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Lovers Made Men
''Lovers Made Men'', alternatively titled ''The Masque of Lethe'' or ''The Masque at Lord Hay's'', was a Jacobean era masque, written by Ben Jonson, designed by Inigo Jones, and with music composed by Nicholas Lanier. It was performed on Saturday 22 February 1617, and was significant in the development and acceptance of opera in seventeenth-century England. Background The Lord Hay in question was James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle, one of the early favorites of King James I. Through 1616 Hay had been involved in a major diplomatic embassy to the court of Henri IV in Paris, where Hay had negotiated a potential marriage between James's son and heir Prince Charles, the future Charles I, and a daughter of the French king. (The negotiations were not fruitful in 1616, though a decade later Charles would marry Henri's daughter Henrietta Maria of France.) Hay's embassy was characterized by extraordinary lavish banquets, masques, processions and shows of all types – a pattern of indulgen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Literature In English
English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines English literature more narrowly as, "the body of written works produced in the English language by inhabitants of the British Isles (including Ireland) from the 7th century to the present day. The major literatures written in English outside the British Isles are treated separately under American literature, Australian literature, Canadian literature, and New Zealand literature." However, despite this, it includes literature from the Republic of Ireland, "Anglo-American modernism", and discusses post-colonial literature. ; See also full articles on American literature and other literatures in the English language. The English language has developed over the course of more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Fri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charon (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon (; grc, Χάρων) is a psychopomp, the ferryman of Hades, the Greek underworld. He carries the souls of those who have been given funeral rites across the rivers Acheron and Styx, which separate the worlds of the living and the dead. Archaeology confirms that, in some burials, low-value coins were placed in, on, or near the mouth of the deceased, or next to the cremation urn containing their ashes. This has been taken to confirm that at least some aspects of Charon's mytheme are reflected in some Greek and Roman funeral practices, or else the coins function as a viaticum for the soul's journey. In Virgil's epic poem, ''Aeneid'', the dead who could not pay the fee, and those who had received no funeral rites, had to wander the near shores of the Styx for one hundred years before they were allowed to cross the river. Some mortals, heroes, and demigods were said to have descended to the underworld and returned from it as living beings. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hero And Leander (poem)
''Hero and Leander'' is a poem by Christopher Marlowe that retells the Greek myth of Hero and Leander. After Marlowe's untimely death it was completed by George Chapman. The minor poet Henry Petowe published an alternative completion to the poem. The poem was first published five years after Marlowe's demise. Publication Two editions of the poem were issued in quarto in 1598 (see 1598 in poetry); one, printed by Adam Islip for the bookseller Edward Blount, contained only Marlowe's original, while the other, printed by Felix Kingston for Paul Linley, included both the original and Chapman's continuation. A third edition in 1600, published by John Flasket, printed a title-page advertising the addition of Marlowe's translation of Book I of Lucan's ''Pharsalia'' to the original poem, though the book itself merely adds Chapman's portion. The fourth edition of 1606, again from Flasket, abandoned any pretence of including the Lucan and once again joined Marlowe's and Chapman's poems to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe (; baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), was an English playwright, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. Based upon the "many imitations" of his play ''Tamburlaine,'' modern scholars consider him to have been the foremost dramatist in London in the years just before his mysterious early death. Some scholars also believe that he greatly influenced William Shakespeare, who was baptised in the same year as Marlowe and later succeeded him as the pre-eminent Elizabethan playwright. Marlowe was the first to achieve critical reputation for his use of blank verse, which became the standard for the era. His plays are distinguished by their overreaching protagonists. Themes found within Marlowe's literary works have been noted as humanistic with realistic emotions, which some scholars find difficult to reconcile with Marlowe's "anti-intellectualism" and his caterin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1628 In Music
The year 1628 in music involved some significant events. Events *July 10 – Heinrich Schütz seeks a travel warrant from Johann Georg, Elector of Saxony, to return to Venice to visit Monteverdi and Alessandro Grandi. *November 22 – Girolamo Frescobaldi is given permission by St Peter's Basilica to leave Rome. Published popular music * Carlo Farina ** ** * Melchior Franck ** for four, five, six, seven, and eight voices with basso continuo (Coburg: Johann Forckel for Friedrich Gruner) ** for four, five, and six voices (Coburg: Johann Forckel), a collection of motets ** for three choirs (Coburg: Kaspar Bertsch), two wedding motets ** for four and seven voices (Coburg: Johann Forckel), two motets *Vinko Jelić ** for one, two, three, and four voices with organ bass, Op. 2 (Strasbourg: Paul Lederz) ** for four voices with organ bass, Op. 3 (Strasbourg: Paul Lederz) *Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger – , vol. 1 (Rome: Paolo Masotti) *Carlo Milanuzzi – Sixth book of for solo vo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Recitative
