Thomas Weelkes

Author(s): Edmund H. Fellowes

Source: Proceedings of the Musical Association, 42nd Sess. (1915 - 1916), pp. 117-143
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of the Royal Musical Association
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 MAY 16, 1916.

SIR J. FREDERICK BRIDGE, C.V.O.

VICE-PRESIDENT,

IN THE CHAIR.

THOMAS WEELKES.

BY THE REV. EDMUNDtH. FELLOWES, M.A., Mus.B. OXON.

A YEAR ago when addressing this Association I dealt with the

subject of John Wilbye, who by general consent is regarded as
the greatest figure in the English Madrigal School. This
afternoon I propose to say something about another of the
English madrigalists, Thomas Weelkes, whose work in this class
of composition closely approaches the excellence attained by
Wilbye, although in many details the styles of these two
madrigal-writers are dissimilar. I should mention that Weelkes
also composed quite a, considerable amount of Church music
which has survived tour day, although I believe I am right in
stating that not a single note of it is sung in any cathedral or
collegiate church in this country at the present time; my paper
this afternoon will, however, be confined exclusively to the
consideration of his secular vocal work.
Like that of Wilbye, and indeed that of all the English
madrigalists, Weelkes's work, both sacred and secular, has been
neglected in a lamentable manner by English musicians ever
since his own time; and that small portion of his music which
is known to the present generation is limited, even within the
select circles of madrigal societies, to a few madrigals of that
straightforward kind which is represented, as a typical example,
by his splendid contribution to the "Triumphs of Oriana,"
" When Vesta was from Latmos hill descending." But in the
capacity of the daring innovator which he was, Weelkes is
unfortunately quite unrecognized. Many musicians at the present
day hold him in high esteem as the composer of the Oriana
madrigal just mentioned, and of the popular "Nightingale " and
one or two other undoubted masterpieces; but who now knows
him as the young man (by many years the junior of Byrd, of
 I 8 Thomas Weelkes.

Morley, anu of John Mundy, who alone of English madrigalists

were in the field before him) who defied all musical convention
of his time, who struck out a new and brilliant line of his own,
who introduced novel harmonic effects, who displayed a keen
dramatic sense, and who provided some of the earliest examples
of the constructive principles of musical form ?
The novel chromatic harmonies introduced by Weelkes, some
of which fell into disuse again after the decay of the English
Madrigal School until comparatively recent times, must have
rudely shocked the minds of the more conservative musicians
among his contemporaries. It is noteworthy in this connection
that neither Byrd nor Morley in their subsequent work seem
to show much trace of the influence which Weelkes first exerted
by the publication of his I597 Set. Yet among the younger
generation few entirely escaped this influence, especially in the
matter of harmonic latitude and of dramatic treatment. In
these,two directions, however, none of his contemporaries ever
quite equalled the imaginative power such as enabled Weelkes
through the medium of sound to suggest with perfect sympathy
the varying moods of the lyrics which he set to music. But
unlike so many innovators in the various fields of creative art,
Weelkes was led on by his originality, as a general rule, to
broader paths of beauty rather than the reverse; his
experiments seldom impress the hearer so much from the
point of view of their novelty, astonishing though that was in
his case, as by their inherent interest and suitability, as well as
by their actual beauty. And the same thing may be said about
his imaginative skill; for even in its most original flights it rarely
fails in its purpose of intensifying the particular feeling of the
words or of pourtraying some visionary scene.
As an innovator striving after ampler methods of expression
and defying the academic limitations prescribed by conventional
musical laws, Weelkes may be compared with Monteverde;
indeed, much that Sir Hubert Parry recently said before the
Musical Association upon this aspect of the work of Monteverde
in Italy applies equally to Weelkes in England. It seems
improbable that Monteverde's music, or at least his more
characteristic work-even as a madrigal composer apart from his
operatic work-was known in England so early as the last decade
of the 16th century; it is important therefore to emphasise the
fact that the harmonic revolution of this period, which is so
commonly ascribed entirely to Italian influence, can be shown to
have originated simultaneously and independently in England
also. This fact has been overlooked chiefly for two reasons. In
the first place because the Italian experiments of Monteverde,
Peri, Caccini, and the other members of that important coterie
were not confined to harmonic innovations, but led on to those
still more important developments to which Opera as an art-form
 Thomas Weelkes. 19
owes its origin; consequently this revolutionarymovement has
not unnaturallypresenteditself as a single entity to the minds of
subsequent historians, and the credit for it in all its separate
details has come to be generallyascribedto these Italians alone.
As evidence of what was actuallybeing done in England by way
of daring experiment and amazing harmonic novelty at this
period I will ask you to listen to a passage from Weelkes's
madrigal"O Care, thou wilt despatch me," which was published
in i6oo, and to which I shall refer again presently at greater
length. I do not think that anythingof Monteverdeat this same
date could be cited as showing greater originality of harmonic
treatment:

