Thomas Mace (1612 or 1613 – c. 1706) was an English

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 ...

nist,

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 ...

player, singer, composer and musical theorist of 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. His book ''Musick's Monument'' (1676) provides a valuable description of 17th century musical practice.

Biography

Born in 1612 or 1613,Damschroder and Williams (1990), p. 178 he played the lute from c. 1621, but his teacher if any is unknown. He also played the viol.Holman (2010), pp. 67–68 He was a singer,Carlton (1992), p. 162 termed a

lay clerk 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 ...

, in the choir of Trinity College, Cambridge from 1635 until his death. During the 1644

Siege of York The siege of York in 1644 was a prolonged contest for York during the First English Civil War, between the Scottish Covenanter army and the Parliamentarian armies of the Northern Association and Eastern Association, and the Royalist Ar ...

, in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, he was present in that city, where he had family.Spring (2006), p. 428 He died c. 1706.

Works

In 1676 he published ''Musick's Monument'', for about 300 subscribers. The title page described it as: Its large section on the lute contained a comprehensive lute tutorial and guide to the instrument, and there was a similar, smaller section on the viol. The book also contained some

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of h ...

speculation regarding the significance of musical ratios such as the

octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

.Boyden (1965), p. 215 John Hawkins in ''A General History Of The Science and Practice Of Music'' (1776) commented:

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mace, Thomas 1610s births Place of birth missing 1700s deaths Place of death missing English classical composers English Baroque composers Composers for lute English lutenists English viol players English singers English music theorists 17th-century English musicians 17th-century English classical composers People associated with the University of Cambridge Trinity College, Cambridge English male classical composers 17th-century male musicians 17th-century English composers