A consort of instruments was a phrase used in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
during the 16th and 17th centuries to indicate an
instrumental ensemble. These could be of the same or a variety of instruments. Consort music enjoyed considerable popularity at court and in households of the wealthy in the
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...
, and many pieces were written for consorts by the major composers of the period. In the
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
era consort music was absorbed into
chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...
.
Definitions and forms
The earliest documented example of the English word 'consort' in a musical sense is in George Gascoigne’s ''The Princelye Pleasures'' (1576). Only from the mid-17th century has there been a clear distinction made between a ''‘whole’, or ‘closed’ consort'', that is, all instruments of the same family (for example, a set of
viol
The viol (), viola da gamba (), or informally gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitc ...
s played together) and a ''‘mixed’, or
‘broken’ consort'', consisting of instruments from various families (for example viols and
lute
A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted.
More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...
).
Major forms of music composed for consorts included
fantasias,
cantus firmus
In music, a ''cantus firmus'' ("fixed melody") is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition.
The plural of this Latin term is , although the corrupt form ''canti firmi'' (resulting from the grammatically incorrect tr ...
settings (including ''
In nomines''),
variations
Variation or Variations may refer to:
Science and mathematics
* Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon
* Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individua ...
, dances or
ayres, and fantasia suites.
Major composers
Composers of consort music during the
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...
include
John Dowland
John Dowland (c. 1563 – buried 20 February 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", " Come again", "Flow my tears", " I saw my Lady weepe", ...
,
Anthony Holborne
Anthony ''AntonyHolborne ''Holburne(c. 1545 – 29 November 1602) was a composer of music for lute, cittern, and instrumental consort during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Life
An "Anthony Holburne" entered Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1562, ...
,
Osbert Parsley
Osbert Parsley (1510/15111585) was an English Renaissance composer and chorister. Few details of his life are known, but he evidently married in 1558, and lived for a period in the parish of St Saviour's Church, Norwich. A boy chorister at N ...
, and
William Byrd
William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English composer of late Renaissance music. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native England and those on the continent. He ...
. The principal
Jacobean era
The Jacobean era was the period in English and Scottish history that coincides with the reign of James VI of Scotland who also inherited the crown of England in 1603 as James I. The Jacobean era succeeds the Elizabethan era and precedes the Ca ...
composers included
Thomas Lupo,
Orlando Gibbons
Orlando Gibbons ( bapt. 25 December 1583 – 5 June 1625) was an English composer and keyboard player who was one of the last masters of the English Virginalist School and English Madrigal School. The best known member of a musical fami ...
,
John Coprario
John Coprario (c. 1570 – 1626), also known as Giovanni Coprario or Coperario, was an English composer and viol player.
According to later commentators such as John Playford and Roger North, he changed his name from either Cowper or Cooper ...
, and
Alfonso Ferrabosco.
William Lawes
William Lawes (April 160224 September 1645) was an English composer and musician.
Life and career
Lawes was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire and was baptised on 1 May 1602. He was the son of Thomas Lawes, a vicar choral at Salisbury Cathedral, ...
was a principal composer during the
Caroline era
The Caroline era is the period in English and Scottish history named for the 24-year reign of Charles I (1625–1649). The term is derived from ''Carolus'', the Latin for Charles. The Caroline era followed the Jacobean era, the reign of Charles's ...
. Later 17th-century composers included
John Jenkins,
Christopher Simpson
Christopher Simpson (1602/1606–1669) was an English musician and composer, particularly associated with music for the viola da gamba.
Life
Simpson was born between 1602 and 1606, probably at Egton, North Yorkshire. He was the eldest so ...
,
Matthew Locke Matthew Locke may refer to:
* Matthew Locke (administrator) (fl. 1660–1683), English Secretary at War from 1666 to 1683
* Matthew Locke (composer) (c. 1621–1677), English Baroque composer and music theorist
* Matthew Locke (soldier) (1974–2 ...
and
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer.
Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...
.
Modern consorts
In modern times, a number of ensembles have adopted the term "consort" in their names:
*
Armonico Consort
Armonico Consort is a British company founded in 2001 by conductor and organist Christopher Monks, which specialises in producing performances of Renaissance and Baroque music. In 2002 the company oversaw the creation of a series of academies desi ...
*
The Baltimore Consort
The Baltimore Consort is a musical ensemble that performs a wide variety of early music, Renaissance music and music from later periods. They began in 1980 as a group specializing in music of the Elizabethan period, but soon expanded their repert ...
*
B-Five Recorder Consort
*
Catacoustic Consort
*
The Consort of Musicke
The Consort of Musicke is a British early-music group, founded in 1969 by lutenist Anthony Rooley, the ensemble's Artistic Director. Members of the group have included such well-known artists as sopranos Emma Kirkby and Evelyn Tubb, alto Mary Ni ...
*
Dunedin Consort
Dunedin Consort is Scotland's leading baroque ensemble based in Edinburgh, Scotland, recognised for its vivid and insightful performances and recordings. Formed in 1995 and named after Din Eidyn, the ancient Brittonic Celtic name of Edinburgh Cast ...
*
Early Music Consort of London
The Early Music Consort of London was a British music ensemble in the late 1960s and 1970s which specialised in historically informed performance of Medieval and Renaissance music. It was
founded in 1967 by music academics Christopher Hogwood and ...
*
Gaia Consort
*
The Harp Consort
*
The King's Consort
The King's Consort is a British period music orchestra founded in 1980 by the English conductor and harpsichordist Robert King (b. 1960, Wombourne). The ensemble has an associated choral group, Choir of The King's Consort. Together, they have mad ...
*
Leonhardt-Consort
*
Locke Brass Consort The Locke Brass Consort is a musical ensemble of brass instruments based in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Leslie Lake in 1966, as a quintet, to give concerts in schools and music clubs.
Since 1975, in collaboration with conductor James St ...
*
The Newberry Consort
*
Orlando Consort The Orlando Consort is a British vocal consort which is best known for performing Renaissance choral music one voice to a part. The Consort was founded in 1988 as part of the activities of the Early Music Network of Great Britain, a forerunner of th ...
*
The Paul Winter Consort
*
Quadriga Consort
Quadriga Consort aka Quadriga Early Music Band is an early music ensemble from Austria. Founded in 2001 by harpsichordist Nikolaus Newerkla, the ensemble plays rearranged early British and Irish traditional music performed on period instruments.
...
*
Ricercar Consort
The Ricercar Consort is a Belgian instrumental ensemble founded in 1980 together with the Ricercar record label of Jérôme Lejeune.
The founding members were violinist François Fernandez, organist Bernard Foccroulle, and viola da gamba player ...
*
Rose Consort of Viols[http://www.roseconsort.co.uk/ Rose Consort of Viols.]
*
Sherwood Consort
*
Southern Consort of Voices
*
Taverner Consort
The Taverner Choir, Consort and Players is a British music ensemble which specialises in the performance of Early and Baroque music. The ensemble is made up of a Baroque orchestra (the Players), a vocal consort (the Consort) and a Choir. Perform ...
*
The Tudor Consort
The Tudor Consort is a specialist early choral group based in Wellington, New Zealand. Depending on the repertoire the group can range in size from 5 to 25 members. The group was formed in 1986 by Simon Ravens with the intention of performing les ...
See also
*
Chest of viols
''Chest of viols'' is a term which was used primarily in the 16th and 17th centuries in England for either a consort of viols, or the specialized cabinet made to contain a small consort of viols, usually containing six: two treble, two tenor, and t ...
Notes
External links
Video of consort of viols*Robins, Brian.
2008 Viol ExtravaganzaCollection of viol consort videos (YouTube)
{{Authority control
*