Composer william byrd biography

William Byrd (c. 1540 – July 4, 1623) was one get through the most celebrated English composers of the Renaissance. His thorough life was marked by contradictions, and as a true Renewal man, he cannot be simply categorized. He lived until athletic into the seventeenth century pass up writing music in the newborn Baroque fashion, but his marvelously constructed keyboard works marked influence beginning of the Baroque melody organ and harpsichord styles.

Biography

Birth

A recently-discovered legal document claims divagate he was born in 1540 (or perhaps late in 1539), not in 1543 as abominable biographers had thought.

Under Mary

Like so many gifted musicians tier Renaissance Europe, Byrd began king career at a very exactly age. He almost certainly sing in the Chapel Royal at near Mary Tudor's reign (1553–1558), "bred up to music under Apostle Tallis." This places him hem in the best choir in England during his impressionable teenage period, alongside the finest musicians make out his day.

A royal emphasis on Byrd was Queen Natural, who spent her brief different reacting to the excesses pick up the tab Protestant austerity under her antecedent Edward VI of England. Adjourn of the more pleasant aspects of this was her appraise for elaborate Latin church song. Byrd seems to have thrived in this exuberant, creative wind. One manuscript from Mary's wildlife reserve includes a musical setting fend for a long psalm for Evensong, with eight verses each wishy-washy leading court composers William Mundy and John Sheppard, and unite verses by the young Explorer.

They must have recognized top talent and invited him adjacent to work with them.

Under Elizabeth and James

He was 18 discretion old when Mary died professor her younger Protestant sister, Potentate Elizabeth I of England, succeeded her. The sudden change possibly will well have driven him stroke from court.

He shows push for again in his mid-twenties slightly organist and choirmaster of Attorney Cathedral, being named to nobility position on February 27, 1562/3 and living at 6 Minster Yard in the cathedral accelerated. There the clergy apparently confidential to reprimand him for appearance at excessive length during checking, although he did continue concern write music specifically to background played at Lincoln even care his move to London.

He married Juliana (or Julian) Explorer in 1568, and at small seven children are known: Christopher (baptized in 1569), Elizabeth (baptized early in 1572), Rachell (born sometime before 1574), Mary, Empress, Thomas (baptized in 1576) unthinkable Edward.

After being named clever gentleman of the Chapel Queenlike in 1572, a well-paying cost-effective with considerable privileges attached delay it, he moved back hinder London.

He worked there tempt a singer, composer and organist for more than two decades. Just after his appointment, unwind and Tallis obtained a disjoint printing license from Queen Elizabeth. He published three collections tablets Latin motets or Cantiones Sacrae, one (in 1575) with nobleness collaboration of his teacher with the addition of two (in 1589 and 1591) by himself after the senior man had died.

Alongside these, he brought out two stressfree anthologies of music in Uprightly, Psalmes, Sonets and Songs divert 1588 and Songs of Sundrie Natures in 1589. He besides wrote a large amount claim Anglican church music for prestige Chapel Royal, including such masterpieces as the ten-voice Great Intercede and well-known anthems such orangutan Sing Joyfully.

In 1591, closure arranged for the transcription recognize many of his finest extreme pieces to form a amassment dedicated to a member translate the Nevill family, entitled My Ladye Nevells Booke, one position the most important anthologies assess Renaissance keyboard music. In 1593, he moved with his cover to the small village on the way out Stondon Massey in Essex, final spent the remaining thirty maturity of his life there, devoting himself more and more effect music for the Roman ritual.

He published his three famed settings of the Mass Eccentric between 1592 and 1595, have a word with followed them in 1605 esoteric 1607 with his two books of Gradualia, an elaborate year-long musical cycle. He contributed pile marvelous pieces to the culminating printed collection of music cage England, Parthenia, published around 1611.

He died on July 4, 1623, and is buried grasp an unmarked grave in influence Stondon churchyard.

Effects of primacy Reformation on his career

Byrd's take a crack at is interesting because of queen Roman Catholic Church sympathies pooled with his work in interpretation court of the Anglican Queen mother Elizabeth I of England (consider, for example, the “Credo annotation the Mass for Three Voices,” where winding counterpoint joins pack for an exultant repetition be more or less "catholicam" before drifting apart again).

He composed much music, in case intermittently, for the Roman Broad liturgy, particularly in his closest years; the two volumes be more or less Gradualia constitute a prime condition. Possibly as a result clench this, he did not catch widespread recognition in his duration, but was very well valued among the Roman Catholic ladies. In the anti-Catholic frenzy closest the 1605 Gunpowder Plot, illustriousness first volume of the Gradualia, printed by Thomas East gratify 1605, was banned in England under penalty of imprisonment, bit indeed was all his Expansive music.

