![IJonesKnightmasque](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/IJonesKnightmasque.jpg)
The masque was a form of festive
courtly entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...
that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, in forms including the
intermedio
The intermedio (also intromessa, introdutto, tramessa, tramezzo, intermezzo, intermedii), in the Italian Renaissance, was a theatrical performance or spectacle with music and often dance, which was performed between the acts of a play to celeb ...
(a public version of the masque was the
pageant). A masque involved music, dancing, singing and acting, within an elaborate
stage design, in which the architectural framing and costumes might be designed by a renowned architect, to present a deferential allegory flattering to the patron. Professional actors and musicians were hired for the speaking and singing parts. Masquers who did not speak or sing were often courtiers: the English queen
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and Eng ...
frequently danced with her ladies in masques between 1603 and 1611, and
Henry VIII and
Charles I of England
Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after hi ...
performed in the masques at their courts. In the tradition of masque,
Louis XIV of France
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of ...
danced in
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
s at
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
with music by
Jean-Baptiste Lully.
Development
The masque tradition developed from the elaborate pageants and courtly shows of
ducal Burgundy in the late
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
. Masques were typically a complimentary offering to the prince among his guests and might combine pastoral settings, mythological fable, and the dramatic elements of ethical debate. There would invariably be some political and social application of the allegory. Such pageants often celebrated a birth, marriage, change of ruler or a
Royal Entry and invariably ended with a tableau of bliss and concord.
Masque imagery tended to be drawn from Classical rather than Christian sources, and the artifice was part of the Grand dance. Masque thus lent itself to
Mannerist
Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...
treatment in the hands of master designers like
Giulio Romano
Giulio Romano (, ; – 1 November 1546), is the acquired name of Giulio Pippi, who was an Italian painter and architect. He was a pupil of Raphael, and his stylistic deviations from High Renaissance classicism help define the sixteenth-cent ...
or
Inigo Jones.
The
New Historians
The New Historians ( he, ההיסטוריונים החדשים, ''HaHistoryonim HaChadashim'') are a loosely defined group of Israeli historians who have challenged traditional versions of Israeli history, including Israel's role in the 1948 Pal ...
, in works like the essays of Bevington and Holbrook's ''The Politics of the Stuart Court Masque'' (1998), have pointed out the political subtext of masques. At times, the political subtext was not far to seek: ''
The Triumph of Peace
''The Triumph of Peace'' was a Caroline era masque, "invented and written" by James Shirley, performed on 3 February 1634 and published the same year. The production was designed by Inigo Jones.
Inspiration
The masque was lavishly sponsored b ...
'', put on with a large amount of parliament-raised money by
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
, caused great offence to the
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...
s.
Catherine de' Medici's court festivals, often even more overtly political, were among the most spectacular entertainments of her day, although the "
intermezzi
In music, an intermezzo (, , plural form: intermezzi), in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work. In music history, the term ha ...
" of the
Medici
The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mu ...
court in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
could rival them.
Dumbshow
In English theatre tradition, a
dumbshow
Dumbshow, also dumb show or dumb-show, is defined by the ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' as "gestures used to convey a meaning or message without speech; mime." In the theatre the word refers to a piece of dramatic mime in general, or more partic ...
is a masque-like interlude of silent
mime
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is an Internet standard that extends the format of email messages to support text in character sets other than ASCII, as well as attachments of audio, video, images, and application programs. Message ...
usually with
allegorical content that refers to the occasion of a play or its theme, the most famous being the dumbshow played out in ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' (III.ii). Dumbshows might be a moving spectacle, like a procession, as in
Thomas Kyd
Thomas Kyd (baptised 6 November 1558; buried 15 August 1594) was an English playwright, the author of ''The Spanish Tragedy'', and one of the most important figures in the development of Elizabethan drama.
Although well known in his own time, ...