_.- _l~- - -- - -----

---^_ - __

_.
a second
.And
,-A
ij. , I
~%': _ ..
reason why the part played by the Englc.

And a second reason why the part played by the English

composers in the vastly important harmonic developments of
120 Thomas Weelkes.

this period have been overlooked, is due to the fact that not only
the popularity but even the bare knowledge of their madrigals
has, with a neglect that is more than a little discreditable to the
musicians of their own country who have succeeded them, been
limited to those particular compositions which are designed upon
a simple rhythmic outline and clothed with the more conventional
harmonies of their time. Furthermore, the musical public has
in many instances been deceived by deplorable editorial methods
that have resulted in the elimination of unexpected harmonies
such as have been judged by certain academic minds to be of the
nature of improprieties committed by the madrigalists, and as
being chords scarcely decent for the ears of respectable folk.
The disappearance of the augmented chord in Gibbons's " Silver
Swan" in all ordinary modern copies of that madrigal is no
isolated example of this kind of editorial procedure.
Such, then, are the aspects of Weelkes's madrigals which it is
my purpose especially to lay stress upon in this paper, although
in saying this it is important to add that when Weelkes wrote
in the more conventional manner-as of course he often did-
he could in that manner also achieve success of the very highest
order; but of this aspect of his work it is less necessary to speak
since it has, to some extent at least, been recognized in principle,
even though many of his fine madrigals of this simpler type also
remain unsung and neglected.
Nothing is known as to the birthplace of this composer, nor
can the date of his birth be fixed with certainty. The surname
itself, which is obviously a variant of Wilks, and possibly also of
Weekes, is very rarely to be met with in the form in which it
appears on the title-pages of the original editions of his works.
In this connection it is worth mentioning that a family of
Weelkes, so spelt. was resident at Sawley, near Ripon, in the
15th century, and continued there for some generations; but no
evidence is forthcoming which can identify the composer with
that district. Other circumstances in his life suggest that he
came originally from the town or county of Chester, more than
one of his friends being connected with that county; but, again,
there is no actual evidence to support this theory. Once more,
it has been thought that his native county was either Hampshire
or Sussex, where the name of Weekes was not uncommon at this
period; and moreover, one of his principal patrons, Sir George
Phillpott, of Thruxton, was a Hampshire man.
The date of Weelkes's birth may be fixed with much probability
at about 575, for this year fits in with certain facts connected
with his history.
About the year 1598 Weelkes became organist of Winchester
College,-not the Cathedral, as sometimes stated--and during
the four years or so in which he held the post he resided in the
College itself: this has been lately proved by a discovery in the
 Thomas Weelkes. 12I

