A consort of instruments was a phrase used in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

during the 16th and 17th centuries to indicate an instrumental ensemble. These could be of the same or a variety of instruments. Consort music enjoyed considerable popularity at court and in households of the wealthy in the

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personific ...

, and many pieces were written for consorts by the major composers of the period. In the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

era consort music was absorbed into

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small nu ...

Definitions and forms

The earliest documented example of the English word 'consort' in a musical sense is in George Gascoigne’s ''The Princelye Pleasures'' (1576). Only from the mid-17th century has there been a clear distinction made between a ''‘whole’, or ‘closed’ consort'', that is, all instruments of the same family (for example, a set of

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 ...

s played together) and a ''‘mixed’, or ‘broken’ consort'', consisting of instruments from various families (for example viols and

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 ...

). Major forms of music composed for consorts included fantasias,

cantus firmus In music, a ''cantus firmus'' ("fixed melody") is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition. The plural of this Latin term is , although the corrupt form ''canti firmi'' (resulting from the grammatically incorrect tre ...

settings (including '' In nomines''),

variations Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individua ...

, dances or ayres, and fantasia suites.

Major composers

Composers of consort music during the

include

John Dowland John Dowland (c. 1563 – buried 20 February 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", " Come again", "Flow my tears", " I saw my Lady weepe", ...

Anthony Holborne Anthony ''AntonyHolborne ''Holburne(c. 1545 – 29 November 1602) was a composer of music for lute, cittern, and instrumental consort during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Life An "Anthony Holburne" entered Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1562, ...

, Osbert Parsley, and

William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English composer of late Renaissance music. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native England and those on the continent. He ...

. The principal

Jacobean era The Jacobean era was the period in English and Scottish history that coincides with the reign of James VI of Scotland who also inherited the crown of England in 1603 as James I. The Jacobean era succeeds the Elizabethan era and precedes the Ca ...

composers included Thomas Lupo,

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 fam ...

, John Coprario, and Alfonso Ferrabosco. William Lawes was a principal composer during the

Caroline era The Caroline era is the period in English and Scottish history named for the 24-year reign of Charles I (1625–1649). The term is derived from ''Carolus'', the Latin for Charles. The Caroline era followed the Jacobean era, the reign of Charles's ...

. Later 17th-century composers included John Jenkins, Christopher Simpson,

Matthew Locke Matthew Locke may refer to: * Matthew Locke (administrator) (fl. 1660–1683), English Secretary at War from 1666 to 1683 * Matthew Locke (composer) (c. 1621–1677), English Baroque composer and music theorist * Matthew Locke (soldier) (1974–2 ...

and

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

Modern consorts

In modern times, a number of ensembles have adopted the term "consort" in their names: * Armonico Consort * The Baltimore Consort *

B-Five Recorder Consort ''B-Five Recorder Consort'' is a European recorder quintet. The centerpiece of the ensemble's programs forms the consort music of the renaissance period. In addition to that the musicians try to establish a new repertoire for recorder quintet i ...

* Catacoustic Consort *

The Consort of Musicke The Consort of Musicke is a British early-music group, founded in 1969 by lutenist Anthony Rooley, the ensemble's Artistic Director. Members of the group have included such well-known artists as sopranos Emma Kirkby and Evelyn Tubb, alto Mary Ni ...

Dunedin Consort Dunedin Consort is Scotland's leading baroque ensemble based in Edinburgh, Scotland, recognised for its vivid and insightful performances and recordings. Formed in 1995 and named after Din Eidyn, the ancient Brittonic Celtic name of Edinburgh Castl ...

Early Music Consort of London The Early Music Consort of London was a British music ensemble in the late 1960s and 1970s which specialised in historically informed performance of Medieval and Renaissance music. It was founded in 1967 by music academics Christopher Hogwood and ...

Gaia Consort Gaia Consort is the original incarnation of Seattle-based folk rock music-group Bone Poets Orchestra.Gaia Consort http://www.gaiaconsort.com The group, popular in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, was founded as Gaia Consort by Chis ...

* The Harp Consort * The King's Consort *

Leonhardt-Consort Leonhardt-Consort, also known as the Leonhardt Baroque Ensemble, was a group of instrumentalists which its director, the keyboard player Gustav Leonhardt founded in 1955 to play baroque music. The Consort was active until around 1990, although some ...

Locke Brass Consort The Locke Brass Consort is a musical ensemble of brass instruments based in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Leslie Lake in 1966, as a quintet, to give concerts in schools and music clubs. Since 1975, in collaboration with conductor James Stob ...

* The Newberry Consort * Orlando Consort *

The Paul Winter Consort The Paul Winter Consort is an American musical group. Bassist Eliot Wadopian has been a member. Discography Films *''Canyon Consort'' (1985) References External linksLiving Music- Paul Winter's record label {{Authority control American j ...

* Quadriga Consort *

Ricercar Consort The Ricercar Consort is a Belgian instrumental ensemble founded in 1980 together with the Ricercar record label of Jérôme Lejeune. The founding members were violinist François Fernandez, organist Bernard Foccroulle, and viola da gamba playe ...

Rose Consort of Viols The Rose Consort of Viols is an English ensemble of viol players who perform mainly early consort music, including works by Orlando Gibbons, John Dowland, and Henry Purcell. They have performed around the world at many events, have appeared a ...

http://www.roseconsort.co.uk/ Rose Consort of Viols. * Sherwood Consort * Southern Consort of Voices * Taverner Consort * The Tudor Consort

Notes

External links

Video of consort of viols
*Robins, Brian.

2008 Viol Extravaganza
Collection of viol consort videos (YouTube) {{Authority control *

Definitions and forms

Major composers

Modern consorts

See also

Notes

External links