A consort of instruments was a phrase used in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

during the 16th and 17th centuries to indicate an instrumental ensemble. These could consist of the same or a variety of instruments. Consort music enjoyed considerable popularity at court and in the 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 Roman symbol of Britannia (a female ...

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

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

era, consort music was absorbed into

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

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 viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin family, violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bow (m ...

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 (music), 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 "lu ...

). 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 trea ...

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 individual ...

, dances or ayres, and fantasia suites.

Major composers

Composers of consort music during the

include

John Dowland John Dowland ( – 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", " N ...

Anthony Holborne Anthony ntonyHolborne olburne(c. 1545 – 29 November 1602) was a composer of music for lute, cittern, and instrumental consort of instruments, consort during the reign of Elizabeth I of England, Queen Elizabeth I. Life An "Anthony Holbu ...

Osbert Parsley Osbert Parsley (1510/15111585) was an English Renaissance music, Renaissance composer and Choir, chorister. Few details of his life are known, but he evidently married in 1558, and lived for a period in the parish of St Saviour's Church, Norwi ...

, and

William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English Renaissance composer. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native country and on the Continental Europe, Continent. He i ...

. The principal

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

composers included Thomas Lupo, Orlando Gibbons, 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 of England, Charles I (1625–1649). The term is derived from ''Carolus'', Latin for Charles. The Caroline era followed the Jacobean era, the ...

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

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

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 * Catacoustic Consort * The Consort of Musicke *

Dunedin Consort Dunedin Consort is a baroque music ensemble based in Edinburgh, Scotland. History The group was founded in 1995 by Susan Hamilton and Ben Parry. In 2003, the group chose John Butt as its conductor. Butt shared the title of co-artistic directo ...

* Early Music Consort of London * Gaia Consort * The Harp Consort * The King's Consort * Leonhardt-Consort * Locke Brass Consort * The Newberry Consort *

Orlando Consort The Orlando Consort was a British vocal consort which is best known for performing Renaissance choral music one voice to a part. The Consort was founded in 1988 as part of the activities of the Early Music Network of Great Britain, a forerunner of t ...

* The Paul Winter Consort * Quadriga Consort * Clemencic 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 pla ...

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

The Tudor Consort The Tudor Consort is a specialist early choral group based in Wellington, New Zealand. Depending on the repertoire the group can range in size from 5 to 25 members. The group was formed in 1986 by Simon Ravens with the intention of performing les ...

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