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William Lawes
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: William Lawes |
| Music Encyclopedia: William Lawes |
( b Salisbury, bap. 1 May 1602; d Chester, 24 Sept 1645). English composer, younger brother of Henry Lawes. He was probably a chorister at Salisbury Cathedral until the Earl of Hertford placed him under the tutelage of his own music master, John Coprario. In 1635 Lawes was appointed ‘musician in ordinary for the lute and voices’ to Charles I, though he was probably in Charles's service before then. In 1642 he enlisted in the royalist army and accompanied the king on campaigns; he was killed during the battle to relieve the garrison at Chester.
Lawes was a gifted, versatile and prolific composer. The stylized dance suite is the basic vehicle for his chamber music, often with a preceding fantasia or pavan. In his viol consorts he exhibited late Renaissance traits, but the larger part of his chamber music uses violins in the concertante style of early Baroque violin music with continuo. It includes the ‘Harpe’ consorts, a unique collection of variation suites for violin, bass viol, theorbo and harp. Of Lawes's vocal music, over 200 songs are extant, many of them composed for court masques and other theatrical entertainments. He is considered the leading English dramatic composer before Purcell. Much of his church music - c 50 anthems and ten sacred canons or rounds - is also of high quality, The Lord is my Light being one of the finest verse anthems of its period.
works:Instrumental music
- 30 consort suites, incl. 18 with vn(s)
- 8 vn sonatas
- 8 trio sonatas
- ensemble suites
- over 100 ensemble dances
- keyboard suites and dances
- c 50 anthems, incl. The Lord is my Light
- 10 sacred canons
- over 200 songs, duets, trios, some orig. for dramatic works (incl. The Triumph of Peace, masque, 1634)
| Artist: William Lawes |
- Period: Baroque (1600-1749)
- Country: England
- Born: May 01, 1602 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
- Died: September 24, 1645 in Chester, England
- Genres: Miscellaneous Music, Orchestral Music
Biography
William Lawes, son of a lay vicar at Salisbury Cathedral, showed (like his older brother Henry Lawes) musical promise at any early age. He found an early patron in Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, who brought the young chorister to his Wiltshire estates to study music with his private music master, the renowned John Coprario. William likely met the future King Charles I (r. 1625-1649) through Coprario. William and his brother were both named musicians "in ordinary for the lutes and voices" for Charles' court; the honor came to William in 1635, though it appears he was composing personally for the King at least as early as 1633. While in Charles' service, Lawes contributed vocal and instrumental music to the life of the court, as well as music for the Masques popular in Caroline England. William Lawes went with the King to Oxford in 1642 and enlisted in the royalist army (a portrait in Oxford depicts him in Cavalier garb). Though for his safety Lawes was made a commissary in the King's personal guard, he suffered a fatal gunshot wound while relieving the siege of Chester in 1645. King Charles reputedly mourned for Lawes as the "Father of Musick."Though none of William Lawes' music appeared in print during his lifetime, his brother released certain of his psalm settings and sacred canons in the Choice Psalms of 1648, and the influential published collections of John Playford beginning around 1650 furthered both the dissemination and popularity of his music. He wrote prolifically and idiomatically for the consort of viols. His suites and fantasias meld the fluidity of late Renaissance counterpoint with the more "mannered" chromatic colors of the late madrigal; he did in fact know some of the works of Marenzio and Monteverdi. His other chamber music (especially involving violins), on the other hand, displays an early Baroque idiom of paired strings and basso continuo. Some scholars of his music speculate that this Italian style reached him though Coprario's tutelage.
Despite his large instrumental output, and an even greater number of secular songs and Anglican anthems surviving from his pen, William's greatest legacy may have been his dramatic music. Between the years 1633 and 1641, he contributed music to at least 25 courtly Masques and other dramatic productions. The English courtly Masque at this time comprised a composite art form with music, dance, drama, and scenery, comparable to the Lullian Ballet de cour in France. Early in the century, Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones were leading collaborators in the Masque. The genre climaxed in the spectacular Triumph of Peace (1634) by James Shirley, to which William Lawes contributed music. His achievement in stage music made possible the later work of Matthew Locke, John Blow, and eventually Henry Purcell himself. ~ Timothy Dickey, All Music Guide
| Wikipedia: William Lawes |
- For the missionary (1839–1907) see William George Lawes
William Lawes (April 1602 – 24 September 1645) was an English composer and musician.
Lawes was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire and was baptised on 1 May 1602. He was the son of Thomas Lawes, a vicar choral at Salisbury Cathedral, and brother to Henry Lawes, a very successful composer in his own right.
