The brief but intense flowering of the musical madrigal in England, mostly from 1588 to 1627, along with the composers who produced them, is known as the English Madrigal School. The English madrigals were a cappella, predominantly light in style, and generally began as either copies or direct translations of Italian models. Most were for three to six voices. A madrigal is a setting for 3–6 voices of a secular text, often in Italian. ... 1588 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... Events A Dutch ship makes the first recorded sighting of the coast of South Australia. ... A cappella music is vocal music or singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. ...

Style and Characteristics

Most likely the impetus for writing madrigals came through the influence of Alfonso Ferrabosco, who worked in England in the 1560s and 1570s in Queen Elizabeth's court; he wrote many works in the form, and not only did they prove popular but they inspired some imitation by local composers. The development that caused the explosion of madrigal composition in England, however, was the development of native poetry — especially the sonnet — which was conducive to setting to music in the Italian style. When Nicholas Yonge published Musica transalpina in 1588, it proved to be immensely popular, and the vogue for madrigal composition in England can be said to truly have started then. Alfonso Ferrabosco (Alfonso Ferrabosco (I); his son, Alfonso Ferrabosco (II) was also a composer) (baptized January 18, 1543 – August 12, 1588) was an Italian composer. ... Events and Trends In 1564 William Shakespeare was born. ... Significant Events and Trends Transition from the Muromachi to the Azuchi-Momoyama period in Japan Categories: 1570s ... Elizabeth I (7 September 1533–24 March 1603) was Queen of England, Queen of France (in name only), and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. ... Francesco Petrarca or Petrarch, one of the best-known of the early Italian sonnet writers For the Saab automobile, see Saab Sonett. ... Nicholas Yonge (c. ... 1588 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ...

Musica transalpina was a collection of Italian madrigals, mostly by Ferrabosco and Marenzio, fitted with English words. They were loved, and several similar anthologies followed immediately after the success of the first. Yonge himself published a second Musica transalpina in 1597, hoping to duplicate the success of the first collection. Luca Marenzio (1553? - August 22, 1599) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance. ... Events 17 January - A court case in Guildford recorded evidence that a certain plot of land was used for playing “kreckett” (i. ...

While William Byrd, probably the most famous English composer of the time, experimented with the madrigal form, he never actually called his works madrigals, and shortly after writing some secular songs in madrigalian style returned to writing mostly sacred music.

The most influential composers of madrigals in England, and the ones whose works have survived best to the present day, were Thomas Morley, Thomas Weelkes and John Wilbye. Morley is the only composer of the time who set verse by Shakespeare for which the music has survived. His style is melodic, easily singable, and remains popular with a cappella singing groups. Wilbye had a very small compositional output, but his madrigals are distinctive with their expressiveness and chromaticism; they would never be confused with their Italian predecessors. Weelkes was also a composer of expressive and sometimes chromatic music (and also a skilled composer of church music) but he unfortunately had an early burnout, losing his battle with alcoholism and depression. Thomas Morley (1557 or 1558 – October 1602) was an English composer, theorist, editor and organist of the Renaissance, and the foremost member of the English Madrigal School. ... Thomas Weelkes (baptised 25 October 1576 – buried 1 December 1623) was an English composer and organist. ... John Wilbye, English 16th-century madrigal composer, was born probably at Bury St Edmunds, but the details of his life are obscure. ... William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ... In music, chromatic indicates the inclusion of notes not in the prevailing scale and is also used for those notes themselves (Shir-Cliff et al 1965, p. ...

Madrigals continued to be composed in England through the 1620s, but the air and "recitative music" rendered the style obsolete; somewhat belatedly, characteristics of the Baroque style finally appeared in England. While the music of the English Madrigal School is of generally high quality and has endured in popularity, it is useful to remember that the total output of the composers was relatively small: Luca Marenzio in Italy alone published more books of madrigals than the entire sum of madrigal publications in England, and Philippe de Monte wrote more madrigals (over 1100) than were written in England during the entire period. Events and Trends Permanent Dutch settlement of New York Bay and the Hudson River. ... Air (french for: Aria; also: Ayr, Ayre), a variant of the musical song form, is the name of various song-like vocal or instrumental compositions. ... Recitative, a form of composition often used in operas, oratorios, cantatas and similar works, is described as a melodic speech set to music, or a descriptive narrative song in which the music follows the words. ... Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 to 1750 (see Dates of classical music eras for a discussion of the problems inherent in defining the beginning and end points). ... Philippe de Monte (1521 – July 4, 1603) was a Flemish composer of the late Renaissance. ...

