Anthony de Countie, also called Anthony Conti, Anthony de Conti and Anthony de County, (died 1579), was a Renaissance composer and

lutenist 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" commonly r ...

, active in the 16th century at the Tudor court in England, and one of the principal lutenists of 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 Roman symbol of Britannia (a female ...

Origins

According to David Lasocki, Anthony de Countie may have been a Spanish musician of Jewish origin, but he is more likely to have been an Italian because he had an Italian wife, Lucretia, and he lived with another Italian, Francis Jetto, between 1565 and 1571.

Career

Anthony de Countie was employed as a lutenist at the English court from 1550 to 1579. He occupied the post of "royal lewter" during the successive reigns of three sovereigns of the House of Tudor, namely

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...

and

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. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

, though there is a period (1557–1564) during which his movements are not accounted for. The Elizabethan court could boast of numerous musicians during the 1560s and 1570s, but only de Countie is specifically identified as a lutenist. He is also, perhaps mistakenly, listed among the players of the

virginals The virginals is a keyboard instrument of the harpsichord family. It was popular in Europe during the Renaissance music, late Renaissance and early Baroque music, Baroque periods. Description A virginals is a smaller and simpler, rectangular o ...

. At Anthony de Countie's death in 1579, John Johnson was engaged to replace him as "royal lewter", thanks to the backing of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

Works

No music has survived which can be attributed to de Countie with certainty.

Discography

Paul O'Dette Paul Raymond O'Dette (born February 2, 1954) is an American lutenist, conductor, and musicologist specializing in early music. Biography O'Dette, who was born in Pittsburgh, began playing the electric guitar in a rock band in Columbus, Ohio, ...

** ''The Royal Lewters'' - Harmonia Mundi 2002

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Countie, Anthony 1579 deaths 16th-century English composers Composers for lute Date of birth unknown English lutenists Immigrants to the Kingdom of England Italian lutenists People of the Elizabethan era