Bursar's accounts for the year 1598-99, where he is mentioned by

name in an entry relating to the glazing of his bedroom window
in the College. His salary as the College organist was I3s. 4d.
per annum, the Chaplain receiving the same remuneration. This
was a very small sum, even when it is remembered that money at
that period was worth about sixteen times its present value. He
would, however, have received bQard and lodging in the College
without charge; and it can be seen from the household accounts
at Hengrave Hall, where Wilbye lived, that music lessons at that
period were sometimes very remunerative, for a fee of ?3 was
paid for teaching the two Kytson children the virginal for a period
of only three months.
In I602 Weelkes took his Mus.Bac. degree at Oxford, and left
Winchester College for Chichester Cathedral, where he held the
post of organist until his death on November 3oth, 1623. He
died while on a visit to London, at the house of his friend
Henry Drinkwater, which was situated somewhere in the parish
of St. Bride's, Fleet Street. He was buried on the following day
at St. Bride's Church, where the entry which records the fact
may be seen in the registers. It is a curious coincidence that
the very first meetings of the Madrigal Society, in I741, should
have been held at the Twelve Bells Tavern in Bride Lane, so
close to the spot where Weelkes lies buried-for it is most
improbable that this fact was known to John Immyns, the original
founder of that Society.
Drinkwater was Weelkes's executor, and he proved the will on
December 6th at Chichester-it was dated on the day of his
death. His wife had died in the previous year, but three children
survived him. No other information of any interest is contained
in the will. I should add that the above-mentioned facts
concerning Weelkes's death and his burial-place are stated here
for the first time, having remained unknown till now.
Weelkes published five Sets of Madrigals in all, but if we regard
the two Winchester Sets as one, in accordance with his evident
original intention, the four publications may be taken as repre-
senting four distinct types of his work, and we may in consequence
review his writings this afternoon under those four headings.
It is important to bear in mind that when Weelkes published
his first volume, which bore the title "Madrigals to 3, 4, 5 and 6
voices rrtade and newly published by Thomas Weelkes," he was
probably not more than twenty-two years of age; he was, indeed,
somewhat diffident in venturing into the field with a volume of
this kind when, as he himself described it in his prefatory
dedication, he was "still of unripened yeeres." Weelkes used
this phrase in something more than that conventional spirit of
modesty which was so often assumed by the composers of this
period in the dedicatory addresses at the beginning of their
10 Vol. 42
 122 Thomas Weelkes.

volumes: for it is not generally realised that before this volume

of Madrigals appeared in 1597, the only English publications
already issued were Byrd's two sets in 1588 and 1589; four
out of the five of Morley's sets, and a set by John Mundy.
These three composers were men of proved capacity and of
mature years, Byrd and Morley especially enjoying an exceedingly
high reputation among their contemporaries, so that it required a
good deal of courage for so young a man to challenge public
criticism in this manher.
It is also to be noted that this was but the second English
publication of the kind to be styled a Set of Madrigals on the
title-page, that term having hitherto been alone employed by
Morley in connection with his Set of Madrigals to four voices
published in 1594. Yet Weelkes's presumption, if such it was,
was more than justified by the result, for the Set contained
twenty-four first-rate Madrigals, quite mature in style, some of
which are especially remarkable as foreshadowing the still greater
work which this composer was destined to achieve.
At the very beginning of this Set, Weelkes struck out a new
line, for out of the first six madrigals (which constitute the
three-part section of the volume) only two are of the conventional,
gay pastoral character commonly associated with the word
Madrigal in England up to that time. The actual application of
this term to musical settings of words of a sad or serious or
emotional type was a definite innovation by Weelkes, and the
use of the word Madrigal in this wider sense was adopted by all
the subsequent Tudor madrigalists, notably by Wilbye and
Gibbons; and whereas the older composers had hitherto styled their
compositions of this character by such titles as " Songs of sundry
natures," or "Songs of sadness," or what not, those who published
their works after the year 597 did not hesitate, as a general rule,
to describe as madrigals the grave as well as the gay type of song.
It is important to lay stress on this point, because it is neither
fully comprehended at the present day, nor has it been realised
throughout the history of madrigal-singing for over two hundred
years. In the days of Burey and Hawkins, it was only the
bright kind of madrigal with a regular and simple rhythm which
enjoyed any popularity; and in later times even so important an
enthusiast as R. L. de Pearsall, in an article which he contributed
to a Bristol newspaper, stated it as an essential feature that a
madrigal should be of a bright and cheerful character.
Nos. 3, 4, and 5 in Weelkes's first volume are a setting of
Richard Bamfield's words from the "Passionate Pilgrim," which
used commonly, but erroneously, to be attributed to Shakespeare.
There are one or two light touches of realism in this piece just
worth noticing in passing; for example, on the words "rings
doleful knell," a little bell passage is introduced with some small
 Thomas Weelkes. 123

irregularities of stroke which exactly recall the limited skill of

village bell-ringers of to-day:-

__ 1--- '.,-- --4---;-------4?-,-----

:,,I ,
_ _ _ _
=
_ _ _ _ [j
- _- -P 7-
q
I 1 I"

