William Lawes - Royall Consort Suite n.°2 in D minor (2/2).
IV. Galliard.V. Corant.VI. Sarabande.The Greate Consort.Monica Hugett, conductress. ______________________________ We don't know much about William Lawes' (AD 1602 - 1645) life. We are certain he was related to the famous (at the time) Composer Henry Lawes, whom was his brother, an to the Choral Vicar at Salisbury Cathedral, his father Thomas Lawes. He apprenticied lute, Singing and Composition to John Cooper (AD 1570 - 1626), then he spent all his following part of his life under the protection of Charles I, first Prince of Wales then King of England, Scotland and Ireland. Althought he also composed both secular (Songs and Madrigals) and Sacred (Motets and Anthems) Choral Works, the main part of his Opus is composed by Instrumental Music, in particular for string Consort. In 1641, at the outbreak of the English civil war, he joined royalist troops, dying on the battlefield four years later. ______________________________ Lawes probably wrote his 'Royall Consort Suites' around the year 1633-1635. We certainly know that a revised version was yet known in 1636, but the original manuscript had been lost. The definitive score calls for two violns, a tenor viol, a bass viol (or lyra viol) and two theorbos. The part of these last two isn't explicited, but certainly they must reinforce the viols and provide the realization of the un-notated throughout bass. Each suites opens with a slow dance, usually a Pavane, rarely with a free 'Fantasia' (Prélude). This opening slow dance ('basse danse', as it was called in French, in the dancer jargon) was followed by purely Instrumental Movements (notated as 'Aires') and stylized dance-like Movements. A peculiarity is given by the Sarabandes: as it would happen with the Chaconne during the Middle and Late Baroque Era, it would became a slow, solemn dance, but at the time of his 'importation' from Spain it was a fast dance, probably derived from popular dances.
Channel: Music
Uploaded: November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am
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Tags: William Lawes Royall Consort Suite Minor 1636 The Greate Sonnerie Ensemble Monica Huggett Conductor Conductress English Early Baroque Instrumental Music
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