Music in the Elizabethan era
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During the reign of
Elizabeth I was fond of music and played the
Despite England's departure from the
Instrumental music was also popular during the Elizabethan Era. The most popular solo instruments of the time were the
In music history, the music of the English Renaissance is noted for its complex polyphonic vocal music, both sacred and secular, and the emergence of instrumental music. With the gradual shift in the early Baroque period, England experienced a decline in musical standing among European nations. After Dowland, the greatest English composer was Henry Purcell, whose death left a void in English music history until the Victorian era.
Church music
The Church was a major influence for music in the 16th century. The
Musicians
Town musicians were known as
Street musicians or travelling minstrels were looked down upon. They were feared and soon grew out of style and were replaced by the tavern and theatre musician. Street music was common to be heard at markets and fairs. The music was usually light and quick. They performed using fiddles, lutes, recorders, and small percussion instruments attracting crowds whenever they played. The songs they played and sang were traditional favourites, "a far cry from the sophisticated and refined music of the Elizabethan court." [1]
Theater became increasingly popular when music was added. Location on stage meant everything to a theatre musician. The location gave certain effects to the sound produced. This could be the impression of distance or providing an atmosphere to the plays and performances done. Theatre music became even more popular with the rise of William Shakespeare in the 1590s.
Composers
Many composers of the period are still known by name, today. William Byrd (1539–1623) is considered by most modern authorities “the greatest of all the Elizabethan composers."[6] He was the leading composer of religious music. Many of his songs still exist today. William Byrd was the chief organist and composer for Queen Elizabeth. Also during the 16th century were John Bull (1562–1628), best-known organist of the Elizabethan era, and John Dowland (1563–1626), leading composer of lute music. John Dowland published his first book of songs or "ayres" in 1597. It became a bestseller. These composers, among others, would give rise to the English Madrigal School which, while brief, was incredibly popular.[7]
A
Other composers include Robert Johnson, John Taverner, Thomas Morley, Orlando Gibbons, Thomas Tallis, and John Blitheman.
Instruments
Organology (the study of instruments) was aided greatly by the development of book printing. Michael Praetorius' encyclopedic Syntagma Musicum has a section with woodcuts which shows instruments as they were used on the continent about 17 years after the end of the Elizabethan period, and even 20 years hadn't made great changes.
Many Renaissance instruments are unfamiliar to modern listeners. Most instruments came in 'families', with sizes of the same instrument associated with the ranges of the human voice: descant (soprano), treble (alto), tenor, bass. (In some cases, these were extended up (sopranino, garklein) and in others, down (quart bass, contrabass, etc.) This arrangement had been in use for centuries. Playing instruments from the same family together was referred to as playing in consort. During Elizabeth's reign, the first documented regular use of mixed ensembles (broken consort) are recorded.
Consorts were considered loud or soft, and the exact application of these titles is sometimes hard to pin down. Generally, loud consorts consisted of cornetti, sackbuts, shawms and the higher-pitched recorders and flutes. Soft consorts generally included the viols, flutes, recorders, krummhorns and other of the quieter instruments.
Instruments of the 16th century could be broken down into four main types:
The next most popular stringed instrument, made in sizes and played in consorts or alone, was the
The common wind instruments included the
Single reeds were used for the drones of bagpipes, but chanters used double reeds.
Percussion was normally just various forms and sizes of drums and bells. The keyboards were the organs, virginals, and harpsichord.
Other Elizabethan instruments included the portative organ, which was a type of small organ played with one hand while the player operated a bellows on the back of the instrument with the other. There was also the grand church organs and harps of various sizes.
Example recordings
References
- ^ Thomas, Heather. "The Queen's Pastimes". Elizabeth R. Self-Published. Archived from the original on 10 October 2003. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- ISBN 9781843839811.
- ISBN 0-89009-059-9.
- ISBN 0313317135. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
They felt that except for psalm singing by the congregation, music in church was an unnecessary distraction and that paying musicians to sing or play was subtracting money for more godly causes.
- ^ Davis, William S. (1930). Life in Elizabethan Days', Pg. 121. Harper and Row.
- ^ #Stuart, Gail B. (2003). Life in Elizabeth London. Lucent Books.
- ^ "Elizabethan Composers".
- ^ "Madrigal". The Columbia Encyclopedia (6 ed.). Retrieved 2013-06-08.
- ^ "Madrigal". www.music.vt.edu. Archived from the original on 2002-03-26.
- Carpowich, Matt C. (2007). Music in the Elizabethan Era. Houghton Mifflin Co.
- Tostado, Dillon J. (1990). History Via Frankenbush. Leo Print International.
- Lace, William W. (1995). Elizabethan England. Lucent Books.
- Palmer, R R., Joel Colton, and Lloyd Kramer (2002). A History of the Modern World. New York: McGraw Hill Company.
- Alchin, L.K. "Elizabethan Music" from [2]. Retrieved Jul. 16, 2005