Another early experiment in realism is the sudden introduction

of the chord of B major at the word " afraid" in the following
passage :
My curtall dog that wont to have played
Plays not at all, but seems afraid.
This chord is followed by a bar's silence and a beautiful
modulation on the words " my sighs so deep procures to
weep" :-

hnut iemsq a - fraid Mv

.' J siphs
I ,. - .

-_ _

^^^E^^,t_-7--?L...
~.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5

deep pro - cures to weep.

,l
-----
P
-Q

^^ap^r0^^^---
^J ~--- 1 =- 1- -
--- i I

I1

-1~~~~~~~~~

In view of the large number of more important points of this

kind to be found in Weelkes's later music, these instances might
have been passed by without comment except for the fact of
their absolute originality at the time of their production, a point
which must be emphasised.
124 Thomas Weelkes.

"Cease sorrows now," No. 6 of the Set, is even more

remarkable, as well as being wonderfully effective. The climax
is reached in a truly artistic manner at the final couplet of
the words:--

Yet, whilst I hear the knolling of the bell,

Before I die I'll sing my faint farewell.

The knolling of the bell is treated with a pedal in the bassus part,
very novel in its time, and then follows a remarkable chromatic
passage in which each voice in turn takes up a phrase consisting
of a succession of semitones to the words "I'll sing my faint
farewell." This must have been an entirely new and surprising
musical effect in 1597. At the final cadence there occurs a clash
between C sharp in the Bassus and C natural in the Cantus part.
This type of harmonic collision is not infrequently to be found in
the work of the Tudor madrigalists; several examples are to be
found in the work of Byrd, who has been said to have originated
it, although at least one still earlier example has been found.
Weelkes used it occasionally with very harsh effect, as judged by
our moder experience: but such discords must not be explained
away, as they sometimes are, as misprints; and, in this instance,
when the harmonies are analysed horizontally rather than
perpendicularly, the explanation becomes obvious, and the musical
effect, when the phrase is carefully handled, is by no means
cacophonous.
[Here was sung "Cease sorrows now" (No. 6 of the 1597 Set.)]
A word must be said about the Form upon which "Ay me, my
wonted joys forsake me" (No. 9) is constructed, for it is a very
interesting example of an early endeavour to find in recapitulation
one of the main principles of Form in musical construction.
Weelkes was not singular among the English madrigalists in this
kind of endeavour, for similar examples even before his time are
to be seen in Morley's work and shortly afterwards in that of Wilbye
and others. The first half of this madrigal is repeated in the
ordinary manner, which of course also involves the repetition of
the second phrase of the music: but at the conclusion of the
whole madrigal this same phrase which formed part of the
opening section is again recapitulated in full to different words.
Several other examples are to be found in Weelkes's work
which show that he was seeking after the principles of Form.
" Three virgin nymphs " (No. i o) is written in a humorous vein
for three sopranos, and a bass voice to represent Silvanus. It
opens with the three nymphs walking in a demure fashion to a
passage of regular crotchets. After about ten bars the bass
enters with the words "till rude Silvanus chanced to meet
them," first of all in a low register, as it were in the
 Thomas Weelkes. 125

distance, but at last in a higher register with truly terrifying

effect, while the alarm of the nymphs is expressed simultaneously
in broken quaver phrases:-

-- 4-
_

The climax is reached when Silvanus snatches at them in

grotesque musical figures which graphically illustrate the
situation:-

he leapt andsnatchedatone, he leapt, he leapt, he

' -.-,?

leapt and snatchedat one, and snatched,and snatchedat one.

