Walter Porter (c.1587–1659) was an English composer and church musician. He travelled to Italy to study under

Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is consider ...

, and shows Italian influence in

madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance music, Renaissance (15th–16th c.) and early Baroque music, Baroque (1600–1750) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The Polyphony, polyphoni ...

s and his one surviving anthem.

Life

He was son of Henry Porter, who was musician of the

sackbut The term sackbut refers to the early forms of the trombone commonly used during the Renaissance and Baroque eras. A sackbut has the characteristic telescopic slide of a trombone, used to vary the length of the tube to change pitch, but is di ...

s to James I. Walter. He was on 5 January 1616 sworn a gentleman of the Chapel Royal, to await a vacancy among the tenor singers; and on 1 February 1617 he succeeded Peter Wright. In 1639, Porter was appointed master of the choristers of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

, Richard Portman being organist at the time. Among his patrons were

John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol (February 1580 – 21 January 1653),David L. Smith, 'Digby, John, first earl of Bristol (1580–1653)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008. was an E ...

, to whom he dedicated his ''Ayres''. Dismissed from his post during the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...

, Porter was supported by Sir Edward Spencer. Porter was buried at

St. Margaret's Church, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster a ...

, on 30 November 1659.

Works

Porter's printed works are: * ''Madrigales and Ayres of two, three, foure, and five voyces, with the continued bass, with Toccatos, Sinfonias, and Ritornelles to them after the manner of consort musique. To be performed with the Harpsechord, Lutes, Theorbos, Basse-violl, two Violins or two Viols'', printed by

William Stansby William Stansby (1572–1638) was a London printer and publisher of the Jacobean and Caroline eras, working under his own name from 1610. One of the most prolific printers of his time, Stansby is best remembered for publishing the landmark first ...

, 1632. The book contains 26 pieces. * ''Ayres and Madrigals … with a thorough-bass base for the Organ or Theorbo-lute in the Italian way'', 1639. * ''Mottets of two voices for treble or tenor and bass, to be performed to an Organ, Harpsycon, Lute, or Bass-viol'', 1657. Charles Burney found the words of some of these were taken from

George Sandys George Sandys ( "sands"; 2 March 1578''Sandys, George''
in: ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' online ...

's ''Paraphrase''. * ''Divine Hymns by W. Porter'', advertised by

John Playford John Playford (1623–1686/7) was a London bookseller, publisher, minor composer, and member of the Stationers' Company, who published books on music theory, instruction books for several instruments, and psalters with tunes for singing in churc ...

, 1664, perhaps identical with ''Psalms of Sir George Sands'', translation for two voices by Walter Porter, three books, advertised 1671. Words of anthems set by Porter are in the Harleian MSS.

References

External links

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Walter 1659 deaths 16th-century English singers 16th-century English musicians 16th-century English composers Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey Year of birth uncertain Gentlemen of the Chapel Royal