Thomas Weelkes
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Thomas Weelkes (1576 (?) – 1623) was an English composer and
organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
. He became organist of
Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...
in 1598, moving to
Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of th ...
. His works are chiefly vocal, and include madrigals,
anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...
s and services.


Life

There is no documentary evidence about Weelkes's early years. According to the biographer David Brown, circumstantial evidence points to the possibility that Weelkes was a son of John Weeke, rector of Elsted in
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
and his wife Johanne. If this was so, the boy was the Thomas Weeke baptised at Elsted on 25 October 1576; he had at least five siblings. Brown adds that there is no firmer evidence about Weelkes's childhood and musical training, although one piece of information is found in the preface to Weelkes’s collection ''Ballets and Madrigals'' (1598), where he states that he had been in the service of "his master Edward Darcy Esquire, Groom to her Majesty’s Privy Chamber". In the preface to his first volume of madrigals (1597) Weelkes states that he was a very young man at the time of their composition – "my yeeres yet unripened" – which, in Brown's view, confirms that he was born in the middle or later 1570s.Brown, David
"Weelkes, Thomas"
''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, 2004
Brown, David
"Weelkes, Thomas"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004
By 1597 Weelkes, by his own account, had enjoyed the "undeserved love, and liberall good will" of George Phillpot, who lived at Compton, near Winchester. Towards the end of 1598 he was appointed organist of
Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...
at a salary of 13s. 4d. a quarter, with board and lodging. Weelkes remained at the college for three or four years, and, according to Brown, during this period he composed his finest madrigals. They appeared in two volumes (1598 and 1600); Brown calls the second – works for five and six voices – "one of the most important volumes in the English madrigal tradition." At some time between October 1601 and October 1602 Weelkes joined the choir of
Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of th ...
as organist and ' (instructor of the choristers) with, in addition, a well-paid lay-clerkship. He obtained the degree of
Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...
from
New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...
in July 1602. On 20 February he 1603 married Elizabeth Sandham, the daughter of a wealthy Chichester merchant; they had at least three children. On the title page of Weelkes's fourth and final volume of madrigals, published in 1608, he refers to himself as a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal. The records at 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 ...
do not mention him, but the
musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...
Walter S. Collins observes, "one would hardly dare publish such a claim if it were not true". Brown infers that Wilkes may have been a Gentleman Extraordinary – a temporary rather than a permanent appointment. While Weelkes was at Chichester members of its choir were often in trouble with the authorities for poor behaviour. As the
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...
puts it, Weelkes "was not the only disorderly member of the cathedral establishment, though in due course he would become its most celebrated." In 1609 he was charged with unauthorised absence from Chichester, but no mention of drunken behaviour is made until 1613, and in ''
The Musical Quarterly ''The Musical Quarterly'' is the oldest academic journal on music in America. Originally established in 1915 by Oscar Sonneck, the journal was edited by Sonneck until his death in 1928. Sonneck was succeeded by a number of editors, including C ...
'' John Shepherd has suggested caution in assuming that Weelkes's decline began before that date. In 1616 Weelkes was reported to the bishop for being "noted and famed for a comon and notorious swearer & blasphemer". The Dean and Chapter dismissed him for being drunk at the organ and using bad language during divine service. He was reinstated and remained in the post until his death, although his behaviour did not improve; in 1619 he was again reported to the bishop: In 1622 Elizabeth Weelkes died. Weelkes was, by this time, reinstated at Chichester Cathedral, but appears to have been spending a great deal of time in London. He died in London in 1623, in the house of a friend and was buried on 1 December 1623 at St Bride's Fleet Street. His will, made the day before he died at the house of his friend Henry Drinkwater of St Bride's parish, left his estate to be shared between his three children, with a 50-shilling legacy left to Drinkwater for his meat, drink and lodging.


Music

Weelkes is best known for his vocal music, especially his
madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th centuries) and early Baroque (1580–1650) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the ...
s and church music. He wrote more
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
services than any other major composer of the time, mostly for
evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. It is loosely based on the canonical hours of vespers and compline. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which ...
. Many of his anthems are
verse anthem In religious music, the verse anthem is a type of choral music, or song, distinct from the motet or 'full' anthem (i.e. for full choir). In the 'verse' anthem the music alternates between sections for a solo voice or voices (called the 'verse') ...
s, which would have suited the small forces available at Chichester Cathedral. It has been suggested that larger-scale pieces were intended for the Chapel Royal. His coronation anthem, ''O Lord, grant the King a long life'', was performed at the
Coronation of Charles III and Camilla The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, Camilla, as Monarchy of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth re ...
in 2023. Only a small amount of instrumental music was written by Weelkes, and it is rarely performed. His
consort __NOTOC__ Consort may refer to: Music * "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses'' * Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles * Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...
music is sombre in tone, contrasting with the often gleeful madrigals.


Madrigals

Weelkes's madrigals are often compared to those of
John Wilbye John Wilbye (baptized 7 March 1574September 1638) was an English madrigal composer. Early life and education The son of a tanner, he was born at Brome, Suffolk, England. (Brome is near Diss, Norfolk.) Career Wilbye received the patronage of th ...
(who the
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
described as the most famous of the English madrigalists): it has been suggested that the personalities of the two men - Wilbye appears to have been a more sober character than Weelkes - are reflected in the music. Both men were interested in
word painting Word painting, also known as tone painting or text painting, is the musical technique of composing music that reflects the literal meaning of a song's lyrics or story elements in programmatic music. Historical development Tone painting of word ...
. Weelkes' madrigals are very
chromatic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are used to characterize scales. The terms are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair, es ...
and use varied organic
counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...
and unconventional rhythm in their construction. Weelkes was friendly with the madrigalist
Thomas Morley Thomas Morley (1557 – early October 1602) was an English composer, music theory, theorist, singer and organist of late Renaissance music. He was one of the foremost members of the English Madrigal School. Referring to the strong Italian inf ...
who died in 1602, when Weelkes was in his mid-twenties (Weelkes commemorated his death in a madrigal-form anthem titled ''A Remembrance of my Friend Thomas Morley'', also known as "Death hath Deprived Me"). Some of Weelkes's madrigals were reprinted in popular collections during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but none of his verse anthems were printed until 1966, since when he has become recognised as one of the most important church composers of his time.


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Further reading

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External links

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Thomas Weelkes biography
on ''Here of a Sunday Morning'' website.
Thomas Weelkes biography
on ''Singers.com'' website {{DEFAULTSORT:Weelkes, Thomas English madrigal composers English classical organists English cathedral organists English Renaissance composers English Baroque composers 16th-century English composers 1576 births 1623 deaths 17th-century English classical composers English male classical composers English classical composers of church music 17th-century English male musicians English male classical organists