Composers

The following list includes almost all of the composers of the English Madrigal School who published works. Many of these were amateur composers, some known only for a single book of madrigals, and some for an even smaller contribution.

• John Bennet (c 1575–after 1614)
• John Bull (1562–1628)
• William Byrd (1543–1623)
• Thomas Campion (1567–1620)
• Richard Carlton (c 1558–?1638)
• Michael Cavendish (c 1565–1628)
• John Dowland (1563–1626)
• Michael East (c 1580–c 1648)
• John Farmer (c 1565–1605)
• Giles Farnaby (c 1560–c 1620)
• Alfonso Ferrabosco (1543–1588) (Italian, but worked in England for two decades)
• Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625)
• Thomas Greaves (fl. c 1600)
• William Holborne (fl. 1597)
• John Jenkins (1592–1678)
• Robert Jones (fl. 1597–1615)
• George Kirbye (c 1565–1634)
• Henry Lichfild (fl. 1613, d. after 1620)
• Thomas Morley (1557–1603)
• John Mundy (c 1555–1630)
• Peter Philips (c 1560–1628) (lived and published in the Netherlands, but wrote in an English style)
• Francis Pilkington (c 1570–1638)
• Thomas Tomkins (1572–1656)
• Thomas Vautor (c 1580-?)
• John Ward (1571–1638)
• Thomas Weelkes (1576–1623)
• John Wilbye (1574–1638)

John Bennet (c 1575–after 1614) was a composer of the English madrigal school. ... Events February 13 - Henry III of France is crowned at Reims February 14 - Henry III of France marries Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont June 28 - Oda Nobunaga defeats Takeda Katsuyori in the battle of Nagashino, which has been called Japans first modern battle. ... Events April 5 - In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe. ... John Bull (1562 or 1563–March 12, 1628) was an English composer, musician, and organ builder. ... Events Earliest English slave-trading expedition under John Hawkins. ... Events March 1 - writs were issued in February 1628 by Charles I of England that every county in England (not just seaport towns) pay ship tax by this date. ... William Byrd William Byrd (1540? – July 4, 1623) was one of the most celebrated English composers in the Renaissance. ... // Events February 21 - Battle of Wayna Daga - A combined army of Ethiopian and Portuguese troops defeat the armies of Adal led by Ahmed Gragn. ... Events August 6 - Pope Urban VIII is elected to the Papacy. ... Thomas Campion, sometimes Campian (February 12, 1567 – March 1, 1620) was an English composer, poet and physician. ... Events The Duke of Alva arrives in the Netherlands with Spanish forces to suppress unrest there. ... Events September 6 - English emigrants on the Mayflower depart from Plymouth, England for the future New England and arrive at the end of the year. ... Richard Carleton Richard Carleton (February 24, 1943 in Bowral, New South Wales - May 7, 2006 in Beaconsfield, Tasmania) was an Australian television journalist most noted for his work on the Australian 60 Minutes from 1987 to 2006. ... 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Alfonso Ferrabosco (Alfonso Ferrabosco (I); his son, Alfonso Ferrabosco (II) was also a composer) (baptized January 18, 1543 – August 12, 1588) was an Italian composer. ... // Events February 21 - Battle of Wayna Daga - A combined army of Ethiopian and Portuguese troops defeat the armies of Adal led by Ahmed Gragn. ... 1588 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... Orlando Gibbons Orlando Gibbons (baptised December 25, 1583 – June 5, 1625) was an English composer and organist of the late Tudor and early Jacobean periods. ... 1583 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... Events March 27 - Prince Charles Stuart becomes King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland. ... 1597 1598 1599 - 1600 - 1601 1602 1603 |- | align=center colspan=2 | Decades: 1570s 1580s 1590s - 1600s - 1610s 1620s 1630s |- | align=center | Centuries: 15th century - 16th century - 17th century |} // Events January January 1 - Scotland adopts January 1st as being New Years Day February February 17 - Giordano Bruno burned at the... Events 17 January - A court case in Guildford recorded evidence that a certain plot of land was used for playing “kreckett” (i. ... John Jenkins (1592-1678), English composer, was born in Maidstone, Kent, and died at Kimberley, Norfolk. ... Events January 30 - The death of Pope Innocent IX during the previous year had left the Papal throne vacant. ... Events August 10 - Treaty of Nijmegen ends the Dutch War. ... Robert Jones (c. ... 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Further reading

• The Oxford Book of English Madrigals, ed. Philip Ledger. Oxford University Press, Oxford, England, 1978. ISBN 0193438867

Sources

• Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954. ISBN 0393095304
• Article "Madrigal" in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. ISBN 1561591742