Consort song (musical)
Encyclopedia
Consort song is a term used to describe a characteristic English
song
form of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, for solo voice or voices accompanied by a group of instrument
s, most commonly viol
s. Although usually in five parts, some early examples of four-part songs exist. It is considered to be the chief representative of a native musical tradition which resisted the onslaught of the italianate madrigal
and the English lute ayre
, and survived those forms' brilliant but short-lived ascendancy (Brett 2001).
In contemporary usage, the term was confined to a number of songs for four voices accompanied by the standard mixed consort
of six instruments, found in Teares or Lamentacions of a sorrowfull Soule by William Leighton, published in 1614, but was first used in the modern sense by Thurston Dart
(Brett 2001).
William Byrd
is recognized as the composer whose adoption and development of the consort song established its musical importance. He regarded it as a standard means to set vernacular poetry (Brett 2001).
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
form of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, for solo voice or voices accompanied by a group of instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
s, most commonly viol
Viol
The viol is any one of a family of bowed, fretted and stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 15th century and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Renaissance vihuela, a plucked instrument that preceded the...
s. Although usually in five parts, some early examples of four-part songs exist. It is considered to be the chief representative of a native musical tradition which resisted the onslaught of the italianate madrigal
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....
and the English lute ayre
Air (music)
Air , a variant of the musical song form, is the name of various song-like vocal or instrumental compositions.-English lute ayres:...
, and survived those forms' brilliant but short-lived ascendancy (Brett 2001).
In contemporary usage, the term was confined to a number of songs for four voices accompanied by the standard mixed consort
Broken consort
A broken consort in English early Baroque musical terminology refers to ensembles featuring instruments from more than one family, for example a group featuring both string and wind instruments...
of six instruments, found in Teares or Lamentacions of a sorrowfull Soule by William Leighton, published in 1614, but was first used in the modern sense by Thurston Dart
Thurston Dart
Robert Thurston Dart , was a British musicologist, conductor and keyboard player. From 1964 he was Professor of Music at King's College London....
(Brett 2001).
William Byrd
William Byrd
William Byrd was an English composer of the Renaissance. He wrote in many of the forms current in England at the time, including various types of sacred and secular polyphony, keyboard and consort music.-Provenance:Knowledge of Byrd's biography expanded in the late 20th century, thanks largely...
is recognized as the composer whose adoption and development of the consort song established its musical importance. He regarded it as a standard means to set vernacular poetry (Brett 2001).