THE TUDOR DYNASTY & THE MUSIC OF THE CHAPEL ROYAL IN 16th CENTURY ENGLAND

The exquisite vaulted ceiling and one of the many frescoes of the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace

In a followup to Tuesday's post on the historic Latin Vespers Service at the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace, this post will discuss what the press who reported on the monumental occasion missed.

If you found yourself clicking on the external links provided, or simply perused other news articles in print or on the web, you may have noticed an not-altogether insignificant discrepancy in the dates provided in regards to the beginning of the reformation under Henry VIII (which, as stated in Tuesday's post here on unravelingmusicalmyths.blogspot.ca began in 1534) and the last Latin Service performed at the Palace's Chapel Royal,  documented by the press as "450 years ago... in the 1550's": 

 in regards to the Latin Mass ultimus, the reference is made to the King Henry VIII and the "mid-16th century"- but the reality is, the patriarch Tudor was already dead by 1547! According to the given timeframe of "450 years ago" (from today), the 'last Latin Service' would have been employed in the year 1566 - making Henry almost a full two decades into his grave - and three successive monarchs Tudor in.

So what exactly happened to music at the Chapel Royal, and to Cathedrals and Churches across England in the 32 year time span since Henry VIII initiated reformation proceedings with the issue of Act of Supremacy in November of 1534?

Read below to find out!

The boy-king Edward VI, the only
legitimate son of Henry VIII and his third wife, Queen
Jane Seymour, who died in less than two weeks of
Edward's birth due to post-natal complications.
Half-brother to Mary I and Elizabeth I.

KING EDWARD VI (Reigned: 28 January 1547 – 6 July 1553):

Six months into the reign of the nine-year old newly crowned King of England, the incorrigible Edward VI, under the influence of Lord Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset and the Archbishop Thomas Cranmer (the same Archbishop who aided Henry VIII in his annulment from his Queen, Catherine of Aragon and his subsequent break from Rome), both Protestants like the boy-king, would orchestrate a series of ‘royal visitations’ at the countries’ major Cathedrals (including Winchester, York, Canterbury, and Windsor) with the explicit intent to ensure ‘Popish Rituals’ were abolished. Although the minutiae of details regarding who would be made allowed to participate in the act of singing the mass and by what frequency it would be permitted varied according to church, an edict issued by the Archbishop Cranmer at Lincoln Cathedral in 1548 made the changes to both language employed and the use of ornate polyphony within the music itself unmistakably transparent. In the demand, Cranmer (and effectively, the Monarch) decreed that “the choir shall henceforth sing or say no anthems of our Lady or other saints, but only of our Lord, and them not in Latin; but choosing out the best and most sounding to Christian Religion they shall turn the same into English, setting thereunto a plain and distinct note, for every syllable one: they shall sing them and none other.”

The Chapel Royal, the reigning Monarch’s personal Church (and establishment of musicians) at court, had already introduced the first English form of the compline (the evening service) three months prior. This is of interest to note, as it was one of the first precursors of what was to become of liturgical services across the nation. The Chapel Royal, under it’s Sovereign held the distinction of immunity from the actions of reformists. Nonetheless, the conversion from Latin to English at the Chapel set a precedent for the Church of England and all major Cathedrals across the nation.^[1] Within five months of the first compline at the Chapel Royal in May of 1547, the Mass Ordinary was sung entirely in English at Westminster Abbey in London.

Two years later, the Act of Uniformity would declare the English-language “Book of Common Prayer” as the ‘dictation of God’ to be used in the Church in replacement of the Latin Service books. By the time the second edition was issued, revised under the hand of the Archbishop Cranmer, music itself in regard to liturgical services was reduced to a diminutive role, considered by the ‘church’ as an unnecessary distraction, and as a result, received scant mention. As the new King, the Archbishop and members of Edward's Regency Council began whitewashing Cathedrals, stripping them of ‘Popish iconography’ - including the organs used for music - so suffered the choirs, and their choir books, which were systematically sold, destroyed and burnt.

Queen Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII & the
annulled ex-Queen Catherine of Aragon; half-sister to
Edward VI & Elizabeth I.

QUEEN MARY I: “BLOODY MARY” (Reigned: July 1553 –17 November 1558)

Edward's whitewashing and dissolution of Services according to the Latin Rite would briefly change under his successor and half sister Mary I, whose stalwart dedication to Catholicism and her invasive measures to restore it as the religion of England and it's peoples earned her the moniker “Bloody Mary” as she systematically rooted out present and ex-conspirators, enemies of Catholicism, potential threats to the throne (this period included the sad tale of Lady Jane Grey, the sixteen year-old "Nine Day Queen” – a sobriquet earned upon her execution at the command of Mary in 1554) and protestants alike for public burnings-at-the-stake. Portions of the Acts of Uniformity were overturned, organs were restored to their Cathedrals and icons returned - and by 1557, around 13 Latin Service books, hoarded in secret by citizens during the Protestant reign of Edward VI - suddenly came to light under the ‘protection’ of the Catholic Queen Mary. 

For roughly five years, Latin Order was restored, and composers were encouraged to revert to the old style of elaborate and ornate polyphony. Such works of note to come from this period were indeed composed by - and for - members of the Chapel Royal, including "Videte Miraculum"^[2] and "Gaude Gloriosa"^[3] by Thomas Tallis (a staple at the Tudor court, and ‘non reformed Catholic’, who would serve four Tudor Monarchs – Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I, respectively) and the "Cantate Mass"^[4] by composer John Sheppard.

In fact, it has been written that immediately upon a thrice-echoed proclamation of “God Save the Queen!” (shouted in earnest by awaiting crowds after the announcement of Mary’s ascension to the English throne was made - at Cheapside Cross by the Lord Pembroke in July of 1553) overjoyed civilians celebrated with a ringing of bells and festivities that lasted through the evening and into the following day. They also celebrated in song: as Pembroke and various Lords of the Council walked in state to St. Paul’s Cathedral, the building’s choir was already preparing to sing a Te Deum Laudamus in honor of the Queen. Formerly stowed organs were dusted off and rolled out to accompany the music: England had not heard it’s like for nearly six whitewashed years of Edward’s reign and imposed reformations.

