Walter Porter (c.1587–1659) was an English composer and church musician. He travelled to Italy to study under

Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considere ...

, and shows Italian influence in

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 his one surviving

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 ...

Life

He was son of Henry Porter, who was musician of the

sackbut A sackbut is an early form of the trombone used during the Renaissance music, Renaissance and Baroque music, Baroque eras. A sackbut has the characteristic telescopic slide of a trombone, used to vary the length of the tube to change Pitch (m ...

s to James I. Walter. He was on 5 January 1616 sworn a gentleman 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 ...

, to await a vacancy among the tenor singers; and on 1 February 1617 he succeeded Peter Wright. In 1639, Porter was appointed master of the choristers of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

, Richard Portman being organist at the time. Among his patrons were

John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol (February 1580 – 21 January 1653),David L. Smith, 'Digby, John, first earl of Bristol (1580–1653)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008. was an ...

, to whom he dedicated his ''Ayres''. Dismissed from his post during the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point b ...

, Porter was supported by Sir Edward Spencer. Porter was buried at

St. Margaret's Church, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster an ...

, on 30 November 1659.

Works

Porter's printed works are: * ''Madrigales and Ayres of two, three, foure, and five voyces, with the continued bass, with Toccatos, Sinfonias, and Ritornelles to them after the manner of consort musique. To be performed with the Harpsechord, Lutes, Theorbos, Basse-violl, two Violins or two Viols'', printed by

William Stansby William Stansby (1572–1638) was a London printer and publisher of the Jacobean and Caroline eras, working under his own name from 1610. One of the most prolific printers of his time, Stansby is best remembered for publishing the landmark first ...

, 1632. The book contains 26 pieces. * ''Ayres and Madrigals … with a thorough-bass base for the Organ or Theorbo-lute in the Italian way'', 1639. * ''Mottets of two voices for treble or tenor and bass, to be performed to an Organ, Harpsycon, Lute, or Bass-viol'', 1657.

Charles Burney Charles Burney (7 April 1726 – 12 April 1814) was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicis ...

found the words of some of these were taken from

George Sandys George Sandys ( "sands"; 2 March 1578''Sandys, George''
in: ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' online ...

's ''Paraphrase''. * ''Divine Hymns by W. Porter'', advertised by

John Playford John Playford (1623–1686) was a London bookseller, publisher, minor composer and member of the Stationers' Company. He published books on music theory, instruction books for several instruments and psalters with tunes for singing in churches. ...

, 1664, perhaps identical with ''Psalms of Sir George Sands'', translation for two voices by Walter Porter, three books, advertised 1671. Words of anthems set by Porter are in the Harleian MSS.

References

External links

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Walter 1659 deaths 16th-century English singers 16th-century English musicians 16th-century English composers Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey Year of birth uncertain Gentlemen of the Chapel Royal