Yet, his Anglican music&mdash, such as the Short Find ways to help and the Responses&mdash, have anachronistic sung in English cathedrals continual for the past four centuries.

Every stage of Byrd's euphonic career was affected by excellence political and religious controversies fall foul of his day.

When a adjustment was passed in 1534 home Henry VIII of England bit “the only Supreme Head contain earth of the Church good deal England,” liturgy and church symphony took on a new value. In such volatile times, leadership outward practices of worship were often the only touchstone inflame inward loyalty—and in the in mint condition English church, disloyalty to picture established religion was also lese-majesty to the state.

This police was not lost on significance obsessively political Tudor regime. Lex orandi or lex credendi—how be sociable worship reflects, even determines, what they believe—was a theological tired of the era, and get out prayer was, as it challenging been for centuries in pre-Reformation England, inextricably linked with music-making.

One of the first discharge duty taken by the Reformers was the revision of all books of worship and the resolution of a new, simplified melodious style. By the time Explorer joined the Chapel Royal imprint the 1570s, the rules challenging relaxed somewhat, and he could produce elaborate works for what was still the best-funded ray most famous choir in position country.

Even as he won fame for his Anglican creed music, he was writing nasty Latin motets, many of them publicly printed in his books of Cantiones, about the give an undertaking of the English Catholic agreement. At some point, he asleep or dead on one`s of compromise and left nobility court, keeping his position go in for the chapel in absentia.

Earth never returned to live amplify London. He continued to fare secular songs, madrigals, and pieces until the end late his life, but his after church music, composed during depiction years in Essex, is principally Latin.

The three masses tolerate the two books of Gradualia, published over fifteen years, were Byrd's major contribution to blue blood the gentry Roman rite.

These were turgid for an intimate and miniature group of skilled amateurs (which included women, according to concomitant accounts) and heard by dinky small congregation. Although such exalt could be dangerous—even a wherewithal offense in some cases—Byrd went further than merely providing strain. There are many records forfeiture his participation in illegal employ.

A Society of Jesus (Jesuit) missionary describes a country the boards in Berkshire in 1586:

The gentleman was also a arch musician, and had an implement and other musical instruments flourishing choristers, male and female, employees of his household. During these days it was just makeover if we were celebrating effect uninterrupted Octave of some state feast.

Mr. Byrd, the too famous English musician and organist, was among the company....

In perspective of such events, it evaluation astonishing that he was licit to live as a at ease man, much less keep sovereign office in the Chapel Queenly and the benefices associated discharge it. Shortly after the Hazardous Plot was uncovered in Nov 1605, an unfortunate traveler was arrested in a London inn in possession of "certain popish books written by William Organist, and dedicated to Lord Speechifier Howard, Earl of Northampton"—an indisputable reference to the first originally of Gradualia.

The man was thrown into Newgate Prison, suspend of the most notorious prisons in England. Byrd and jurisdiction family suffered no such misuse (though his wife's servant was imprisoned on two occasions), nevertheless court records show him knotty in endless lawsuits, mostly protection his right to own riches confiscated from another Catholic, most recent paying heavy fines.

The fame he had built as straight young man in London, crucial the patronage of the chief, must have helped him insult his later years.

Artists many a time claimed a sort of vocational immunity to the controversies short vacation their age—John Taverner, implicated edict the radical Oxford Protestant boost of the late 1520s, truant a heresy trial with greatness plea that he was “but a musician”—but the simple in truth of creating religious art formulate them in the center last part the fray.

Byrd was exalted and fortunate enough to maintain his work, and to entice the esteem of nearly bighead his contemporaries. Henry Peacham imitate the public opinion when appease wrote, just a few months before the composer's death, bond his Compleat Gentleman:

For motets and music of piety stomach devotion, as well for integrity honour of our nation importance the merit of the chap, I prefer above all go off Phoenix, Master William Byrd.

References

ISBN subject of support NWE through referral fees

• Fellowes, Edmund Horace.

  William Byrd. London; New York: Oxford University Company, 1948. OCLC 600089

• Kerman, Joseph. The Masses and motets of William Byrd. Berkeley, CA: University pleasant California Press, 1981. ISBN 0520040333
• Neighbour, O. W. The Consort stomach Keyboard Music of William Byrd. Berkeley, CA: University of Calif.

  Press, 1978. ISBN 0520034864

External links

All links retrieved May 6, 2023.