William Inglott memorial at Norwich Cathedral

William Inglott or Inglot (1553/4buried 31 December 1621) was an English organist and composer of the

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female ...

, who is mostly associated with the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

in the English city of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

. Inglott moved from Norwich to

Hereford Cathedral Hereford Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in Hereford, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Hereford and the principal church of the diocese of Hereford. The cathedral is a grade I listed building. A place of wors ...

, returning in 1611 to replace the composer

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 ...

as the cathedral organist. His memorial

plaque Plaque may refer to: Commemorations or awards * Commemorative plaque, a plate, usually fixed to a wall or other vertical surface, meant to mark an event, person, etc. * Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military p ...

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Norwich and the mother church of the dioc ...

was restored 90 years after his death. Amongst the few surviving works by Ingott are two keyboard pieces by Ingott in the collection of keyboard music known as the ''

Fitzwilliam Virginal Book The ''Fitzwilliam Virginal Book'' is a primary source of keyboard music from the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods in England, i.e., the late Renaissance and very early Baroque. It takes its name from Viscount Fitzwilliam who bequ ...

'' and a ''Short Service'' for four voices, reconstructed in 1989.

Biography

William Inglott's father Edmund (d. 1583) was the

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 ...

. William retained a strong connection to the cathedral during his career, first as a

chorister A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

under his father (15671568), as 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 ...

(from 1576), and as the cathedral's organist (15871591). He was paid in 1582 for teaching the boys in the choir during a period when his father was too ill to work. Inglott moved to

as Master of the Choristers from 1597 until some time after 1610, but returned to

as organist in 1611, replacing the composer

. Nothing is known of his career during this intervening period. Upon his return to Norwich he was paid to be the organist on 1 June; his first recorded payment (1 June 1611), which was double the salary given to Morley, may reflect an increase in responsibility or workload. He held the position until his death in December 1621, aged 67. His painted memorial

on a pillar in the cathedral records he was buried on 31 December of that year. The memorial shows two

s bearing wreaths over his body and the following verse: The monument was restored 90 years after Inglott's death, at the expense of the composer

William Croft William Croft (baptised 30 December 1678 – 14 August 1727) was an English composer and organist. Life Croft was born at the Manor House, Nether Ettington, Warwickshire. He was educated at the Chapel Royal under the instruction of John Blow, ...

Surviving works

Few works by Inglott survive. Two keyboard pieces, ''The Leaves Bee Greene'' and ''A Galliard Ground'', are preserved in the ''

'', a collection of

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

and Jacobean keyboard music with works by Inglott's contemporaries, such as

William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English Renaissance composer. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native country and on the Continental Europe, Continent. He i ...

and

Martin Peerson Martin Peerson (or Pearson, Pierson, Peereson) (between 1571 and 1573 – December 1650 or January 1651 and buried 16 January 1651) was an English composer, organist and virginalist. Despite Roman Catholic leanings at a time when it was illeg ...

. An untitled keyboard piece by 'Englitt' in ''Will Forster's Virginal Book'' (1624) at the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

may also have been composed by Inglott. 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 ...

Ian Payne describes the variations by Inglott in the ''Fitzwilliam Virginal'' as being "well crafted, richly polyphonic, and technically demanding". In 1989, Inglott's ''Short Service'' for four voices was reconstructed by Michael Walsh from transcriptions by Richard Turbet.

Recordings

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Inglott, William 1550s births 1621 deaths 16th-century English composers English Baroque composers English cathedral organists English classical organists Musicians from Norwich Composers from Norwich English Renaissance composers 17th-century English classical composers English male classical composers Norwich Cathedral 17th-century English male musicians Year of birth uncertain English male classical organists