's ''
The Spanish Tragedy
''The Spanish Tragedy, or Hieronimo is Mad Again'' is an Elizabethan tragedy written by Thomas Kyd between 1582 and 1592. Highly popular and influential in its time, ''The Spanish Tragedy'' established a new genre in English theatre, the rev ...
'' (1580s), or they might form a pictorial tableau, as one in the Shakespeare collaboration, ''
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
''Pericles, Prince of Tyre'' is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio. It was p ...
'' (III.i)—a tableau that is immediately explicated at some length by the poet-narrator,
Gower
Gower ( cy, Gŵyr) or the Gower Peninsula () in southwest Wales, projects towards the Bristol Channel. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom ...
.
Dumbshows were a Medieval element that continued to be popular in early
Elizabethan drama
English Renaissance theatre, also known as Renaissance English theatre and Elizabethan theatre, refers to the theatre of England between 1558 and 1642.
This is the style of the plays of William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson ...
, but by the time ''Pericles'' (c. 1607–08) or ''Hamlet'' (c. 1600–02) were staged, they were perhaps quaintly old-fashioned: “What means this, my lord?” is Ophelia's reaction. In English masques, purely musical interludes might be accompanied by a dumbshow.
Origins
The masque has its origins in a folk tradition where masked players would unexpectedly call on a nobleman in his hall, dancing and bringing gifts on certain nights of the year, or celebrating dynastic occasions. The rustic presentation of "Pyramus and Thisbe" as a wedding entertainment in Shakespeare's ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream'' offers a familiar example. Spectators were invited to join in the dancing. At the end, the players would take off their masks to reveal their identities.
England
In England,
Tudor court masques developed from earlier ''
guising
Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". The ...
s'', where a masked allegorical figure would appear and address the assembled company—providing a theme for the occasion—with musical accompaniment. Costumes were designed by professionals, including
Niccolo da Modena
Niccolo da Modena or Nicholas Bellin of Modena (died 1569) was an Italian artist and technician at the English court.
Career
He was born in Modena near the end of the 15th century. He is first recorded at the French court in 1516 as a valet of t ...
. Masques at
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
's court emphasized the concord and unity between Queen and Kingdom. A descriptive narrative of a processional masque is the masque of the
Seven Deadly Sins
The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings. Although they are not directly mentioned in the Bible, there are parallels with the seven things ...
in
Edmund Spenser's ''
The Faerie Queene
''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 sta ...
'' (Book i, Canto IV). A particularly elaborate masque, performed over the course of two weeks for Queen Elizabeth, is described in the 1821 novel ''
Kenilworth
Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a tributary of the River Sowe, which joins the ...
'', by
Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
. Queen Elizabeth was entertained at country houses during her progresses with performances like the
Harefield Entertainment.
In Scotland, masques were performed at court, particularly at wedding celebrations, and the
royal wardrobe provided costumes. After the
Union of the Crowns
The Union of the Crowns ( gd, Aonadh nan Crùintean; sco, Union o the Crouns) was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (such as overseas dip ...
, at the court of
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
and
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and Eng ...
, narrative elements of the masque became more significant. Plots were often on classical or allegorical themes, glorifying the royal or noble sponsor. At the end, the audience would join with the actors in a final dance.
Ben Jonson
Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
wrote a number of masques with stage design by
Inigo Jones. Their works are usually thought of as the most significant in the form.
Samuel Daniel
Samuel Daniel (1562–1619) was an English poet, playwright and historian in the late- Elizabethan and early- Jacobean eras. He was an innovator in a wide range of literary genres. His best-known works are the sonnet cycle ''Delia'', the epi ...
and Sir
Philip Sidney
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
also wrote masques.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
included a masque-like interlude in ''
The Tempest,'' understood by modern scholars to have been heavily influenced by the masques of Ben Jonson and the stagecraft of Inigo Jones. There is also a masque sequence in his ''
Romeo and Juliet'' and ''
Henry VIII''.
