John Milton (1562–1647) was an English composer and father of poet John Milton.(requires a subscription) His compositions were mostly religious in theme. A financial worker by trade, he also wrote poetry. He lived in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

for most of his life.

Biography

Early in his life he converted to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

and his own Roman Catholic father, Richard Milton, subsequently disowned him. He moved to

around 1583 to work as an apprentice

scrivener A scrivener (or scribe) was a person who could read and write or who wrote letters to court and legal documents. Scriveners were people who made their living by writing or copying written material. This usually indicated secretarial and ad ...

. His work largely pertained to business matters; often working as a

moneylender In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

or a financial

broker A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be confu ...

. He registered with the Company of Scriveners on 27 February 1599. Soon after this he started a family, marrying Sara Jeffrey (c. 1572–1637) and living in

Bread Street Bread Street is one of the 25 wards of the City of London the name deriving from its principal street, which was anciently the City's bread market; already named ''Bredstrate'' (to at least 1180) for by the records it appears as that in 1302, E ...

, with her parents. Records show the couple had six children, three of whom reached adulthood. The three surviving children were Anne, John Milton (the poet) and Christopher Milton (a judge who was later awarded a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

). Similar to his first son of the same name, Milton wrote poetry. Two poems are known to have existed: a sonnet and a poem dedicated to John Lane—both unpublished. Milton's main creative outlet, however, was composing music. Twenty musical compositions are verified as belonging to Milton. All but one of his compositions contained a religious theme. Milton succeeded in publishing his works in

Thomas Morley Thomas Morley (1557 – early October 1602) was an English composer, theorist, singer and organist of the Renaissance. He was one of the foremost members of the English Madrigal School. Referring to the strong Italian influence on the Engl ...

's ''

The Triumphs of Oriana ''The Triumphs of Oriana'' is a book of English madrigals, compiled and published in 1601 by Thomas Morley, which first edition has 25 pieces by 23 composers (Thomas Morley and Ellis Gibbons have two madrigals). It was said to have been made to ...

'' (1601), William Leighton's '' The Tears or Lamentations of a Sorrowful Soul'' (1612) and

Thomas Ravenscroft Thomas Ravenscroft ( – 1635) was an English musician, theorist and editor, notable as a composer of rounds and catches, and especially for compiling collections of British folk music. Little is known of Ravenscroft's early life. He pro ...

's '' The Whole Book of Psalms'' (1621), amongst others. Other works survived as manuscripts under the care of John Browne, a Parliamentary clerk, and Thomas Myriell, a personal friend of the composer. During a visit of Otto, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel to London in the summer of 1611, Milton composed a song in four parts, for which the landgrave presented him with a gold medal.Parker, William Riley. ''Milton: The life'', Clarendon Press, 1996, p. 10
Milton's work made the family so prosperous that they could afford to employ private tutors of

classical languages A classical language is any language with an independent literary tradition and a large and ancient body of written literature. Classical languages are typically dead languages, or show a high degree of diglossia, as the spoken varieties of the ...

for their sons and later send them to school and university. This affluence also meant that his eldest son, John Milton, never had to work and thus spent his time focusing on writing. Milton also ensured that his eldest son was thoroughly educated in music. In 1631 Milton and his family moved from Bread Street to Hammersmith where he resided until his retirement in 1636. Thereafter he moved with his wife to Horton, Buckinghamshire. However, Sara died shortly after on 3 April 1637 and she was buried in the aisle of the parish church. Milton moved to

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

in 1641 to live with his youngest son but after the

Siege of Reading The siege of Reading was an eleven-day blockade of Reading, Berkshire, during the First English Civil War. Reading had been garrisoned by the Royalists in November 1642, and held 3,300 soldiers under the command of Sir Arthur Aston. On 1 ...

he moved back to London, living with his eldest son, John Milton. After his son reconciled with his wife the family moved to the Barbican. He remained there until his death and was buried on 15 March 1647 in St Giles Cripplegate.

References

*Ernest Brennecke Jr., ''John Milton the Elder and His Music''. Octagon Books New York, 1973.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Milton, John 1562 births 1647 deaths English classical composers English Baroque composers 16th-century English composers 17th-century English composers 16th-century Protestants 17th-century Protestants English Protestants Writers from London 17th-century English poets 17th-century English male writers 16th-century English poets 17th-century classical composers English male poets English male classical composers 17th-century male musicians