Such (Latin) musical festivities appear to have been celebrated nation-wide: there are multiple documented accounts of public organ playing, bell ringing and singing well up until Mary’s procession. There is even evidence English composer William Mundy’s six voice Vox patris caelestis was penned for the Queen’s pre-coronation procession, or perhaps even for the coronation itself.

Learn about Mundy’s possible connection with Queen Mary at Oxford Academic.

Queen Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII &
executed ex-Queen Anne Boleyn; half-sister to
Edward VI & Mary I.

QUEEN ELIZABETH I: “GLORIANA; THE VIRGIN QUEEN” (Reigned: 17 November 1558 – 24 March 1603)

The great neutralist Elizabeth I, half-sister to Edward VI and Mary I and daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, ex-Queen Anne Boleyn (the seductive spark that fueled the reformation’s fire under the King) herself employed Latin Services at the Chapel Royal and in her own private Services at the beginning of her reign. Under the new Acts of Uniformity, issued by Elizabeth in 1559, reformist theology and tradition would also be included into the doctrine: lessons and readings from the gospel were to be in English, and some of the Latin Rites would be suppressed - including the Elevation of the Host - in an attempt to placate Protestant zealots. This combination of half-measures, of course, did not sit well with extremists: in Easter of 1559, reformist John Jewel, who had witnessed  Elizabeth attending a Latin Mass at the Chapel Royal rebuked the Queen, declaring the “masses and all the follies and abominations of Popery [were] everywhere sanctioned by the authority of the laws.”

Elizabeth’s seemingly relaxed and neutral stance on religion was not to be taken at face value. The so-called "Virgin Queen" was notorious for her fickle indecisiveness and famously maddening ability to ride the fence on almost all major decisions affecting the State. She would, over the course of her 45 year reign on the throne of England, execute more Catholics than the Protestants killed by her late half-sister Bloody Mary and the victims of the Spanish inquisition combined. 


Footnotes:

^[1]This transition, however, did not happen overnight, but rather gradually. There is some evidence that suggests the composition of additional church music in the Latin tongue during this period, including the works of composer Christopher Tye (the Quaesumus Omnipotens and Domine Deus Coelestis, among others).

In fact, for the two year span between Edward’s coronation and the indoctrination of the first edition of the English Prayer Book in 1549, it is believed most of the attendees to church would have experienced worship according to the Latin rite, using recycled music as compositions in the official Roman tongue began to phase out.

It was, naturally, at the Chapel Royal under King Edward VI that experimentation with English liturgy first occurred, eventually branching out across English churches and cathedrals at St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey, both of which performed the mass ordinary entirely in the native English tongue in suit of the Kings establishment at the Chapel Royal.

A deeper look into the minutiae of the Act of Uniformity issued in 1549 reflects a gradual transition from Latin liturgy into English:

“it shall be lawful to any man that understandeth the Greek, Latin and Hebrew tongue, or other strange tongue, to say and have the said prayers heretofore specified, of Matins and Evensong in Latin, or any other such tongue, saying the same privately, as they do understand…though it be appointed in the afore-written preface that all things shall be read and sung in church in the English tongue…yet it is not meant but when men say Matins and Evensong privately, they may say the same in any language that they themselves do understand…”

MUSIC IN THE REIGN OF MARY I:

Latin works from the Composers Thomas Tallis: Videte Miraculum^[2] & Gaude Gloriosa;^[3] and John Sheppard: Missa Cantate^[4]

 
         Thomas Tallis, Videte Miraculum             Thomas Tallis, Gaude Gloriosa                 John Sheppard, Missa Cantate

-Rose.

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TODAY IN MUSIC HISTORY: Georg Frideric Händel becomes British, becomes George Frederick Handel

At the beginning of the 18th century, German-born icon of the late baroque Georg Händel could arguably be called a British composer. The young 25 year old citizen of Halle would make a move to the English capital in in the years following his first visit to the country in 1710 – a move that would become a most prosperous and fateful decision for the master of the oratorio and opera.

 Georg Frideric Händel

Within two years of his first arrival at London, Händel, finding much success in England following the premieres of his operas Rinaldo and Il Pastor Fido decided the Scepter’d Isle is where he was meant to flourish to his full potential, and the iconic composer made plans to set up permanent residency in the English capital.

Händel’s official move to London in 1718 was prefaced by an assumed position at the English court via the composer’s connection to the Elector of Hanover, the German Prince George, who had appointed Georg Frideric with an aristocratic post as Kapellmeister to his court in 1710, and who was strongly favored to become the future King and founder of the House of Hanover on the throne of Great Britain – which he became, in 1714, as King George I.

King George I of Great Britain and Ireland

George I was an ardent admirer and generous patron of the prolific composer, appointing Händel ‘Composer of Musik for his Majesty’s Chappel Royal’ in 1723 and moving him into what is now the Handel House Museum - a modest house in Lower Brook Street, London, where the composer resided until his death in 1759. Händel’s compositional talents and allegiance to Britain most probably first garnered the King’s full attention in the brief span between 1711 and 1713, following the wildly successful premieres of Händel’s opera Rinaldo in 1711, Il pastor Fido, and Teseo in 1713; and later that same year, the stalwart German boldly composed an Ode for the Queen’s Birthday (the queen at the time, being British: Queen Anne of England) and the Utrecht Te Deum. Queen Anne, being no lover of music, was reportedly so bowled over by the honor bestowed upon her by Händel, she granted the composer an annual generous allowance of £200. Upon her death the following year and the succession of the Elector George to the British throne, Georg Frideric had already sealed the deal for a position at court. He would become director of music to James Brydges, 1st duke of Chandos, under whose patronage the composer would begin his foray into the creation of the English oratorio, and, by 1723, Händel would become composer of music for the King's Chapel Royal.
 