His patron, Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, apprenticed him to the composer John Coprario, which probably brought Lawes into contact with Charles, Prince of Wales at an early age. Both William and his elder brother Henry received court appointments after Charles succeeded to the British throne as Charles I. William was appointed as 'musician in ordinary for lutes and voices' in 1635 but had been writing music for the court prior to this.
William Lawes spent all his adult life in Charles's employ. He composed secular music and songs for court masques (and doubtless played in them), as well as sacred anthems and motets for Charles's private worship. He is most remembered today for his sublime viol consort suites for between three and six players and his lyra viol music. His use of counterpoint and fugue and his tendency to juxtapose bizarre, spine-tingling themes next to pastoral ones in these works made them disfavoured in the centuries after his death; they have only become widely available in recent years.
When Charles's dispute with Parliament led to the outbreak of the Civil War, Lawes joined the Royalist army and was given a post in the King's Life Guards, which was intended to keep him out of danger. Despite this, he was 'casually shot' by a Parliamentarian in the rout of the Royalists at Rowton Heath, near Chester, on 24 September 1645. Although the King was in mourning for his kinsman Bernard Stuart (killed in the same defeat), he instituted a special mourning for Lawes, apparently honouring him with the title of 'Father of Musick'.[1] The author of his epitaph, Thomas Jordan,[1] closed it with a lachrymose pun on the fact that Lawes had died at the hands of those who denied the divine right of kings:
- Will. Lawes was slain by such whose wills were laws.
Contents |
References
- D. Pinto, For ye violls: The consort and dance music of William Lawes Fretwork 1995; ISBN 1-898131-04-X
- Sleeve notes of the items listed in the discography.
- Extract of Murray Lefkowitz's 1960 biography of Lawes
- ^ a b Pinto, David. "Lawes, William, §1: Life", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 3 March 2007), grovemusic.com (subscription access).
Further reading
- Lefkowitz, M., William Lawes, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1960
- William Lawes at goldbergweb.com
Discography
- For ye violls: Consort setts in 5 & 6 parts
- Fretwork & Paul Nicholson; Virgin Classics 91187-2; 1991
- Sonatas for violin, bass viol and organ
- London Baroque; Harmonia Mundi HMA 1901493; 1994
- Fantasia Suites for two violins, bass viol and organ
- The Purcell Quartet; Chandos CHAN0552, 1994
- Royall Consort Suites
- The Purcell Quartet with Nigel North & Paul O'Dette; Chandos CHAN0584/5, 1995
- Consort Music for Viols, Lutes and Theorbos
- The Rose Consort of Viols, Timothy Roberts, Jacob Heringman & David Miller; Naxos 8.550601; 1995
- Royall Consort Suites vol 1
- The Greate Consort; Gaudeamus CD GAU146, 1995
- Concord is conquer'd: Consort setts for 5 & 6 viols. 4 Herrick songs. Pieces for lyra viol
- Fretwork, Catherine Bott, Richard Boothby & Paul Nicholson; Virgin Classics 5451472; 1995
- Royall Consort Suites vol 2
- The Greate Consort; CD GAU147, 1997
- The Royal Consort & lute songs
- René Jacobs, Sigiswald Kuijken, Lucy van Dael, Wieland Kuijken, Toyohiko Satoh, Edward Witsenbug, Gustav Leonhardt; Sony Classical 1997
- Fantazia suites for violin, bass viol and organ
- Music's Re-creation; Centaur CRC 2385; 1998
- Suites pour une et trois lyra-violes
- Jonathan Dunford, Sylvia Abramowicz & Sylvia Moquet; Adès 465 607-2; 1998
- Consorts in four and five parts
- Phantasm & Sarah Cunningham; Channel Classics CCS 15698; 2000
- Consorts in six parts
- Phantasm, Susanne Braumann & Varpu Haavisto; Channel Classics CCS 17498; 2002
- Consort sets in five & six parts,
- Hespèrion XXI, Alia Vox AV9823A, AV9823B; 2002
- Knock'd on the head: William Lawes, music for viols
- Concordia, Metronome MET CD 1045; 2002
- William Lawes: In loving memory. Musica Oscura 070972-2
External links
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 | Songs by Henry & William Lawes (Classical Album) |
| Lyra viol (music) |
| Henry Lawes (Classical Artist) |
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Mentioned in
- Songs by Henry & William Lawes (Classical Album)
- Lyra viol (music)
- Henry Lawes (Classical Artist)
- William Lawes: Harp Consorts (Classical Album)
- John Coprario (music)
- William Lawes (Classical Artist)
- John Playford (Classical Artist)
- Work(s) Overview (Classical Work)
- Fretwork (Classical Group)
- Jenkins: Fantasias (Classical Album)
- Fantasia-Suite(s) (Classical Work)
- Playford (music)
- Masque (music)
- Giovanni Coprario (Classical Musician)