Recitative (, also known by its Italian name "''recitativo''" ()) is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat lines as formally composed songs do. It resembles sung ordinary speech more than a formal musical composition. Recitative can be distinguished on a continuum from more speech-like to more musically sung, with more sustained melodic lines. The mostly syllabic ''recitativo secco'' ("dry", accompanied only by continuo, typically cello and harpsichord) is at one end of the spectrum, through ''recitativo accompagnato'' (using orchestra), the more melismatic arioso, and finally the full-blown aria or ensemble, where the pulse is entirely governed by the music. Secco recitatives can be more improvisatory and free for the singer, since the accompaniment is so sparse; in contrast, when recitative is accompanied by orchestra, the singer must per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1656 In Literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1656. Events *April 25 – In London, the Council of State, usually busy with larger matters, has taken on the censorship of individual books and orders Robert Tichborne, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, to burn a volume entitled ''Sportive Wit, or the Muses' Merriment'' for its "scandalous, lascivious, scurrilous, and profane matter". *May 9 – ''Choice Drollery, Songs, and Sonnets'' is ordered to be destroyed by Britain's Council of State. *July 27 – Baruch Spinoza is excluded from the Jewish religious community in Amsterdam. *September – ''The Siege of Rhodes'', Part I, by Sir William Davenant, the "first English opera" (under the guise of a recitative), is performed in a private theatre at his home, Rutland House, in the City of London. This includes the innovative use of painted backdrops and the appearance of England's first professional actress, Mrs. Coleman as Ianthe. *November 12 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Siege Of Rhodes
''The Siege of Rhodes'' is an opera written to a text by the impresario William Davenant. The score is by five composers, the vocal music by Henry Lawes, Matthew Locke, and Captain Henry Cooke, and the instrumental music by Charles Coleman and George Hudson. It is considered to be the first English opera. Special permit Part 1 of ''The Siege of Rhodes'' was first performed in a small private theatre constructed at Davenant's home, Rutland House, in 1656. Special permission had to be obtained from the Puritan government of Oliver Cromwell, as dramatic performances were outlawed and all public theatres closed. Davenant managed to obtain this by calling the production "recitative music", music being still permissible within the law. When published in 1656, it was under the equivocating title ''The siege of Rhodes made a representation by the art of prospective in scenes, and the story sung in recitative musick, at the back part of Rutland-House in the upper end of Aldersgate-Street ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Davenant
Sir William Davenant (baptised 3 March 1606 – 7 April 1668), also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned both the Caroline and Restoration eras and who was active both before and after the English Civil War and during the Interregnum. Biography Early life Davenant is believed to have been born in late February, 1606 in Oxford, the son of Jane Shepherd Davenant and John Davenant, proprietor of the Crown Tavern (or Crown Inn) and Mayor of Oxford. He was baptised on 3 March, his godfather sometimes being said to have been William Shakespeare, who, according to John Aubrey, had stayed frequently at the Crown during his travels between London and Stratford-upon-Avon.Edmond, M., ''Yeomen, Citizens, Gentlemen, and Players: The Burbages and Their Connections'', R. B. Parker (ed), ''Elizabethan Theater: Essays in Honor of S. Schoenbaum'', University o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1641 In Literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1641. Events *March 12 – Abraham Cowley's play ''The Guardian'' is acted at Trinity College, Cambridge, in the presence of Prince Charles (later King Charles II). *Spring – Pierre Corneille marries Marie de Lampérière. *c. May – William Davenant is convicted of high treason for his part in the First Army Plot in England. *August 5 – Because of an increase in cases of plague, John Lowin delivers warrants to London theatres ordering them to close. *c. December – Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, becomes an advisor to King Charles I of England. New books Prose * George Abbot – ''Vindiciae Sabbathi'' *Moses Amyraut – ''De l'elevation de la foy et de l'abaissement de la raison en la creance des mysteres de la religion'' * Richard Baker – ''Apologie for Laymen's Writing in Divinity, with a Short Meditation upon the Fall of Lucifer'' *Sir Edward Coke – ''The Complete Copyholder'' *Lu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1618 In Literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1618. Events *January – Lady Hay and eight other Court ladies plan and rehearse a ''Ladies' Masque'' or ''Masque for Ladies'', intended for a Twelfth Night performance, but it is cancelled a few days before, either by King James or Queen Anne. *January 4 – Sir Francis Bacon is appointed Lord Chancellor by King James I of England. *April 6 (Easter Monday) – The King's Men perform ''Twelfth Night'' at Court. *April 7 – The King's Men perform ''The Winter's Tale'' at Court. *July – Ben Jonson sets out to walk to Scotland. *Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet, begins remodelling the Paris residence which becomes the Hôtel de Rambouillet to form a literary ''salon''. New books Prose *William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley – ''Certain Precepts or Directions, For the Well-ordering and Carriage of a Man's Life'' * Renold Elstracke – ''Braziliologia'' *Vicente Espinel – ''Relaciones de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pleasure Reconciled To Virtue
''Pleasure Reconciled to Virtue'' is a Jacobean era masque, written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones. It was first performed on Twelfth Night, 6 January 1618, in the Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace. The work's failure on its initial performance, and its subsequent revision, marked a significant development in Jonson's evolving masque technique. Prince Charles The masque marked the début of the young Prince Charles, the future King Charles I, in the public life of the Stuart Court. Upon the death of his older brother Prince Henry in 1612, Charles had become the heir to the throne of his father, James I; but his youth and relatively poor health (he'd suffered from rickets as a child) kept Charles from assuming the kind of public prominence that Henry had earlier enjoyed. Dancing a role in ''Pleasure Reconciled to Virtue'' marked a sort of "coming out" for Charles, just as Henry's appearance in the Jonson/Jones masque ''Oberon, the Faery Prince'' (1611) had been sig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