Händel’s influence on the classical music sphere was incalculable. Ever attuned to the needs of the British, Georg Frideric, at the height of his career, would shape his compositional oeuvre to answer to the social demands of the day, creating large scale choral works and oratorio (the most famous of which is the Messiah, from which the wildly popular Hallelujah Chorus draws it’s home) that were specifically British (such as in the case of the secular oratorio Dettingen Te Deum, which celebrated English victory over the ever troublesome French at the battle of Dettingen) and sensitively democratic (appealing to the oft-ignored religious middle classes who had grown tired of Italian works and their frequent bans, often campy and fantastical story lines and foreign tongue). 

By presenting librettos in the English language, Händel was systematically setting in motion a small class warfare of sorts by elevating the middle classes from textual obscurity by presenting them with both a language and subject matter which they not only freely understood, but which they also could instill in themselves a sense of English pride by sharing the contents of the libretti - which showcased their beliefs, their victories - with other potential fans and patrons. Indeed, it was a win-win situation for both composer and audience. 

Händel's prestigious masterpiece, Music for the Royal Fireworks, commissioned by King George II in 1749 for an all night celebration of the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle - disaster aside (there was a sizable fire caused by explosion in one of the pavilions that would leave at least three persons dead) - was most celebrated throughout posterity, and his royal coronation anthem Zadok the Priest continues to be the royal anthem for any and all succeeding British monarchs.

View of the display at London's Green Park on the occasion of the premiere for Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks.

These were just but the tip of the monumental mountain of artistic refinement the former German brought to England – and none of it would have been possible were it not for the events that occurred on this day of the 20th of February in 1727, just prior to the death of King George I and the succession of his son, King George II. It was on this day nearly 300 years ago that Georg Frideric^[1] Händel, citizen of Germany became George Frederick Handel, naturalized British subject, exactly one week after applying for citizenship to the land, which, to Händel, had already become home. This would be a necessary step for the foreign-born composer to obtain and secure his status as a true Briton, and one in which the ailing George I fully supported, granting George Frederick Handel royal assent exactly 279 years ago today, ensuring the now British subject would continue on as Composer of the Chapel Royal, and of the hearts and ears of generations to come.


THE MOST CELEBRATED THREE: Hallelujah, from Messiah; Zadok the Priest, coronation anthem to King George II (and every British monarch since); and Music for the Royal Fireworks, in celebration of the ending of the War of the Austrian Succession by the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1729.

 
                   Hallelujah Chorus                              Zadok the Priest                       Music for the Royal Fireworks

Footnotes:

^[1]Some contemporary reports use the Friedrich spelling. This was not at all unusual for the period. For many centuries previous, surnames (or in this instance, middle names) were spelled phonetically, and, as a result, one can often find vast and varied spellings of the same name and individual. This method of sounding out a name would often affect even one's forename.

-Rose.

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A QUINCENTENNIAL REFLECTION ON A MAJESTIC ROYAL SUMMIT: THE 500TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MEETING AT THE FIELD OF CLOTH OF GOLD

The Field of Cloth of Gold, British School, c. 1545 (probably commissioned by Henry VIII in remembrance of his glory days). Click on image to enlarge & view footnotes to learn more | Royal Collection Trust

It was on this seventh day of June, exactly 500 years ago today that two great kings met on neutral territory for an embrace - one which would mark the commencement of a lavish, 18-day celebration, giving birth to one of the most extravagant royal summits the Western world had yet seen. The Royal Embrace took place in a shallow valley in Balinghem (later called Val d'Or), an equidistant between Ardes in France and Guînes in the then-English controlled Pale of Calais.

A young King Henry VIII,
c. 1520, anon

The power players: a young King of England - Henry VIII - then only 28 with just 11 years on the throne, and the newcomer to the throne of France: 25 year-old François I, who had only become its monarch just five years prior.

The objective of the meeting of the sovereign minds was to put an end to the seemingly never-ending conflict between the two historically rivaling kingdoms, with the overall hopeful aim of creating peace between all Christian nations.

The summit was orchestrated by the legate of England, Henry's alter rex, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. The King's Principal Councilor had shifted England to the forefront of those commendable nations skilled in diplomacy just two years earlier by drafting the Treaty of Universal Peace (otherwise known as the Treaty of London), a non-aggression pact co-signed by the representatives of the chief nations in Europe. A peaceful - and very public - meeting between the two Kings would go a long way toward reaffirming this newfound alliance.

A young François I, Roi de France, 
c. 1515, Jean Clouet

It would be an extravagant affair, with no expense spared by either boastful King. Each respective nation saw their royal coffers bursting at the seams, with France dishing out 400,000 livres (1/8 of the state's annual budget) on the 18 day event, and with Henry doling out a staggering £36,000 - more than 1/3 of England's annual income of £90,000.
 

The funds, in the eyes of the English and the French, were, at least for the moment, not spent in vain: although touted as a diplomatic affair, the summit provided a prime opportunity for both monarchs to display the wealth and power of each respective kingdom through a grand spectacle of pomp and circumstance. Indeed, the festivities and tournaments to be held at the Field of Cloth of Gold were, at their very core, a brazen display of ego, brawn, and one-upmanship.

English grandeur was majestically displayed through the erection of a temporary palace by Henry's reception. The brick-based, painted canvas structure sat on timber frames. Covered in gold and encrusted in colorful gemstones, the magnificent work of art was meticulously painted to mimic stone laid by the most skilled of masons. The structure was replete with panes made of real glass and with an oiled "slanted roof," which, if caught juste comme ça by the glint of the shimmering spring sun, gave spectators the illusion of finely laid slates.

The "palace" covered a massive area of some 12,000 square yards (10,000 mi²). Henry's display of luxury prompted one French spectator to label it "more precious than the amphitheatre of Caesar." 

