Elway Bevin (c.1554-1638) was a Welsh-born organist and composer. Briefly a

vicar choral A lay clerk, also known as a lay vicar, song man or a vicar choral, is a professional adult singer in an Anglican cathedral and often Roman Catholic cathedral in the UK, or (occasionally) college choir in Britain and Ireland. The vicars choral w ...

Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Bath and Wells and the mother church of the diocese of Bath and Wells. There are daily Church of England services in ...

, in 1585 he was appointed Master of the Choristers at

Bristol Cathedral Bristol Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bristol. The cathedral was originally an abbey dedicated to St ...

. He was sworn a gentleman-extraordinary of the

Chapel Royal A chapel royal is an establishment in the British and Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family. Historically, the chapel royal was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarc ...

on 3 June 1605, and is said to have been a pupil of

Thomas Tallis Thomas Tallis (; also Tallys or Talles; 23 November 1585) 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 ...

. In 1631 Bevin published the work by which he is best known, 'A Briefe and Short Instruction of the Art of Musicke...'. His music also appears in other sources: for instance, Benjamin Cosyn's 'Virginal Book' has a service by him included amongst six entitled 'These are ye Six Services for the King's Royall Chappell,' and he has works included in several manuscript collections of vocal and consort music.Consult Bevin's DIAMM page for further details: https://www.diamm.ac.uk/people/931/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bevin, Elway 16th-century English composers English classical composers English male classical composers English classical organists British male organists Cathedral organists Gentlemen of the Chapel Royal 1554 births 1638 deaths Male classical organists