Virginalist
Encyclopedia
Virginalist denotes a composer of the so-called virginalist school, and usually refers to the English keyboard
composers of the late Tudor
and early Jacobean
periods. The term does not appear to have been applied earlier than the 19th century. Although the virginals
was among the most popular keyboard instruments of this period, there is no evidence that the composers wrote exclusively for this instrument, and their music is equally suited to the harpsichord
, the clavichord
or the chamber organ.
The term is sometimes also applied to other northern European composers of this period, such as Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
and Samuel Scheidt
.
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
composers of the late Tudor
Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
and early Jacobean
Jacobean era
The Jacobean era refers to the period in English and Scottish history that coincides with the reign of King James VI of Scotland, who also inherited the crown of England in 1603 as James I...
periods. The term does not appear to have been applied earlier than the 19th century. Although the virginals
Virginals
The virginals or virginal is a keyboard instrument of the harpsichord family...
was among the most popular keyboard instruments of this period, there is no evidence that the composers wrote exclusively for this instrument, and their music is equally suited to the harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
, the clavichord
Clavichord
The clavichord is a European stringed keyboard instrument known from the late Medieval, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras. Historically, it was widely used as a practice instrument and as an aid to composition, not being loud enough for larger performances. The clavichord produces...
or the chamber organ.
The term is sometimes also applied to other northern European composers of this period, such as Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck was a Dutch composer, organist, and pedagogue whose work straddled the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. He was among the first major keyboard composers of Europe, and his work as a teacher helped establish the north German organ...
and Samuel Scheidt
Samuel Scheidt
Samuel Scheidt was a German composer, organist and teacher of the early Baroque era.-Biography:...
.
English virginalists
- John BlithemanJohn BlithemanJohn Blitheman was an English composer and organist. The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, which includes the third of his Gloria tibi Trinitas settings, gives his forename as William...
- John BullJohn Bull (composer)John Bull was an English composer, musician, and organ builder. He was a renowned keyboard performer of the virginalist school and most of his compositions were written for this medium.-Life:...
- William ByrdWilliam ByrdWilliam 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...
- Giles FarnabyGiles FarnabyGiles Farnaby was an English composer and virginalist of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.-Life:Giles Farnaby was born about 1563, perhaps in Truro, Cornwall, England or near London. His father, Thomas, was a Cittizen and Joyner of London, and Giles may have been related to Thomas Farnaby , the...
- Richard Farnaby
- Orlando GibbonsOrlando GibbonsOrlando Gibbons was an English composer, virginalist and organist of the late Tudor and early Jacobean periods...
- William Inglot
- Thomas MorleyThomas MorleyThomas Morley was an English composer, theorist, editor and organist of the Renaissance, and the foremost member of the English Madrigal School. He was the most famous composer of secular music in Elizabethan England and an organist at St Paul's Cathedral...
- John MundayJohn Mundy (composer)John Mundy was an English composer, virginalist and organist of the Renaissance period.-Life and works:...
- Martin PeersonMartin PeersonMartin Peerson was an English composer, organist and virginalist...
- Peter PhilipsPeter PhilipsPeter Philips was an eminent English composer, organist, and Catholic priest exiled to Flanders...
- Ferdinando RichardsonFerdinando RichardsonFerdinando Richardson was an English courtier and musician.He was a pupil of Thomas Tallis; various works for the keyboard by him survive. He also held the post of Groom of the Privy Chamber under both Elizabeth I of England and James I of England.-References:*Richard Marlow, Sir Ferdinando...
- William TisdaleWilliam TisdaleWilliam Tisdale also written Tisdall was an English musician and composer of the virginal school. No conclusive evidence about him has yet been discovered...
- Thomas TomkinsThomas TomkinsThomas Tomkins was an English composer of the late Tudor and early Stuart period. In addition to being one of the prominent members of the English madrigal school, he was a skilled composer of keyboard and consort music, and the last member of the English virginalist school.-Life:Tomkins was born...
See also
- VirginalsVirginalsThe virginals or virginal is a keyboard instrument of the harpsichord family...
- The Mulliner BookThe Mulliner BookThe Mulliner Book is a historically important musical commonplace book compiled, probably between about 1545 and 1570, by Thomas Mulliner, about whom practically nothing is known, except that he figures in 1563 as modulator organorum of Corpus Christi College, Oxford...
- The Dublin Virginal Manuscript
- My Ladye Nevells BookeMy Ladye Nevells BookeMy Ladye Nevells Booke is a music manuscript containing keyboard pieces by the English composer William Byrd, and, together with the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, one of the most important collections of keyboard music of the renaissance.-Description:My Ladye Nevells Booke consists of 42 pieces for...
- Susanne van Soldt ManuscriptSusanne van Soldt ManuscriptThe Susanne van Soldt Manuscript is a keyboard anthology dated 1599 consisting of 33 pieces copied by or for a young Flemish or Dutch girl living in London...
- Fitzwilliam Virginal BookFitzwilliam Virginal BookThe Fitzwilliam Virginal Book is a primary source of keyboard music from the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods in England, i.e., the late Renaissance and very early Baroque. It takes its name from Viscount Fitzwilliam who bequeathed this manuscript collection to Cambridge University in 1816...
- Clement Matchett's Virginal BookClement Matchett's Virginal BookClement Matchett's Virginal Book is a musical manuscript from the late renaissance compiled by a young Norfolk man in 1612. Although a small anthology, it is notable not only for the quality of its music but also for the precise fingering indications that reveal the contemporary treatment of...
- Parthenia
- Priscilla Bunbury's Virginal BookPriscilla Bunbury's Virginal BookPriscilla Bunbury's Virginal Book is a musical commonplace book compiled in the late 1630's by two young women from an affluent Cheshire family. It is important more for its fingering indications than for the quality of the music it contains.-The Manuscript:...
- Elizabeth Roger's Virginal BookElizabeth Roger's Virginal BookElizabeth Rogers Virginal Book is a musical commonplace book compiled in the mid-seventeenth century by a person or persons so far unidentified...
- Anne Cromwell's Virginal BookAnne Cromwell's Virginal BookAnne Cromwell's Virginal Book is a manuscript keyboard compilation dated 1638. Whilst the importance of the music it contains is not high, it reveals the sort of keyboard music that was being played in the home at this time.-The Manuscript:...