Unquestionably the grandest of the structures at the Field of Cloth of Gold: Henry VIII's magnificent temporary 'palace.' Each side of the faux castle measured 100 m long. Expertly painted in trompe-l'œil style to give the illusion of finely laid masonry and tile, real glazed windows were installed to add an extra realistic touch. So numerous were these panes, the French dubbed the structure "The Crystal Palace." A large courtyard sat in the middle of the structure. Directly in front, at R, stands a massive fountain overflowing with beer and red wine. Both nations brought an excessive amount of libations to the festivities: the English alone provided the equivalent of 266,000 bottles of wine and 132,000 bottles of beer.
(Click on image to enlarge) | Royal Collection Trust

Included among Henry's massive retinue were gifts from the Ottoman Sultan Selim - two royal monkeys covered in gold leaf. 

For François' part, some 400 tents were erected, comprised of velvet and woven with thread of gold (giving rise to the coinage for the occasion, "The Field of Cloth of Gold"). The tents, which were considered by one eye-witness as being "more sumptuous than the pyramids of Egypt" were resplendent with decorative coats of arms and standards. François' tent - by far the largest and most grand of the lot - was "guarded" by a life-sized statue of the archangel Saint Michael.

Like his English counterpart, the French king traveled to the valley with a throng of high ranking noblemen, each of whom would display in a series of friendly tournaments against the opposing nation their skills in royal sport: as jousters, archers, and swordsmen - the two kings even partook in the recreations, famously challenging one another to a wrestle (which Henry lost).

Tapestry depicting wrestlers at The Field of Cloth
of Gold.  A bearded King François can be seen
observing the pair above R, directly beneath him
drapes an actual cloth made of gold. ca. 1520 
(Click on image to enlarge)

As beer and wine flowed from the spouts of massive fountains, cleansing the palates of those men and women gathered for the 18 days of festivities, music chanted, piped and strummed its way into the ears of the European elite, setting a jovial atmosphere among lavish banquets and friendly competitions.

Each occasion, attended by the accepting of a formal invitation - the English requesting the company of the French, and vice versa - was a scene of grandiose spectacle. Feasting was no exception: inside the lavishly decorated 'dining hall' stretched a lengthy table (which could seat 200) from which men and women of high rank drank heartily (from a five-spouted fountain which flowed for five consecutive hours with copious amounts of red wine, no less) and supped on repeated courses of royal-standard cuisine - sheep, swan and porpoise - freshly served up on plates made of gold. According to one nobleman in attendance, "the abundance of food and wine being so great the people choked themselves."

A rousing time was had by all - even the French King François, following the completion of what would have been a massive meal, took to the dance 'floor,' taking the hand of the lady Monpezat, the inamorata of a hostage gifted to the French King by the English (long touted as the most beautiful of the land) and began to dance in the "Italian manner" to the sound of French fifes and trombones, brought in by François for the special occasion.

 Tent of François I. The massive structure stood some 120ft tall, draped in cloth of gold and
adorned at its peak with a 6ft tall gilded statue of St. Michael, patron saint of France. Directly in
front, English and French retinues observe the royal embrace. Click to enlarge | Royal Collection Trust

The English Consort, Queen Katherine of Aragon, was also in attendance, as was a heavily pregnant Queen Claude,^[1] both taking in the majestic and resounding din of English trumpets. Collectively, over the course of the lengthy summit, the privileged company enjoyed the euphonic sounds of the tabor, pipe, and viol.

Henry's musicians would be led by the multi-skilled Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal, William Cornysh, whilst the esteemed Jean Mouton led the French musical efforts (those also in attendance included Robert Fayrfax of England and a young Claudin de Sermisy of France), as each nation sought to outdo one another, not only in sport but also in song.
 
Fueling the competitive spirit which coursed through the festivities, a now infamous, musical "duel" was issued as a challenge between the two kingdoms. Musical representatives from both kingdoms performed a series of the most lavish motets, culminating on the 24th of June with the celebration of High Mass, with choirs and musicians from both England and France being heard, each in their own turn, pitting against one another the highly virtuosic vocal stylings beloved by the English against the wind-infused style of sacred music for which France was renown.

Inside a specially constructed wooden chapel covered in an exquisite tapestry of gold (and furnished inside and out with gold and jewel encrusted ceremonial objects of such magnificence that even the Pope himself would blush) "the singers of the Kings of France and England...loudly and sumptuously sung."

The English began by intoning the Terce and first Introit - the French choir responding with the second, in addition to the Kyrie. Choristers from both nations continued to sing, one after one another in this fashion until the completion of the Mass.



Above: A "re-creation" (playlist) of the High Mass (preceded by an anonymous English pavane) that may have been heard at the final Mass at the Field of Cloth of Gold. Compiled by Denis Raisin Dadre and performed by the Doulce Mémoire ensemble, these selections pit English settings of the mass against the French, and include a Kyrie by French composer Claudin de Sermisy, who attended the festivities (track no. 4 in the playlist) and a stunning Gloria by English composer Nicholas Ludford (track no. 6). Over the course of Henry's reign, the number of musicians employed by the royal court swelled to 58, and included members from Italy and the Low Countries. Unlike royal patrons of musicians past, Henry did not view those in his employ as mere serfs or simple commoners. The monarch, as a skilled composer and musician himself (and one who almost constantly wanted music performed around him) paid those in his service well, and even surprised them with gifts and holiday bonuses. The king's most esteemed musician, Robert Fayrfax, who had been made a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal under Henry's late father, king Henry VII, was treated especially well - Henry VIII granted the composer a £9 annuity (roughly £6,000) on a farm in Hampshire at the onset of his reign in 1509, and five years later granted him the title of a 'Poor Knight of Windsor' - a distinction which earned the composer a lifetime salary of 12 pennies per day (a not-insignificant sum for a musician earning a living in the 16th century). In one particularly generous gesture, the grateful king dished out £20 (equivalent to over £13,300 today) to Fayrfax in exchange for a "pricksong book" (a printed book of part-song or accompanied vocal music). The distribution of this largesse on behalf of the crown was in addition to the wages Fayrfax earned as a salaried member of the Chapel Royal.