Two charming pastoral subjects in this Set are "Our country

swains in the Morris dance" and " Lo, country sports that seldom
fades" (Nos. I and 2). Both of these are of such a compass
that they can be sung by four female voices.
Weelkes's second Set was published in 1598, and consisted of
a collection of ballets and madrigals to five voices. In point of
fact, the large majority of this Set are ballets. The Ballet or
Fa-la has met with a larger measure of popularity since Tudor
times than any other class of composition of the madrigal type;
but it is sometimes forgotten that out of an aggregate of forty or
fifty volumes published by the Tudor composers, only three were
sets of ballets, even if we include the younger Hilton's very
second-rate Fa-las issued in 1627. Several composers also
included three or four compositions of the Ballet or Fa-la type in
 I26 Thomas Weelkes.

their sets of madrigals without any distinctive title, but it is a

mistake to suppose that the majority of madrigals are Fa-las, or
even that the Fa-la is an essential feature of a madrigal, though
this is a very widespread error. Those three great madrigal
composers Byrd, Wilbye, and Gibbons wrote no ballets at all.
The ballets of Morley and Weelkes have a good deal in
common, and in some of them the rhythmic outline is almost
identical: this may be accounted for by certain conventions in
connection with the ballet rhythm which were no doubt
traditional at the end of the i6th century, just as the
minuet was in the time of Haydn and Mozart, and dated
back to the time when the ballet was- simultaneously sung
and danced. Morley has left it on record that the ballet had
long ceased to be danced in his day, and this fact in consequence
gave the composers considerable scope for freedom in treating the
ballet. Thus we find that several of the ballets of both Morley
and Weelkes are marked by a good deal of originality as well
as individuality of treatment.
Two very characteristic ballets in Weelkes's Set are " On the
plains" (No. 5) and "Hark, all ye lovely saints above " (No. 8).
Each of these begins with a strong but delightfully broken
rhythm, although the change of rhythm is not indicated in the
original edition except for one triple in No. 5 at the words "Now
they dance." I need not to-day go into the subject of irregular
rhythms in madrigal music, as I dealt with it last year in my
Wilbye paper.
But one important point must be mentioned. In the
article on Weelkes in the first edition of Grove's "Dictionary
of Music," Mr. W. H. Husk qualified his praise of Weelkes as
a madrigal-writer by saying that his work was distinguished "by
a certain characteristic stiffness." What meaning Mr. Husk
intended to convey by this curiously vague criticism, unsupported
as it is by any kind of illustration or example, cannot be exactly
conjectured, nor does a close study of Weelkes's madrigals clear
the matter up, though it certainly disproves what he may be
presumed to have suggested. The statement might have been set
aside as of small consequence but for the fact that it has been
copied almost verbatim, and with a want of critical originality
quite inconsistent with the rest of their work, by two well-known
writers in more modern times; nor have either of these writers
defined their meaning with any less vagueness than did Mr. Husk.
The statement is, however, most probably founded upon the
widespread misconception as to the rhythms employed by the
Tudor musicians. If, for example, the opening phrases of either
of the two ballets which you shall now hear were treated
in strict rhythm of 4, as indicated by the time-signature, an
angularity or stiffness of an absurd kind could reasonably
be urged against Weelkes. By way of illustrating this point,
 Thomas Weelkes. 127

the opening bars will first be sung in strict time, regardless of the
obvious triple rhythm and other irregularities, the interpretation
of which the composer left to the commonsense of the musicians
who should come after him, not anticipating that a complete lack
of that very uncommon faculty was destined for centuries so
seriously to mar the meaning of so much Tudor music.
[Here was sung "Hark, all ye lovely saints above" (No. 8), the
opening bars being rendered first of all with a rigid rhythm of
four in a bar. The performance of "On the plains" (No. 5) was
omitted owing to pressure of time.]
"Now is my Cloris fresh as May" (No. 22) is another very
fine example of a Ballet in which Weelkes has dissociated himself
in a marked degree from the conventional traditions of rhythm
which usually govern this form of song. Especially noticeable is
the complex rhythm in triple measure in the Fa-la's. In the first
section the irregularity is simultaneous in all the parts, but in the
final Fa-la the bass and the soprano follow each other with the
triple rhythm at the distance apart of one crotchet beat. The
bass part runs thus :

Fa la la la la. Fa la la la, Fa

la la la, Fa la la la.