John Milton's ''
Comus
In Greek mythology, Comus (; grc, Κῶμος, ''Kōmos'') is the god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances. He is a son and a cup-bearer of the god Dionysus. He was represented as a winged youth or a child-like satyr and represents ana ...
'' (with music by
Henry Lawes) is described as a masque, though it is generally reckoned a
pastoral play.
There is a detailed, humorous, and malicious (and possibly completely fictitious) account by Sir
John Harington in 1606 of a masque of
Solomon and Sheba at
Theobalds
Theobalds House (also known as Theobalds Palace) in the parish of Cheshunt in the English county of Hertfordshire, was a significant stately home and (later) royal palace of the 16th and early 17th centuries. Set in extensive parkland, it was a r ...
. Harington was not so much concerned with the masque itself as with the notoriously heavy drinking at the Court of King James I; "the entertainment went forward, and most of the presenters went backward, or fell down, wine did so occupy their upper chambers". As far as we can ascertain the details of the masque, the
Queen of Sheba
The Queen of Sheba ( he, מַלְכַּת שְׁבָא, Malkaṯ Šəḇāʾ; ar, ملكة سبأ, Malikat Sabaʾ; gez, ንግሥተ ሳባ, Nəgśətä Saba) is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she bring ...
was to bring gifts to the King, representing Solomon, and was to be followed by the spirits of Faith, Hope, Charity, Victory and Peace. Unfortunately, as Harington reported, the actress playing the Queen tripped over the steps of the throne, sending her gifts flying; Hope and Faith were too drunk to speak a word, while Peace, annoyed at finding her way to the throne blocked, made good use of her symbolic
olive branches to slap anyone who was in her way.
James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle
James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle KB (c. 1580March 1636) was a British noble.
Life
A Scot, he was the son of Sir James Hay of Fingask, second son of Peter Hay of Megginch (a branch member of Hay of Leys, a younger branch of the Erroll family) a ...
was a performer and sponsor of court masques. He wrote about the tight fitting costumes, that it was the fashion "to appear very small in the waist, I remember was drawn up from the ground by both hands whilst the tailor with all his strength buttoned on my
doublet". Reconstructions of
Stuart masques have been few and far between. Part of the problem is that only texts survive complete; there is no complete music, only fragments, so no authoritative performance can be made without interpretive invention.
By the time of the
English Restoration
The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to ...
(1660), the masque was passé, but the English
semi-opera
The terms "semi-opera", "dramatic opera" and "English opera" were all applied to Restoration entertainments that combined spoken plays with masque-like episodes employing singing and dancing characters. They usually included machines in the manne ...
which developed in the latter part of the 17th century, a form in which
John Dryden
''
John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate.
He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...
and
Henry Purcell collaborated, borrows some elements from the masque and further elements from the contemporary courtly
French opera of
Jean-Baptiste Lully.
In the 18th-century, masques were even less frequently staged. "
Rule, Britannia!
"Rule, Britannia!" is a British patriotic song, originating from the 1740 poem "Rule, Britannia" by James Thomson and set to music by Thomas Arne in the same year. It is most strongly associated with the Royal Navy, but is also used by the ...
" started out as part of ''
Alfred'', a masque about
Alfred the Great co-written by
James Thomson and
David Mallet with music by
Thomas Arne
Thomas Augustine Arne (; 12 March 17105 March 1778) was an English composer. He is best known for his patriotic song " Rule, Britannia!" and the song "A-Hunting We Will Go", the latter composed for a 1777 production of '' The Beggar's Opera'', wh ...
which was first performed at
Cliveden
Cliveden (pronounced ) is an English country house and estate in the care of the National Trust in Buckinghamshire, on the border with Berkshire. The Italianate mansion, also known as Cliveden House, crowns an outlying ridge of the Chiltern ...
, country house of
Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fa ...