As the Service drew to a close, the assembled crowd gazed towards the heavens, where high above the festivities, flew the final gift from Henry to François: a massive kite in the shape of a dragon, which soared across the sky, traveling from Ardres to Guînes. It was a glorious sight to behold: fully loaded with an arsenal of pyrotechnics, witnesses recount blazingly bright eyes on the makeshift creature, which audibly "hissed" from the mouth with each carefully timed firework detonation. The stretched canvas on wood flying art piece was an amalgamation of François’ salamander emblem and Henry’s Welsh Tudor dragon, thus uniting both symbols of majesty together, in a touching and symbolic gesture of peace.

Above: detail of the kite gifted from Henry to François (Click on image to enlarge) | Royal Collection Trust

The costly spectacle at what would become known as the Camp du Drap d'Or, in the long run, did little to secure any semblance of lasting peace as promised by the summit's message of an international camaraderie among Christian states, as exemplified by (what should have been) a newfound, and persisting alliance between England and France.

The historical rivals, who had come together on that balmy June evening in 1520, seeking to make amends for their most recent series of diplomatic disasters (the English invasion of France in 1513, and the co-signing of a peace treaty by the powerful Emperor Maximilian I and François following the latter's success at the Battle of Marignano) would find themselves back at each other's throats just one year following the now infamous summit at the Field of Cloth of Gold, when the two sides once more engaged in battle. 

With both kings still in the prime of their youths and both brooding with high ambitions of power, the friendly "warfare" that took place at Calais would again become all too real as blood once more began to spill across European sodded fields. What started with a warm embrace would thus find its end as little more than a footnote in the annals of international diplomacy: as a brief - and extremely costly - period of blissful détente among natural enemies.

N.B.,

Whilst much has been written about this momentous occasion and many contemporary accounts survive, little is known in regard to the specific music performed at the Camp du Drap d'Or. A brief reference to a "Perino" - an otherwise unknown composer - was referenced by the Mantuan ambassador at the court of France, although scholars reject this conclusion, relegating it to a mis-translation of the original tongue. Whether Wolsey, who is widely noted as having "said Mass" in fact sang during the service is likewise a matter of (modern) conjecture, although it is believed Robert Fayrfax did participate in the choir. Festive music would have included the then-fashionable French chanson and the English pavane, in addition to instrumental folk music, employed by the use of the pipe and tabor, as was common during celebratory occasions during both the medieval and renaissance eras.

Contemporary reports are extant - many of which can be found, in lavish detail, in the Calendar of State Papers and Manuscripts, Relating to English Affairs, vol. III, as seen, and bookmarked for the reader below:



Above: digitally archived copy of the third volume of the Calendar of state papers and manuscripts, relating to English affairs existing in the archives and collection of Venice, and in other libraries of northern Italy.  Click here to read directly on archive.org.

The reference to "Perino" occurs on page 75 proper (244 on the above archived digital copy). It reads thusly:

"The choristers of the two chapels of France and England sang this mass; the music by Perino, accompanied by an organ, with trombones and cornets" ("E la musica de Perino, tromboni e cornetti")

Footnotes:

^[1]Included among the French consort's retinue was a ~19 year old Anne Boleyn, (b. ca. 1501 - 1507) who served as translator to Queen Claude. Anne had previously served as maid of honor to Henry VIII's sister Mary during the latter's marriage to Louis XII of France in October 1514, and later, through the same royal connection, she would repeat the privilege, serving as maid of honor to Mary's 15-year old stepdaughter, the aforementioned Queen Claude. The future English Queen would remain in the household of Queen Claude for some seven years. Anne would make her fateful journey from Calais into England just two and a half years following the summit at the Field of Cloth of Gold, where she would eventually wed Henry VIII, effectively becoming the second Queen of England under his rule in 1533. It was a role that would be tragically short-lived: Anne would be executed at London's infamous Tower Green just shy of three years into her reign in May of 1536.

*The painting seen at the top of this post, The Field of Cloth of Gold, was probably commissioned by Henry VIII in remembrance of his glory days. The stunning piece depicts multiple events which occurred over 18 days during the festival. Henry can be seen twice - in the lower left foreground on horseback, and in the central background, in front of the tent of the French king - commemorating his procession and the royal embrace at the Val d'Or, respectively.

- Rose.

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MAKING HISTORY: FEBRUARY 9 2016 - LATINUM EXQUISITUS

King Henry VIII of England
Musicologists, Tudor Enthusiasts and Theologians! Mark Tuesday February 9, 2016 in your calendar of awesome historical events!

Today, at Hampton Court Palace, for the first time in almost 450 years, a small number of very lucky attendees (some 350, who applied via ballot) at the Palace’s Chapel Royal heard sung the first Catholic Service at the royal chapel (according to the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, and as such performed largely in the Latin tongue), since it’s turbulent fallout following King Henry VIII’s infamous break from Rome in 1534 and it’s fickle presence (and absence) throughout the reigns of his children, the future monarchs Edward VI (a Protestant), Mary I (unshakably Catholic), and Elizabeth I (the last of the Tudor dynasty, whose neutral approach to religion and it’s music we have recently discussed here on unravelingmusicalmyths.blogspot.ca).

The Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace.

According to the Chapel Royal’s official press release in January 2016, the service of Vespers was slated to be “celebrated by His Eminence Cardinal Vincent Nichols…includ[ing] a sermon from… the Bishop of London…” in “an unprecedented coming together of Catholic and Anglican churches on... a historically important site."

This monumental occasion was formed to mark the 500th anniversary of the Hampton Court Palace, and to help bring awareness to the upcoming half-millenium mark since the onset of the Reformation.

The historic event also featured an informative discussion (prior to the service) in The Great Hall  that covered the role and absence of Catholic Services as it relates to the Monarchy during the era of the Tudors right through to the modern age.

