The Book of old English songs and ballads - 06 I did but see her passing by, And yet I love her till I die

Thomas Ford (c. 1580buried 17 November 1648) was an English

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 Defi ...

, lutenist, viol player and poet.

Life

Ford was attached to the court of

Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (19 February 1594 – 6 November 1612), was the eldest son and heir apparent of James VI and I, King of England and Scotland; and his wife Anne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuar ...

, son of James I, who died in 1612. He was a musician to the household of Prince Henry from 1610 to 1612, a musician to the household of Prince Charles from 1617 to 1625, and a musician to Charles I from 1626 to 1642, the outbreak of the English Civil War. His will was made on 12 November 1648 and he was buried in St. Margaret's, Westminster on 17 November, but it is not known exactly when he died.Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed (1954), Vol. III, p. 427 Ford wrote anthems, for three to six voices; four sacred canons; 35 partsongs; six fantasias for five parts; and a few other pieces for viols. His most important collection was probably the ''Musicke of Sundrie Kindes'' (London, 1607), which was in two parts. The first book included lute ayres, described as "Aries for 4 voices to the Lute, Orphorion, or Basse-viol, with a Dialogue for two Voices..."; the second part contained dances such as "Pavens, Galiards, Almaines, Toies, Jigges, Thumpes, and such like..." scored for combinations of viols. Many of the ayres are given in two versions: one for voice or voices and lute, and another for four equal voices. An unusual feature of his music for viol is the "occasional use of a sound effect: a heavy pizzicato "thump...with the first and second finger of the "Tleft hand according to the direction of the pricks." One of the songs from this collection, "Since first I saw your face", was set by Roger Quilter in 1942 for the '' Arnold Book of Old Songs''. The collection also includes the celebrated song "There is a Lady sweet and Kind". Ford is also remembered for setting to music the poem, 'Yet if His Majesty Our Sovereign Lord'. Some of his sacred music, found in two collections from 1614 and 1620, is unusual in including a

basso continuo Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...

, a plainly

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

feature which, though common on the continent by then, only made a belated appearance in England. Together with John Dowland, Ford is a chief representative of the school which preceded

Henry Lawes Henry Lawes (1596 – 1662) was the leading English songwriter of the mid-17th century. He was elder brother of fellow composer William Lawes. Life Henry Lawes (baptised 5 January 1596 – 21 October 1662),Ian Spink, "Lawes, Henry," ''Grove Mus ...

References

External links

* * *The poem that appeared anonymously and without a title in a manuscript found in the library of

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, and which starts 'Yet if his Majesty, our sovereign lord . . ', has been attributed to Ford. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Thomas 1580s births 1648 deaths Renaissance composers English classical composers English Baroque composers 17th-century English poets 17th-century English male writers 17th-century English writers English viol players 16th-century English composers 17th-century English composers 17th-century classical composers English male poets English male classical composers 17th-century male musicians