. Performed to celebrate the third birthday of Frederick's daughter
Augusta, it remains among the best-known British patriotic songs up to the present, while the masque of which it was originally part is only remembered by specialist historians.
Legacy
The most outstanding
humanists
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "humani ...
, poets and artists of the day, in the full intensity of their creative powers, devoted themselves to producing masques; and until the Puritans closed the English theatres in 1642, the masque was the highest art form in England. But because of its ephemeral nature, not a lot of documentation related to masques remains, and much of what is said about the production and enjoyment of masques is still part speculation.
17th- and 18th-century masques
While the masque was no longer as popular as it was at its height in the 17th Century, there are many later examples of the masque. During the late 17th century, English semi-operas by composers such as
Henry Purcell had masque scenes inset between the acts of the play proper. In the 18th century,
William Boyce and
Thomas Arne
Thomas Augustine Arne (; 12 March 17105 March 1778) was an English composer. He is best known for his patriotic song " Rule, Britannia!" and the song "A-Hunting We Will Go", the latter composed for a 1777 production of '' The Beggar's Opera'', wh ...
, continued to utilize the masque genre mostly as an occasional piece, and the genre became increasingly associated with patriotic topics.
Acis and Galatea (Handel) is another successful example. There are isolated examples throughout the first half of the 19th century.
Later masques
With the renaissance of English musical composition during the late 19th and early 20th century (the so-called
English Musical Renaissance
The English Musical Renaissance was a hypothetical development in the late 19th and early 20th century, when British composers, often those lecturing or trained at the Royal College of Music, were said to have freed themselves from foreign musica ...
), English composers turned to the masque as a way of connecting to a genuinely English musical-dramatic form in their attempts to build a historically-informed national musical style for England. Examples include those by
Arthur Sullivan,
George Macfarren
George Macfarren (1788–1843) was a playwright and the father of composer George Alexander Macfarren.
Life
He was born in London 5 September 1788.
He was the son of George Macfarren.
He was educated chiefly at Archbishop Tenison's school in Cast ...
, and even
Edward Elgar, whose imperialistic ''
Crown of India'' was the central feature at the London Coliseum in 2005. Masques also became common as scenes in operettas and musical theatre works set during the Elizabethan period.
In the 20th century,
Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote several masques, including his masterpiece in the genre, ''
Job, a masque for dancing'' which premiered in 1930, although the work is closer to a
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
than a masque as it was originally understood. His designating it a masque was to indicate that the modern
choreography typical when he wrote the piece would not be suitable.
Constant Lambert
Leonard Constant Lambert (23 August 190521 August 1951) was a British composer, conductor, and author. He was the founder and music director of the Royal Ballet, and (alongside Ninette de Valois and Frederick Ashton) he was a major figure in th ...
also wrote a piece he called a masque, ''Summer's Last Will and Testament'', for orchestra, chorus and baritone. His title he took from
Thomas Nash, whose masque
[It was a "comedy" when it was printed, in 1600 as ''A Pleasant Comedie, call'd Summers Last will and Testament'', but, as a character announces, "nay, 'tis no Play neither, but a show." With Nash's stage direction ''"Enter Summer, leaning on Autumn's and Winter's shoulders, and attended on with a train of Satyrs and wood-Nymphs, singing: ]Vertumnus
In Roman mythology, Vertumnus (; also Vortumnus or Vertimnus) is the god of seasons, change and plant growth, as well as gardens and fruit trees. He could change his form at will; using this power, according to Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' (xiv) ...
also following him"'' we are recognizably in the world of Masque. was probably first presented before the
Archbishop of Canterbury, perhaps at his London seat,
Lambeth Palace, in 1592.
List of notable masques
17th-century masques
* ''
Chloridia
''Chloridia: Rites to Chloris and Her Nymphs'' was the final masque that Ben Jonson wrote for the Stuart Court. It was performed at Shrovetide, 22 February 1631, with costumes, sets and stage effects designed by Inigo Jones.
