John Plummer (also ''Plomer'', ''Plourmel'', ''Plumere'', ''Polmier'', ''Polumier''; c. 1410 – c. 1483) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

who flourished during the reign of

Henry VI of England Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and English claims to the French throne, disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V of England, Henry V, he succeeded ...

. Not many of Plummer's compositions survive. The motets ''Anna mater matris Christi'' (Anne, mother of the mother of Christ) and ''Tota Pulchra Es'' (My Love is Wholly Beautiful) are widely available and recorded. A number of Plummer's compositions appear in the manuscript Brussels Biliothèque Royale MS 5557. During his own lifetime, knowledge and performance of his works spread at least as far as the present-day Czech Republic, where pieces such as ''Tota Pulchra Es'' were copied into the

Codex Speciálník The Speciálník Codex (CZ-HKm MS II.A.7) is a 15th-century ''speciálník'' (i.e. special songbook) originating from a monastery in the region of Prague. Its eclectic mix of Medieval and Renaissance ''a cappella'' sacred music is matched only by ...

(c. 1500). These pieces are unaccompanied sacred vocal music written for use in the great royal and noble chapels of northern Europe. Plummer was a member of the English

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 ...

at least from 1438, and was also apparently the first to hold the office of Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal from 1444 to 1455. He left the royal household towards the end of his career and moved to

St George's Chapel, Windsor St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal Peculiar (a church und ...

, where he held the post of

verger A verger (or virger, so called after the staff of the office, or wandsman in British English though archaic) is a person usually a layperson, who assists in the ordering of religious services, particularly in Anglican churches. Etymology ...

, which at the time implied greater responsibility than in more recent times. This post is likely to have supported him in his declining years.

References

*''Four Motets by John Plummer'' (Plainsong and Medieval Music Society: Piers Press, 1968) *'John Plummer' in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', ed.

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was a British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was published as the first edition ...

(London: Macmillan, 1980) *"John Plummer, the Royal Household Chapel and St George's Chapel, Windsor," Helen Marsh Jeffries, in ''St George's Chapel, Windsor, In the Fourteenth Century'' ed. Nigel Saul (Boydell, 2005)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plummer, John 1410s births 1483 deaths English Renaissance composers English male classical composers Masters of the Children of the Chapel Royal 15th-century English composers