wind Instrument on July 2, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Nose Flute The nose flute has a rich and ancient history. More ancient models were shaped as a pipe… or even two pipes. This model allowed holes for fingering the notes, but required almost too much air for one little nose to handle. Modern incarnations of this instrument have ingeniously solved this problem. Instead of an air-hogging [...]