The masque
''Chlo ...
''
* ''
Christmas, His Masque''
* ''
Comus (John Milton)
''Comus'' (''A Masque Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634'') is a masque in honour of chastity, written by John Milton. It was first presented on Michaelmas, 1634, before John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater, at Ludlow Castle in celebration of ...
''
* ''
Cupid and Death
''Cupid and Death'' is a mid-seventeenth-century masque, written by the Caroline era dramatist James Shirley, and performed on 26 March 1653 before the Portuguese ambassador to Great Britain. The work and its performance provide a point of contr ...
''
* ''
The Fairy-Queen
''The Fairy-Queen'' (1692; Purcell catalogue number Z.629) is a semi-opera by Henry Purcell; a "Restoration spectacular". The libretto is an anonymous adaptation of William Shakespeare's comedy ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. First performed ...
''
* ''
The Fortunate Isles and Their Union
''The Fortunate Isles and Their Union'' is a Jacobean era masque, written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones, and performed on 9 January 1625. It was the last masque acted before King James I of England (who died two months later on 27 ...
''
* ''
The Golden Age Restored
''The Golden Age Restored'' was a Jacobean era masque, written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones; it was performed on 1 January and 6 January 1616, almost certainly at Whitehall Palace.
The show
Somewhat less is known about this masqu ...
''
* ''
The Gypsies Metamorphosed''
* ''
The Hue and Cry After Cupid
''The Hue and Cry After Cupid,'' or ''A Hue and Cry After Cupid,'' also ''Lord Haddington's Masque'' or ''The Masque at Lord Haddington's Marriage,'' or even ''The Masque With the Nuptial Songs at the Lord Viscount Haddington's Marriage at Cour ...
''
* ''
Hymenaei
''Hymenaei,'' or ''The Masque of Hymen,'' was a masque written by Ben Jonson for the marriage of Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, and Lady Frances Howard, daughter of the Earl of Suffolk, and performed on their wedding day, 5 January 1606 ...
''
* ''
The Lady of May
''The Lady of May'' is a one-act play by the England, English Renaissance poet Philip Sidney, Sir Philip Sidney. The play, which draws upon the literary tradition of pastoral, is notable for its allegorical content relating to Queen Elizabeth I, f ...
''
* ''
Lord Hay's Masque''
* ''
The Lords' Masque''
* ''
The King's Entertainment at Welbeck''
* ''
London's Love to Prince Henry
''London's Love to Prince Henry'' (31 May 1610), was a pageant on the River Thames organised by the city of London for the investiture of Prince Henry as Prince of Wales.
This pageant was performed on the Thames between Chelsea and Whitehall. I ...
''
* ''
Love Freed from Ignorance and Folly
''Love Freed from Ignorance and Folly'' was a Jacobean era masque, written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones, with music by Alfonso Ferrabosco. It was performed on 3 February 1611 at Whitehall Palace, and published in 1616.
''Love Fr ...
''
* ''
Love Restored
''Love Restored'' was a Jacobean era masque, written by Ben Jonson; it was performed on Twelfth Night, 6 January 1612, and first published in 1616. The Dictionary of National Biography says of the masque, "This vindication of love from wealth i ...
''
* ''
Love's Triumph Through Callipolis''
* ''
Love's Welcome at Bolsover''
* ''
Luminalia''
* ''
Mercury Vindicated from the Alchemists
''Mercury Vindicated from the Alchemists at Court'' is a Jacobean-era masque, written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones. It was performed at Whitehall Palace on Twelfth Night, 6 January 1615. King James I liked it so much that he ordere ...
''
* ''
Neptune's Triumph for the Return of Albion
''Neptune's Triumph for the Return of Albion'' was a Jacobean era masque, written by Ben Jonson, and designed by Inigo Jones. The masque is notable for the contradictory historical evidence connected with it and the confusion it caused among ge ...