WHAT WAS SUNG:

music included works from the Composers Thomas Tallis: Magnificat; William Cornysh: Salve Regina; and John Taverner: "Leroy" Kyrie

 
              Thomas Tallis, Magnificat                   William Cornysh, Salve Regina                John Taverner, “Leroy” Kyrie


Read more (external links):

• OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
• THE GUARDIAN ARTICLE (POST SERVICE) February 9, 2016
• BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS FROM THE HISTORIC SERVICE & NEWS ARTICLE
• A DETAILED TIMELINE OF HENRY VIII'S BREAK FROM ROME 

-Rose.

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COVENT GARDEN’S CALAMITOUS HISTORY: PRIZEFIGHTERS, HITMEN AND FIRES (OH MY): THE OP RIOTS

Today Unraveling Musical Myths takes a look back at the surprisingly calamitous early history of Londons’ [The] Royal Opera House, and the riotous band of brutes and repeated fires that threatened to snuff out the theatre from the world’s cultural map.

[Fig. I] "Killing no Murder. as Performing at the Grand National Theatre" by caricaturist Issac Robert Cruikshank.

We know the Royal Opera House – or, more casually "Covent Garden" – today as one of the operatic sphere’s most esteemed theatres, Britain’s musical Mecca and the launching pad that would catapult into the stratosphere some of the world’s most beloved operatic talent – the likes of Joan Sutherland and Jon Vickers. The ROH is coveted by both singers and dancers across the globe as a "must-perform-at" venue; even so, it wasn’t always a bed of roses for the theatre’s managers (much less for it’s patrons) during it’s many years on British soil.

Originally named the “Theatre Royal,” the Opera House we know and patronize today is actually the third theatre to have been built in its location since the first theatre’s construction in 1732. The theatre that patrons of the arts knew then boasted a repertoire of predominately pantomime and other acting engagements. Ballet and Opera did indeed have a presence at the venue during this period, but they existed only in a minor role. The venue's most notable pioneer of the Operatic genre would be the composer George Frederick Handel – a recently made citizen and émigré from Halle in Germany.^[1] Handel would open the theatre’s first season of operas in 1735, and would premiere many an opera and oratorio at the location, almost all of which the composer had written specifically for the theatre. The Theatre Royal, as it were, would gain much prominence as only one of two theatres (the other being Drury Lane, which opened its doors 69 years earlier, in 1663) to be granted permission to present spoken drama, operating under Patents Royal issued by then-reigning King Charles II* in 1662/63 ( *in the case of Drury Lane; the patent for the Theatre at Covent Garden having been issued prior to the building’s construction).^{*[see footnotes: learn more].}

[Fig. II] Interior view of Covent Garden Theatre #1

By all accounts, the Theatre Royal seemed to be a thriving venue during its early reign. Popular performances of the day, however, would soon come to a most unwelcome halt in 1808, when, due to the extremely risky practice of employing candlelight to illuminate the theatre (a first resort for lighting during that era), the theatre, along with the costumes, scenery and manuscripts contained within, burned to the ground. The response was chaotic – the theatre must be rebuilt, and quickly, at that.

And quickly rebuilt it was: With an estimated damage of some £250,000, a plan had to be executed to recover the costs of rebuilding. The British nobility would swiftly step in to help facilitate the funding of such an enterprising endeavor. Acting under King George III, the Dukes of York and Northumberland would contribute a sizable donation to the pot (an amount of £76,000), whilst simultaneously introducing a “public subscription,” to be paid by visitors to the theatre until which time costs could be recouped.

This new financial agenda, however, would prove to be most unfortuitous. Patrons of the theatre were incensed with building management for increasing the costs of seating (from six shillings to seven for the boxes and from 3 shillings and sixpence to four shillings for the pit), not to mention converting the theatre’s entire third tier into private boxes, which would be made accessible only by agreeing to pay a wage of £300 per annum in rent - a wage the middle class could scarcely afford, and which the wealthy - who intended to remain wealthy, thankyouverymuch - refused to pay.

So vitriolic was the public's reaction, theatre-goers attending opening night in September 1809 would erupt into an all-out riot during a performance of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, interrupting the performance by beating sticks on the back of seats, stomping the floor, and breaking out into a hysteria of excessive booing and hissing – at one point even engaging in a frenzied dance of mockery. Police had to be called in by theatre manager John Philip Kemble just to empty the venue as enraged patrons held fast to their seats, refusing to leave the theatre in a defiant act of protest.

[Fig. III] *CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE "Acting Magistrates" read "The Riot Act"
to an incensed crowd in this contemporary illustration.

The already escalating situation at The Theatre Royal would only continue to get worse for both manager and venue following the theatres' calamitous second debut: bands of attendees would purposely arrive mid-way through a performance in an effort to pay a half-priced fare – and they would not arrive quietly. The frustrated patrons continued to chide theatre management by a issuing a barrage of insults, boos, banging and hissing – and for good measure, took to defacing the theatre itself with the early 19th century’s form of graffiti – hanging placards and banners adorned with crass language. ^{[see Fig III]}  A coffin was even brought into the theatre with a not-inconspicuous threat attached proclaiming the “death” of the fare-hike by "whooping cough" [i.e. by loud - and violent - protest].

Kemble was not one to respond to threats. In retaliation, the theatre manager hired the English prizefighter Daniel Mendoza (alongside the boxer’s personally selected band of brutes) to use as an intimidation tactic in a bold effort to silence the rioters (who now had a name: the “Old Pricers” - or, the "OPs"). Rumor had it Mendoza and his ‘hitmen’ took the illusion of inexorability quite seriously - by taking to both clubs and fists upon the face of any demonstrator who dared voice his disapproval for the fare increase.

