Orlando Gibbons

Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625) was an English composer and organist whose sacred music, madrigals, and keyboard works helped shape late Renaissance and early Baroque music in England.

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This Is the Record of John: A verse anthem by Gibbons for solo voice, choir, and instrumental accompaniment. Its changing textures show how Gibbons joined solo declamation to choral writing.
Verse anthem: An English sacred choral form alternating passages for solo voices with full choir. Gibbons helped establish the verse anthem as a flexible form for Anglican worship.
Thomas Morley: An English composer and theorist (1557–1602) associated with the development and publication of English madrigals. Morley's madrigal culture preceded and shaped the secular vocal tradition Gibbons entered.
University of Cambridge: A collegiate research university in Cambridge, England, founded in 1209. Gibbons studied at King's College, Cambridge, before entering professional musical service.
The English Hymnal: A collection of Anglican hymns and tunes first published in 1906 under the editorship of Percy Dearmer and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Its inclusion of Gibbons's hymn tune Song 13 helped carry his music into modern congregational singing.
O Clap Your Hands: A verse anthem by Gibbons setting Psalm 47 for soloists, choir, and instruments. It displays his energetic handling of a large sacred ensemble.
Madrigal: A secular vocal composition, usually for several unaccompanied voices, that sets poetry closely. His English madrigals adapt a continental genre to native poetic and musical styles.
William Byrd: An English composer (c. 1540–1623) whose sacred, vocal, and keyboard works span Catholic and Anglican traditions. Byrd was Gibbons's older contemporary and a major model for English keyboard and church music.
James VI and I: The king of Scotland as James VI and of England and Ireland as James I, ruling from 1603 to 1625. Gibbons's court career unfolded during James's reign and included royal musical service.
Ralph Vaughan Williams: An English composer (1872–1958) whose music drew on English folk song and earlier musical traditions. Vaughan Williams's advocacy of older English music contributed to Gibbons's renewed prominence.