If this is treated rigidly, as barred here according to the time-

signature, it clearly makes nonsense, whereas there is a splendid
swing in the triple rhythm, and the soprano part must obviously
be treated similarly. There is no "characteristic stiffness"
in such a place for those who have eyes to see and ears to
hear.
Another type of Ballet altogether is exemplified in "Farewell,
my joy " (No. 2 ), which is a particularly beautiful piece of music,
unlike anything to be found in Morley's Set, and which shows
Weelkes even defying the convention that a ballet or Fa-la should
necessarily be bright and happy in feeling. It expresses in tones
of sadness, yet without too heavy a touch, the feelings of two
lovers on parting. The music is designed on a much more
128 Thomas Weelkes.

extended scale, and also calls for a less rapid tempo than was
usual with the ballet. But incidentally it may be remarked that
many ballets, and almost all madrigals, suffer by the very prevalent
error of adopting for them all a stereotyped jog-trot tempo,
regardless of their individual subject-matter and of the particular
character of the music.
The two Winchester Sets published in 1600 may be treated as
one. For it seems clear that the composer had intended them to
form one volume, but that this intention was altered on the eve
of publication in order to include dedications to two different
patrons; this resulted in the separation of the five-part from the
six-part madrigals, ten compositions being included in each Set.
There can be little doubt that this music was composed at
Winchester College, where Weelkes was' then living as organist.
These madrigals represent Weelkes's finest work, and indeed as a
Set they are scarcely to be matched in the whole range of
madrigal literature.
One important feature must be noted with regard to these Sets,
namely that they are the very earliest volumes to bear on their
title-page the description " Apt for voices and viols." We may
consequently presume that this formula, which was so commonly
employed in the great majority of English madrigal sets that
appeared after the year r6oo, was invented by Weelkes; and if
this conjecture be supported, it is at least consistent with the
personality of one who showed his originality in so many
directions.
Passing first to a consideration of the five-part Set, the
volume begins with the setting of a charming lyric so ruthlessly
handled by Thomas Oliphant in his published version of this
madrigal:

Cold winter's ice is fled and gone

And summer brags on every tree;
The Redbreast peeps amidst the throng
Of wood-born birds that wanton be.
Each one forgets what they have been,
And so does Phyllis, summer's Queen."

It opens with a short phrase in which "Cold winter's ice"

seems to melt visibly before one's eyes. But the suddenness of
the effect is reduced by the composer, who, with true artistic
touch, repeats the phrase in the three lower voices; then
follows a gay quaver figure which bursts in irrepressibly
before its time in the tenor and bass parts, and eventually
expresses in all the parts the arrival of summer. Not content
 Thomas Weelkes. 129

with his unpardonable "alterations in the poetry," as he

called them on his title-pages, Oliphant proceeded further to
destroy the composer's whole point by changing the first B flat to
B natural and the F natural to F sharp, and so to publish the
madrigal without the smallest comment, evidently under the
impression that he was able, as well as willing, to improve upon
the original Oliphant was certainly representing the feeling of
the time in which he lived and worked, and is not individually
to be censured more severely than many of his contemporaries.
But it is much to be regretted that these "alterations in the
poetry," not to mention the music, should even now be regarded
as the standard text and be held in veneration as such by many
who profess to care about madrigals and literature.
" Take here my heart," No. 3 of this Set, is an exceedingly
beautiful madrigal representing a whole-hearted avowal of love
expressed in perfect simplicity with exactly the right degree of
emotion:-

" Take here my heart, I give it thee for ever,

No better pledge can love to love deliver.
Fear not, my dear, it will not fly away,
For hope and love command my heart to stay.
But if thou doubt, desire will make it range;
Love but my heart, my heart will never change."

