Philip Rosseter (1568 – 5 May 1623) 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 and musician, as well as a theatrical manager. His family seems to have been from

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, he may have been employed with the Countess of Sussex by 1596, and he was living in London by 1598. In 1604 Rosseter was appointed a court lutenist for

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the Union of the Crowns, union of the Scottish and Eng ...

, a position he held until his death in 1623. Rosseter is best known for ''A Book of Ayres'' which was written with

Thomas Campion Thomas Campion (sometimes spelled Campian; 12 February 1567 – 1 March 1620) was an English composer, poet, and physician. He was born in London, educated at Cambridge, studied law in Gray's inn. He wrote over a hundred lute songs, masques for ...

and published in 1601. Some literary critics have held that Campion wrote the poems for Rosseter's songs; however, this seems not to be the case. It is likely that Campion was the author of the book's preface, which criticizes complex counterpoint and "intricate" harmonies that leave the words inaudible. The two men had a close professional and personal relationship; when Campion died in 1620, he had named Rosseter his sole heir. Rosseter's

lute song The term lute song is given to a music style from the late 16th century to early 17th century, late Renaissance to early Baroque, that was predominantly in England and France. Lute songs were generally in strophic form or verse repeating with a h ...

s are generally short,

homophonic In music, homophony (;, Greek: ὁμόφωνος, ''homóphōnos'', from ὁμός, ''homós'', "same" and φωνή, ''phōnē'', "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that flesh ...

, with minimal repetition or

word painting Word painting, also known as tone painting or text painting, is the musical technique of composing music that reflects the literal meaning of a song's lyrics or story elements in programmatic music. Historical development Tone painting of words ...

(imitating textual meanings through music), while at the same time being rich in musical invention. Rosseter's only other book was ''Lessons for Consort'' (1609) for a

broken consort In English early Baroque music, a broken consort is an ensemble featuring instruments from more than one family, for example a group featuring both string and wind instruments. A consort consisting entirely of instruments of the same family, on th ...

of bandora,

cittern The cittern or cithren ( Fr. ''cistre'', It. ''cetra'', Ger. ''Cister,'' Sp. ''cistro, cedra, cítola'') is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is d ...

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 ...

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

, and treble and bass

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 ...

, which contains arrangements of his own and others' music. Rosseter was also involved in the

Jacobean theatre 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 ...

. In 1609 he and Robert Keysar became shareholders in a company of boy actors, the

Children of the Chapel The Children of the Chapel are the boys with unbroken voices, choristers, who form part of the Chapel Royal, the body of singers and priests serving the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they were called upon to do so. They were overseen ...

. The company had lost their royal patronage in 1606 as a result of their satire of Jacobean court scandals, but Rosseter was permitted to restore their former title, the

Children of the Queen's Revels The Children of the Chapel are the boys with unbroken voices, choristers, who form part of the Chapel Royal, the body of singers and priests serving the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they were called upon to do so. They were overseen ...

, in 1610. Rosseter remained connected to the Jacobean court during this period, in 1612 and 1613 he produced three play by the "Children of the Chapel" for

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

, Princess Elizabeth and the

Prince Palatine Prince Palatine (1908–1924) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He was named for County Palatine of Lancaster near where his breeder William Hall Walker had been raised. Racing career Racing at age two, Prince Palatine won three of his si ...

, and he played the lute on 15 February 1613 in George Chapman's ''

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 ...

'', a part of the celebrations at the

wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V of the Palatinate The wedding of Princess Elizabeth (1596–1662), daughter of James VI and I, and Frederick V of the Palatinate (1596–1632) was celebrated in London in February 1613. There were fireworks, masques (small, choreography-based plays), tournam ...

. In 1614, the

' lease for

Whitefriars Theatre The Whitefriars Theatre was a theatre in Jacobean London, in existence from 1608 to the 1620s — about which only limited and sometimes contradictory information survives. Location The Whitefriars district was outside the medieval city walls o ...

expired, and Rosseter obtained a license from King James to build a new theatre at Porter's Hall, near the

Blackfriars Theatre Blackfriars Theatre was the name given to two separate theatres located in the former Blackfriars Dominican priory in the City of London during the Renaissance. The first theatre began as a venue for the Children of the Chapel Royal, child acto ...

. Boundary changes brought the site within the City of London, however, where the lord mayor and aldermen strongly objected to the establishment of the theater. After a controversial trial in which Lord Chief Justice Coke found for the London authorities, the nearly-completed playhouse was demolished in 1617. Rosseter made attempts to operate the boy actors, now known as the Children of the Late Queen's Revels, as a touring company, but he withdrew as a shareholder by 1620, and the company disbanded shortly afterwards.Harwood. A piece entitled ''Rosseter's Galliard'' by

Giles Farnaby Giles Farnaby (c. 1563 – November 1640) was an English composer and virginalist whose music spans the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque period. Life Giles Farnaby was born about 1563, perhaps in Truro, Cornwall or near London. ...

is included in the ''

Fitzwilliam Virginal Book The ''Fitzwilliam Virginal Book'' is a primary source of keyboard music from the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods in England, i.e., the late Renaissance and very early Baroque. It takes its name from Viscount Fitzwilliam who beque ...

'' (no. CCLXXXIII), probably a setting of one of Rosseter's compositions. One of his compositions was used by

Martin Shaw Martin Shaw (born 21 January 1945) is an English actor. He came to national recognition as Doyle in ITV (TV network), ITV crime-action television drama series ''The Professionals (TV series), The Professionals'' (1977–1983). Further notable ...

and then arranged by

Mont Campbell Hugo Martin Montgomery "Dirk" Campbell (born 30 December 1950, previously known as Mont Campbell) is a British multi-instrumentalist, composer and energy company executive. Campbell was born in the British military hospital in Ismailia, Egypt, ...

to become 'Garden of Earthly Delights' on the album Arzachel by Prog Rock group

Uriel Uriel or Auriel ( he, אוּרִיאֵל ''ʾŪrīʾēl'', " El/God is my flame"; el, Οὐριήλ ''Oúriēl''; cop, ⲟⲩⲣⲓⲏⲗ ''Ouriēl''; it, Uriele; Geʽez and Amharic: or ) is the name of one of the archangels who is mentio ...

in 1969.

Footnotes

References

*Campion, Thomas and Philip Rosseter. ''A booke of ayres, set foorth to be song to the lute, orpherian, and base violl'' (London, 1601), ''Early English Books Online'' (Retrieved 11 August 2013)

(subscription access). *Greer, David. "Philip Rosseter", '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Grove Music Online'', ed. L. Macy (Retrieved 16 October 2006)
grovemusic.com
(subscription access). *Halliday, F. E. ''A Shakespeare Companion 1564-1964,'' Baltimore, Penguin, 1964. *Harwood, Ian. "Philip Rosseter", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Retrieved 11 August 2013), www.oxforddnb.com (subscription access).

External links

* *
Video of "When Laura smiles" by Philip Rosseter performed by Valeria Mignaco, soprano & Alfonso Marin, lutePhilip Rosseter performed by lutenist Brian WrightMusic Collection
in

Cambridge Digital Library The Cambridge Digital Library is a project operated by the Cambridge University Library designed to make items from the unique and distinctive collections of Cambridge University Library available online. The project was initially funded by a donat ...

which contains early copies/examples of Rosseter's compositions {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosseter, Philip 1560s births 1623 deaths English classical composers English lutenists English Baroque composers 16th-century English composers 17th-century English composers 17th-century classical composers English male classical composers 17th-century male musicians