Contemporary caricaturist Isaac Robert Cruikshank would immortalize the theatre’s most disruptive period (which lasted some three months before Kemble finally relented, temporarily lowering the price of admission and issuing a formal apology to theatregoers) in a an etching he called “Killing No Murder as Performing at the Grand National Theatre.” Mendoza serves as the focal point of the image: dead center, with club in hand, he can be seen stomping on the chest of a bloodied protestor, whilst angrily shouting the words “Down down to [Hell] with all OPs & say ‘twas Dan that sent thee there.” ^{[Fig I]}

Kemble, it seems, did not learn very quickly. By the opening of the theatre’s next season, he attempted, in vain, to preserve half of the private boxes he had designated "rental" seats in the venues' most popular third tier during the OP riots, which only served to re-incense patrons and re-kindle the riots until such time as he came to his senses and once more yielded to public demand.

English Prizefighter Daniel Mendoza was famously
hired as a de-facto bouncer for the ROH during the
infamous "OP Riots." The boxer, in addition to his
hired band of brutes were alleged to have used both
threats and fists to temper the theatre's rowdy crowds.

Surprisingly, the events of 1808-1809 would not be the last series of calamities thrust upon the ROH. The theatre would again succumb to fire in 1856 – a common occurrence for theatres of this era who had to rely on the lighting and display of candles or the use of limelight (the latter introduced in 1837, which was comprised of a highly combustible mixture of quicklime, oxygen and hydrogen flame) to illuminate both theatre and stage. Both methods of lighting were notoriously risky for their venues (and for the people within it), not to mention highly flammable in their application. The third, and final theatre would be constructed in 1858. It would be converted into a furniture storehouse during the first world war and made into a dance hall during WWII, and would not host an opera or ballet until 1946, when it was reopened as The Royal Opera.^[2] The newly established Royal Ballet marked the theatres' 3rd official debut with a production of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty, followed by a joint venture with the also freshly-established Covent Garden Opera Company for a production of English composer Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen in December of opening year - which would itself be followed by the theatres’ first full opera performance in the new year: with French composer Georges Bizet’s Carmen.

Enjoy below the beautiful aria “Lontan del mio tesoro” from George Frederick Handel’s 1734 opera Il Pastor Fido. The opera would be the first of many penned by the composer to be performed at the Theatre Royal. Il Pastor…would be followed by premiere performances of Operas Ariodante in 1735, followed by both Alcina, and Atalanta the following year, and a royal performance of Messiah in 1743.




Footnotes:

^[1]George Frederick Handel, formerly Georg Frideric Händel, would become a naturalized British citizen on the 20th of February, 1727 in accordance with immigration laws under Kings George I and II which required the German native obtain citizenship to continue on in his role as a composer of Britain and as Composer of the Chapel Royal. 

Read more about this pivotal event in Herr Handel’s history right here on Unraveling Musical Myths:

• TODAY IN MUSIC HISTORY: Georg Frideric Händel becomes British, becomes George Frederick Handel
  

^[2] The Royal Opera (second theatre) would, for a brief period, be known as the “Royal Italian Opera” following the dissolution in 1843 of the Letter Patent previously issued by King Charles II which had decreed the Theatre Royal* as just one of two theatres to have held a monopoly on the production of spoken and serious drama. During this period competitor venues would at last be made aloud to thrive. The theater scored a major boon in 1843 when the revered composer Michael Costa joined the venue, bringing with him a large band of singers. It would prove to be a fortuitous move for the theatre, and following a period of operatic performances sung only in the Italian tongue - from the 1847 performance of Gioachino Rossini’s Semiramide to the year 1892, when composer and conductor Gustav Mahler debuted Richard Wagner’s German language Ring Cycle, at which point the word “Italian” was dropped from the name.

* Learn more (external link):

To discover more about the Letters Patent issued by King Charles II, and to learn more about the process, visit http://www.british-history.ac.uk

-Rose.

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PATRON PROFILE: QUEEN VICTORIA - ROYAL PATRON, FAN & MUSICIAN

Queen Victoria in her Coronation Robes

Today citizens of Canada proudly celebrate the official birthday (note: not the actual birthday) of the nation's 19th century Constitutional Monarch, Queen Victoria, who reigned over the Great White North for the staggering length of nearly 64 years, making the former Queen the countries' third longest reigning monarch, just behind current Sovereign Queen Elizabeth II – who recently surpassed Victoria on the occasion of her 90th birthday last month, and whose reign now clocks in at over 64 years and counting; and that of 17th-to-early 18th century French King Louis XIV who reigned for over 72 years.

Today, unravelingmusicalmyths takes a look back at the generous patronage of Victoria to the world of Western Classical Music.

It is perhaps thanks in part to Hollywood’s occasional foray into the lives and times of the great (and not so great) Monarchs Britain that even laymen of history will be familiar with the whirlwind romance of the Princess and later Queen Victoria and her consort (and first cousin) Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, to whom she wed in 1840 at the Chapel Royal of St James's Palace in London. Victoria and Albert’s courtship and marriage was most unusual for a royal marriage – much like the Scottish Queen, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots (also a former Canadian Sovereign as Queen Consort to the sickly 16th century French King Francis II), it was the Queen herself who proposed marriage to her future husband, filled to the brim with girlish brooding – although in Victoria’s case, the feelings of passion were more than mutual, and had a far happier ending, in spite of both Queens’ reluctance to share with their spouse The Crown Matrimonial.

What is perhaps less known is the Royal couple’s impassioned and generous patronage of music – a shared affinity that would be tantamount into bringing the young relatives together before betrothal.
In fact, the Queen Victoria would famously declare of her soon-to-be husband his prowess in the arena, when she penned the words “he sang to me some of his own compositions, which are beautiful, and he has a very fine voice. I also sang for him…” in the day following her proposal to her royal fiancée.

Victoria & Albert's gorgeous gilded piano, now
part of the Royal Collection Trust. Click here
to learn more about this exquisite instrument.

So cherished was the performance of music, and the creation of music that the princely duo would make it a frequent occurrence to perform for each other the works of famous contemporary composers – and, most impressively – pieces of music the Consort Albert himself had composed, which he would serenade Victoria with as she sat at the court’s gilded golden piano (in addition to having well established singers and pianists perform selections from Albert’s repertoire. The consort-king would also famously take a seat at the piano himself).