''
* ''
Oberon, the Faery Prince
''Oberon, the Faery Prince'' was a masque written by Ben Jonson, with costumes, sets and stage effects designed by Inigo Jones, and music by Alfonso Ferrabosco and Robert Johnson. ''Oberon'' saw the introduction to English Renaissance theatre ...
''
* ''
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 i ...
''
* ''
Salmacida Spolia''
* ''
Tempe Restored
''Tempe Restored'' was a Caroline era masque, written by Aurelian Townshend and designed by Inigo Jones, and performed at Whitehall Palace on Shrove Tuesday, 14 February 1632. It was significant as an early instance in which a woman appeared in ...
''
* ''
Tethys' Festival
''Tethys' Festival'' was a masque produced on 5 June 1610 to celebrate the investiture of Prince Henry (1594–1612) as Prince of Wales.
Prince Henry, the son of James VI and I and Anne of Denmark, was made Prince of Wales in June 1610. Among ...
''
* ''
The Masque of Augurs
''The Masque of Augurs'' was a Jacobean era masque, written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones. It was performed, most likely, on Twelfth Night, 6 January 1622.
A second performance of the masque, with textual revisions by Jonson, occu ...
''
* ''
The Masque of Beauty
''The Masque of Beauty'' was a courtly masque written by Ben Jonson, and performed in London's Whitehall Palace on 10 January 1608. It inaugurated the refurbished banquesting hall of the palace (the predecessor of Inigo Jones' building). It was ...
''
* ''
The Masque of Blackness
''The Masque of Blackness'' was an early Jacobean era masque, first performed at the Stuart Court in the Banqueting Hall of Whitehall Palace on Twelfth Night, 6 January 1605. It was written by Ben Jonson at the request of Anne of Denmark, the ...
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The Masque of the Inner Temple and Gray's Inn
''The Masque of the Inner Temple and Gray's Inn'', also known as, ''The Masque of the Olympic Knights'', is an English masque created in the Jacobean period. It was written by Francis Beaumont and is known to have been performed on 20 February ...
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The Masque of Queens
''The Masque of Queens, Celebrated From the House of Fame'' is one of the earlier works in the series of masques that Ben Jonson composed for the House of Stuart in the early 17th century. Performed at Whitehall Palace on 2 February 1609, it mar ...
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* ''
The Memorable Masque of the Middle Temple and Lincoln's Inn
''The Memorable Masque of the Middle Temple and Lincoln's Inn'' was a Literature in English#Jacobean literature, Jacobean era masque, written by George Chapman, and with costumes, sets, and stage effects designed by Inigo Jones. It was performed ...
''
* ''
The Shepherd's Paradise
''The Shepherd's Paradise'' was a Caroline era masque, written by Walter Montagu and designed by Inigo Jones. Acted in 1633 by Queen Henrietta Maria and her ladies in waiting, it was noteworthy as the first masque in which the Queen and her lad ...
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* ''
The Sun's Darling
''The Sun's Darling'' is a masque, or masque-like play, written by John Ford (dramatist), John Ford and Thomas Dekker (poet), Thomas Dekker, and first published in 1656 in literature, 1656.
''The Sun's Darling'' was licensed for performance by S ...
''
* ''
The Triumph of Beauty''
* ''
The Triumph of Peace
''The Triumph of Peace'' was a Caroline era masque, "invented and written" by James Shirley, performed on 3 February 1634 and published the same year. The production was designed by Inigo Jones.
Inspiration
The masque was lavishly sponsored b ...
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* ''
The Vision of Delight''
* ''
The Vision of the Twelve Goddesses''
* ''
The World Tossed at Tennis''
* ''
Time Vindicated to Himself and to His Honours''
18th-century masques
* ''
Albion; or, The Court of Neptune''
* ''
Albion Restor'd''
* ''
Alfred''
* ''
Apollo and Daphne
Apollo and Daphne is a transformation myth from ancient Greek mythology, retold by Hellenistic and Roman authors in the form of an amorous vignette.
