Blackwell History of Music in Britain: Volume 2: Blackwell History of Music

The book opens with a history of music and musicians in Tudor England, covering composition and performance, as well as the changing functions of music over the period. Two chapters are dedicated to sacred and church music. They cover the last years of Pre-Reformation England (especially the music of Fayrfax, Ashwell, Taverner, and the organ music of Redford, Preston and Rhys), the composers who span the charge to Anglicanism (for example Sheppard and Tallis) and those (such as Tye, Byrd, Morley, Weelkes, Hooper and Gibbons) who helped lay the foundations for the rich heritage of Anglian church music that remains so vibrant a part of the church today. These chapters also consider the particular problems of those who continued to write Latin music after the Reformation (in particular Parsons, White and Byrd). The final three chapters of the book are devoted respectively to secular vocal music, to keyboard music, and to ensemble and lute music. These chapters include a detailed discusson of Tudor partsong, of the consort song, of English Madrigalists, the English Virginal School, the English lutenists and the rich variety of muic for ensemble. The book concludes with full bibliographies and with a comprehensive index.