It opens with a phrase which anticipates the sound of the

wedding bells, first expressed singly and then in runs of tenths,
reaching a wonderfully effective climax when the tenor voice on the
word "thee" holds the high G above the other voices as the bell
passage glides through it in the final cadence of the first section
of the madrigal. A very beautiful but perfectly simple phrase
occurs at the words of the fourth line of the stanza. After
another suggestion of the wedding bells the madrigal ends with
great dignity and strength. I had hoped to include this madrigal
among the illustrations to-day, but time will not permit of it.
"O Care, thou wilt despatch me" (Nos. 4 and 5) is in many
respects the most remarkable of all Weelkes's madrigals, and as
an example of daring harmonic treatment, as well as of imaginative
expression, it stands alone in madrigal literature. Incidentally, I
may mention that the modulations of this madrigal involve the
employment of an A sharp-a note which appears in no other
instance whatever in English madrigal literature, as far as I have
been able to discover. The subject deals with a careworn man
who seeks to find relief in music, but only partially succeeds;
130o Thomas Weelkes.

throughout the composition the struggle is continuous between

deadly Care and the Mirth that music alone can bring:-

O Care, thou wilt despatch me

If music do not match thee;
Fa-la-la.
So deadly dost thou sting me
Mirth only, help can bring me.
Fa-la-la.

Hence, Care, thou art too cruel !

Come, Music, sick man's jewell;
Fa-la-la.
His force had well-nigh slain me,
But thou must now sustain me.
Fa-la-la.

The madrigal opens with a chromatic passage which is of

amazing modernity, and is intended to express the effect of bitter
care; the repeated disappointment of the expectation of a full
close in the music much intensifies this effect. Then follows a
ratherbrighter figure to the second line which exactly foreshadows
the phrase of the first Fa-la. It should here be mentioned
parenthetically that this madrigal, in spite of the Fa-la refrains, is
in no sort of sense a ballet.
The deadly sting is expressed by another series of discords,
the opening phrase of this passage being based upon that of the
first bars of the madrigal, a characteristic example of Weelkes's
anticipation of one of the principles of Form as developed by a
later generation of musicians. In this second passage, however,
the development of the phrase after the first few bars is carried
out on a rather different plan: the three opening notes of the
Cantus part are repeated alone in the bass a fifth lower, and then,
after a rest, still a fifth lower in the same part. The sting is
finally introduced with a discord in which both the major and
the minor third of the chord are present simultaneously, and the
effect upon our modern ears is perhaps rather more cacophonous
than we should nowadays be inclined to sanction.
The closing passage of the first part of the composition
represents a brave attempt at gaiety with a quaver figure of an
almost conventional type, and purposely designed as such by the
composer; but the nature of the harmonies always, and with
wonderful cleverness, just-and only just-precludes the feeling
of actual mirth, while the final cadence with its F naturals
confesses to temporary failure.
 Thomas Weelkes. I3I

The first two notes of the second half of the madrigal suggest
that the phrase with which the first part began is again to be
repeated; but at this point the E flat is succeeded in the cantus
part by an E natural, and the words of the first line of the
second stanza are represented by a truly astonishing series of
chromatic modulations, already alluded to and quoted at the
beginning of this paper. The next line is setvery quietly to a
phrase which anticipates the Fa-la that follows it, the phrase
being treated by the device of augmentation in the ratio of a
minim to a quaver. This is among the most beautiful things in
this very remarkable madrigal, for the quaver figure of the
Fa-la is clothed with harmonies that give it an exquisite pathos
which, in contrast to the Fa-la of the first section, is now
wholly removed from any feeling of gaiety:-

~~ __ _,;E
,
_?s^a----
--i--^ i .- -r -

--
L-?^-1 7

=^^_Jlj_J J

The syncopated passage set to the words of the next line is

again reminiscent of the Fa-la figure by augmentation, the
quavers being represented this time by semibreves. After a
pedal-point, upon which some very unusual harmonies are built
at the words " Thou must now sustain me," the madrigal ends in
a final heartbroken attempt at mirth.
[Here was sung " 0 Care, thou wilt despatch me."]
With reference to the Discussion which took place at the
conclusion of my paper on Wilbye a year ago as to the possibility
 132 Thomas Weelkes.