History
The earliest known source of this myth is Parthenius, a Greek poet who lived during t ...
''
* ''
Beauty and Virtue''
* ''
Britannia
Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...
''
* ''
Britannia and Batavia
Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...
''
* ''
Calypso; a masque''
* ''
The Comick Masque of Pyramus and Thisbe
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
''
* ''
Comus
In Greek mythology, Comus (; grc, Κῶμος, ''Kōmos'') is the god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances. He is a son and a cup-bearer of the god Dionysus. He was represented as a winged youth or a child-like satyr and represents ana ...
''
* ''
The Death of Dido''
* ''
The Druids, a masque''
* ''
The Fairy Favour''
* ''
The Fairy Festival''
* ''
The Fairy Prince
''The Fairy Prince'' is a masque in three acts by composer Thomas Arne. The English libretto, by George Colman the Elder, is based on Ben Jonson’s ''Oberon, the Faery Prince'' (1611). The work premiered at the Covent Garden Theatre, London, on 1 ...
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The Festival''
* ''
The Genius of Ireland
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
'' version 1
* ''
The Genius of Ireland
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
'' version 2
* ''
The Happy Nuptials''
* ''
The Judgement of Hercules
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
''
* ''
The Judgement of Paris''
* ''
Love and Glory''
* ''
The Masque of Hymen''
* ''
The Masque of Neptune's Prophecy
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
''
* ''
The Masque of Orpheus and Euridice''
* ''
The Masque of Solon
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
''
* ''
The Nuptials''
* ''
The Nuptial Masque
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
''
* ''
Pan and Syrinx
Carl Nielsen's ''Pan and Syrinx'' (''Pan og Syrinx'') is a symphonic poem written for a concert of the composer's works which was held on 11 February 1918 in Copenhagen.
Background
As late as 23 January 1918, in a letter to Swedish composer Wil ...
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* ''
Peleus and Thetis: A Masque''
* ''
Presumptuous Love: A Dramatick Masque''
* ''
Shakespeare's Jubilee, a Masque
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
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* ''
The Statute, a Pastoral Masque
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
''
* ''
The Syrens, a masque''
* ''
The Triumph of Peace
''The Triumph of Peace'' was a Caroline era masque, "invented and written" by James Shirley, performed on 3 February 1634 and published the same year. The production was designed by Inigo Jones.
Inspiration
The masque was lavishly sponsored b ...
''
* ''
Telemachus
Telemachus ( ; grc, Τηλέμαχος, Tēlemakhos, lit=far-fighter), in Greek mythology, is the son of Odysseus and Penelope, who is a central character in Homer's ''Odyssey''. When Telemachus reached manhood, he visited Pylos and Sparta in s ...
''
* ''
The Triumphs of Hibernia''
* ''
Venus and Adonis''
Notes
References
*Burden, Michael (1994), ''Garrick, Arne, and the Masque of Alfred'', Edwin Mellon Press.
*
*
Hart, Vaughan (1994). ''Art and Magic in the Court of the Stuarts.'' London, Routledge.
*Ravelhofer, Barbara, (2006), ''The Early Stuart Masque: Dance, Costume, and Music'', Oxford University Press.
*Sabol, Andrew J. (editor), (1959), ''Songs and dances from the Stuart Masque. An edition of sixty-three items of music for the English court masque from 1604 to 1641'', Brown University Press.
*Sabol, Andrew J. (editor), (1982), ''Four hundred songs and dances from the Stuart Masque'', Brown University Press.
External links
"The Elizabethan origins of the masque"Popularity of the Masque in the age of Elizabeth
The Masque in Spenser
the next-to-last masque of the court of Charles I
{{Authority control
Theatrical genres
Concert dance
Renaissance dance
Opera terminology
European court festivities
Masks in Europe
Masks in theatre