So well admired were the works of Albert it is said that were it not for the role in which the Royal consort was stationed at birth, and the expectations expected of a figure representing such a role, the Prince would have pursued a career in composition. Few of Albert’s compositions survive, most of which had been composed prior to the couple’s Royal marriage, but those of which are presently made available convey a level of talent comparable to that of Schubert or Schumann – this, in spite of Albert humbly considering himself an “amateur musician.”

Among the frequent guest performers at the couple’s residence at Buckingham Palace was the famous 19th century German composer Felix Mendelssohn, who, as historical evidence charmingly dictates, made the Royal couple weak in the knees.

So stalwart an admirer was Albert of Mendelssohn and his oeuvre, he arranged for the Queen to meet the famous romantic era composer by orchestrating a private concert for the pair at Buckingham Palace following a most pleasing visit with the composer the prior evening, in which Mendelssohn had traveled to London to hand deliver to Albert a correspondence from the consorts’ cousin, Frederick William IV, King of Prussia. Mendelssohn happily obliged, and, as the saying goes – the rest was history. It was later recorded, following the composer’s first visit to the royal palace, that the giddy couple was more than excited (and quite nervous) at meeting their musical hero, with one Mendelssohn biographer describing the overindulgent pair as “quite fluttery” for “all their exalted station.” Victoria would as much as confirm this when she took to her diary to recall the couples first meeting with the composer: "After dinner came Mendelssohn, whose acquaintance I was so anxious to make…”

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

Felix would become a staple member of the musical royal household and of the private repertoire performed by the couple at Buckingham Palace, having performed for the Queen his famous Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words), and performing impressive musical feats such as improvising on the themes of the Austrian national anthem and the British patriotic, “Rule Britannia,” to which the Sovereign was much impressed, recording in her trusty diary: “He began immediately and really I have never heard anything so beautiful, the way in which he blended them both together and changed over from one to the other, was quite wonderful as well as the exquisite harmony and feeling he puts into the variations, and the powerful rich chords, and modulations, which reminded me of all his beautiful compositions.”

Strauss I

This homage-of sorts to the Queen and to Britain had been preceded 4 years earlier in 1838 by another famous composer of whom Victoria patronized: grandfather of the waltz, Johann Strauß the Elder (-Strauss I), who, following a disastrous debut at London, would climb his way to success through mingling in high circles (of the British nobility), and through the patronage of the then-Princess Victoria in whom Strauß was commissioned to provide for the state ball honoring Victoria’s accession to the throne a sequence of waltzes, which Strauß complied, penning his famous Huldigung der Konigin Victoria von Grossbritannien (An Homage to Queen Victoria of Great Britain):

Edward Elgar

Yet another member of the musical arts in whom Victoria and Albert supported was a formative Edward Elgar – whose astronomical rise to success would later see the English composer gainfully employed as Master of the King’s Musik under King George V (grandson to Victoria and Albert).

In addition to assisting in the makings of musical icons and rubbing shoulders with Classical music’s elite, Victoria herself would famously patronize many an opera and theater, attending some fifty performances annually!

Further reading:

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CANADA & THE MONARCHY:

Canada as we know it today is known as a Sovereign State. It is also one of the 16 Commonwealth countries that comprise the Commonwealth of Nations. This makes the present reigning Queen, Elizabeth II the nation's current Head of State.

Our great nation’s (I am a proud Canuck) ties to the Royal family extends back centuries, and includes rulers of both Britain and France, covering Canada’s pre-confederate standing as Colonies of both Britain and France, and, later as a British Dominion upon the nation’s Confederation in 1867. Through many years of constitutional action, the Dominion would not achieve full autonomy until 1931, under the so-called Statute of Westminster Act.

This meant that Canada would be re-born as an Independent Nation whilst sharing as Head of State the Sovereign of the United Kingdom alongside other members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

To many Canadians, the passing of this Statute would seemingly render the ‘powers’ of the Monarch inconsequential. This is not altogether true, in that our current Head of State remains the Queen, who, aside from performing what are essentially ceremonial duties, continues to retain the power over the assignation of the Nations governors general (the chief representative of the Crown in a given commonwealth nation), and provides assent for the passing of bills into law.

The Sovereign’s role in the Canadian Government can be quite confusing for many a citizen. Currently “the executive government and authority of and over Canada” is vested in the Queen through the Nation’s constitution. However, the actual role of the Sovereign is quite minimal: this is because, as an autonomous nation, the Queen agrees to delegate the vast majority of her powers to the current and the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government – currently Justin Trudeau, the countries Prime Minister, who governs on the “Queen's Behalf,” passing laws in her name ‘using her authority.’ Other duties of the Sovereign are performed by the aforementioned Governor General, with each province representing the Queen via a lieutenant governor.

The Queen is also the nation’s commander-in-chief of the Canadian armed forces.

The Queen Victoria, however, is unique in the aspect that the Monarch was the first Queen to have been occupying the British Throne upon Canada’s Confederation (when Canada became a nation: the Dominion of Canada, on July 1, 1867), and is known colloquially as the “Mother of the Confederation.” Although there exists no evidence of Victoria acknowledging the landmark occasion in the many letters of the Queen that survive, the Queen’s influence can still be felt today across the nation in it’s many preserved architectural wonders of the so-called Victorian era, and in the names of both cities and capitals themselves, which the former Sovereign both named and approved (it was Victoria’s selection of Ottawa as the capital of the United Province of Canada that would allow the Ontario city to remain the nation’s Capital) and in the many institutions named after her.

Join in the singing of Our great Nations' Royal Anthem "God Save the Queen" with Prince William
and Duchess Kate (filmed during an earlier performance for the separate Canada Day holiday):


Discover more:

• A brief retrospective of the National anthem “God save the King/Queen” - Composition history and the hunt for the originator of the tune at Cmuse
• A timeline of Canadian Monarchs at Wikipedia

Happy Victoria Day!

-Rose.

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