John Amner (1579–1641) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. A composer of sacred works, Amner was born in

Ely Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formal ...

and had a close association with

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral has its origins in AD 672 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church. The presen ...

, even before his employment there as ''Informator choristarum'' (1610–1641), through his relatives Michael and Ralph Amner, who were both lay clerks there. He received his Bachelor of Music from

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

with the support of the

Earl of Bath Earl of Bath was a title that was created five times in British history, three times in the Peerage of England, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is now extinct. Earls of Bath; First creati ...

in 1613, and also from

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

in 1640. He was employed as both an

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

and clergyman at the Cathedral after he obtained his first degree. He was subsequently ordained to the

diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

, later becoming ''vicarius'' (minor

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

). In 1615, he published a collection entitled ''Sacred Hymnes of 3, 4, 5 and 6 parts for the Voyces and Vyols'', which represents most of his known works. His other works include ''Preces'' (both for five voices), four settings of the daily

canticle A canticle (from the Latin ''canticulum'', a diminutive of ''canticum'', "song") is a hymn, psalm or other Christianity, Christian song of praise with lyrics usually taken from biblical or holy texts. Canticles are used in Christian liturgy. Ca ...

s, several simple four-part

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

s, slightly more complex five-part anthems, and verse anthems. Roughly a dozen of these works were recorded in the 1990s, and many were performed by the choir of Ely Cathedral, including ''Blessed be the Lord God''; ''Hear, O Lord''; ''Have mercy''; ''I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live''; ''My Lord is hence removed and laid''; ''O sing unto the Lord''; ''O ye little flock''; the Second Service (Cesar's) and ''Sing, O heavn's''. Amner also wrote a pavan and

galliard The ''galliard'' (; french: gaillarde; it, gagliarda) was a form of Renaissance dance and music popular all over Europe in the 16th century. It is mentioned in dance manuals from England, Portugal, France, Spain, Germany, and Italy. Dance fo ...

for

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 and a single

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

piece that stands out historically as the only recognized group of variations on a metrical

psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

tune (''O Lord in thee is all my trust'').

Works, editions and recordings

*A stranger here *Christ rising again *Come, let's rejoice *Lift up your heads, O ye gates *Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis (Dorian) *O God my King *O ye little flock *Sing O heavens *''Tune thy Musicke to Thy Hart'',

Stile Antico ''Stile antico'' (literally "ancient style", ), is a term describing a manner of musical composition from the sixteenth century onwards that was historically conscious, as opposed to '' stile moderno'', which adhered to more modern trends. ''Prim ...

Fretwork Fretwork is an interlaced decorative design that is either carved in low relief on a solid background, or cut out with a fretsaw, coping saw, jigsaw or scroll saw. Most fretwork patterns are geometric in design. The materials most commonly used ...

. Harmonia Mundi 2012.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amner, John 1579 births 1641 deaths English classical composers English Baroque composers Renaissance composers 16th-century English composers 17th-century English composers People from Ely, Cambridgeshire English organists British male organists 16th-century English musicians 17th-century English musicians Alumni of the University of Oxford Alumni of the University of Cambridge Musicians from Cambridgeshire 17th-century classical composers English male classical composers Organists of Ely Cathedral 17th-century male musicians Male classical organists