Sir Edward Paston (1550–1630), second son of Sir Thomas Paston, was a Catholic gentleman of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, a poet, and amateur musician living in the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

. He is an important figure in the musical history of England, his love of music driving him to acquire and copy musical

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

s from some of the most important composers of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

, resulting in a unique performing collection of 16th-century house music that included works by

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 ...

Thomas Tallis Thomas Tallis (23 November 1585; also Tallys or Talles) was an English composer of High Renaissance music. His compositions are primarily vocal, and he occupies a primary place in anthologies of English choral music. Tallis is considered one ...

John Taverner John Taverner ( – 18 October 1545) was an English composer and organist, regarded as one of the most important English composers of his era. He is best-known for ''Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas'' and ''The Western Wynde Mass'', and ''Missa Coro ...

, and

Orlando di Lasso Orlande de Lassus ( various other names; probably – 14 June 1594) was a composer of the late Renaissance. The chief representative of the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school, Lassus stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Pales ...

. He was especially interested in Byrd, and one of his books is the largest source of consort songs by that composer. Paston played the lute, creating a wide range of vocal settings and accompanying tablatures in partbooks that are still obtainable. As a young man he travelled extensively in Spain, being influenced by the Spanish (and Italian) form of tablature, as seen in his partbooks, rather than the generally used French form. It is believed that the part-books were specially prepared for him, rather than being 'commercially' acquired, in order to suit the performing requirements of his household, thus becoming material tailored to his specific needs. The broad range of music includes motets,

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, extracts from masses, and consort songs. In his will, Paston relates that there are various lute books intabulated in the Italian, French, and English styles, both for solo playing and as accompaniment for singing. He also mentions a chest containing sets of Latin, French, and Italian songs, from three- to eight-part versions, that are not yet printed and which he bequeaths to his son, William, until his grandson, Thomas reaches his eighteenth birthday, when they pass into his keeping. Many of these books are now housed in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

(formerly in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

), and the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...

, London.

References

Sources

* Brett, Philip (2006). ''William Byrd and His Contemporaries: Essays and a Monograph.'' University of California Press. * Murray, Tessa (2014). ''Thomas Morley: Elizabethan Music Publisher.'' Boydella & Brewer Ltd.

References

Sources

Further reading