Richard Ayleward (1626–1669) was an English composer and musician. He is noted for his contribution to the repertoire of

Anglican church music Anglican church music is music that is written for Christian worship in Anglican religious services, forming part of the liturgy. It mostly consists of pieces written to be sung by a church choir, which may sing '' a cappella'' or accompanie ...

Early life

Ayleward was born the son of a 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 ca ...

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

. There he sang as a

chorister A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

in the cathedral choir.

Career

BROWNE(1723) p058 Main Prospect of Norwich Cathedral

During 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 ...

, Ayleward was appointed

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

and

choirmaster A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is the cathedral church for the Church of England Diocese of Norwich and is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites. The cathedra ...

. He held office there from 1661 to 1664, and again from 1666 to 1669, working under the director of music

Christopher Gibbons Christopher Gibbons ( bapt. 22 August 1615 – 20 October 1676) was an English composer and organist of the Baroque period. He was the second son, and first surviving child of the composer Orlando Gibbons. Life and career Background Chri ...

, the son of

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 ...

. During the Interregnum Ayleward no doubt did much writing of choral pieces, possibly for private home performance, as, to mark the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...

of Charles II, he produced twenty-five anthems, all showing highly original composition. During the year 1664–1665, Ayleward gave up his position at Norwich, and he appears to have been away at "the assizes". There is no indication of what caused this "call". However, he was reappointed in 1665 and remained at his position until his death in 1669. His compositions are unusual in that they call for three or four solo voices in the same range, in some cases, and they required massive resources for full performance. They were extensively scored works for many, many performers, and greater personnel than Norwich may have possessed in its regular choir. All the manuscripts of his compositions were owned by Norwich Cathedral, and these were purchased by A. H. Mann and published. Some of Ayleward's hymns and musical settings for

evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which became ...

(especially his Responses) remain in use in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

References

*Granger, PR, Peter Aston, Tom Roast. "Richard Ayleward" in Sade, Stanley, ed. ''The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.'' New York: Macmillan, 2001. vol. 2, p 264. *Spink, Ian. "Richard Ayleward" in Matthew, H.C.G. and Brian Harrison, eds. ''

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

.'' vol. 3, p 14. London:

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2004.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayleward, Charles 1626 births 1669 deaths 17th-century classical composers 17th-century English composers