of writing in modem days a madrigal that had the true Elizabethan

ring, I submit that though it may be possible to write good
madrigals of a kind, yet the study of such a madrigal as the one
which we have just analysed must damp the courage of anyone
so bold as to think he could escape detection in an attempt to
pass his cleverest counterfeit as genuine coin.
It will not be possible within the limits of time at our disposal
to-day to notice all these madrigals in such detail, but two more in
this five-part Set maybe briefly mentioned: one of these is " Hark,
I hear some dancing " (No. 8), which is in reality the second part
of "Why are you ladies staying ?" Here are introduced some
passages in triple rhythm expressive of dancing, and attention
should be drawn to the fact that the first small snatch of the
dancing phrase anticipates, although in a different key, the
melodic material which is more fully developed at the close of
the madrigal. And the other is, "Lady, the birds right early "
(No. 9), in which there is a very pretty phrase to the words
"the make-sport cuckoo and the quail." Weelkes's defiance
of the older rules and conventions with regard to vocal writing
is well illustrated in such a passage as the following, which occurs
more than once in this madrigal:-

to love your sleep it may not be

This may be compared with similar progressions in the Noel

Elegy and elsewhere in Weelkes's music.
Passing to the Set of ten six-part madrigals: "Like two proud
armies " (No. i) is a fine, niassive piece of vocal-writing, with a
very effective quaver run of considerable length for the two bass
parts to suggest the "thundering fight." The final passage of
this madrigal is constructed on a bass which consists of the
phrase that is sung by the five upper parts in imitative fashion,
augmented in the ratio of a semibreve to a crotchet. "When
Thoralis delights to walk" (No. 2) is an admirable example of
the healthy, straightforwardtype of madrigal with charming words,
somewhat similar to this composer's "Oriana " madrigal," As Vesta
was from lIatmos Hill descending," which was written at the same
period. "What have the Gods their comfort sent" (Nos. 3 and 4)
is full of interest, and special attention may be directed in this
composition to a long pedal-point on which some very uncommon
harmonies are built at the words "Whilst that old Phemius softly
plays the ground." "Mars in a fury" (No. 6) is another fine
specimen of massive writing in the more conventional kind of
madrigal. One little point is to be noticed in the construction of
 Thomas Weelkes. 133

this piece: the phrase used by the cantus and quintus parts when
last they sing the words "'gainst Love's brightest queen," recurs
in the final bars of the composition, by augmentation in the three
top parts, and by inversion in the two lowest parts.
"Thule, the period of cosmography" (Nos. 7 and 8), is
another madrigal in which Weelkes displayed the rare subtlety
of his imagination. This madrigal has in it nothing of the
emotional character of " O Care, thou wilt despatch me," but in
many respects its realistic effects are almost as noteworthy. By
far the most remarkable passage in this composition is that
which deals with the words, "how strangely Fogo burs"; by
means of extraordinarily original chromatic harmonies, Weelkes
has succeeded in creating a thoroughly weird atmosphere and in
pourtraying a graphic picture of the mysterious volcanic eruption,
as viewed from the far distance over the sea, in the strange
unknown region of Terra del Fuego, the other extreme to Thule,
or Iceland, within the limits of cosmographical knowledge of
those days.
[This passage was here played upon the pianoforte.]
A mere glance at the full vocal score in itself affords an ideal
picture of the "ocean full of flying fishes "; this ingenious piece
of writing offers excellent scope for independence of part-singing,
and is capable of being very effectively rendered. Each of the
two main sections of the madrigal ends with the same couplet,
set identically as regards the music:-

" These things seem wondrous, yet more wondrous I

Whose heart with fear doth freeze, with love doth fry."

The final verbal expression is frequently to be met with in

Elizabethan literature, and the whole lyric, though not among
the finest of the madrigal poems, is by no means to be dismissed
as doggerel as some have rather thoughtlessly done. Weelkes
makes a capital point of emphasis in this passage by following
the E flat with E natural on the word "more":

__-
___ -4 L4 M 4--

1g~9lii --
_ __ __ _ _ _ _ _I

i y or wo
Io - ,
yet more won drous I
134 Thomas Weelkes.

The Set concludes with an Elegy on one Henry Noel, a courtier

on whose name (No-L) Queen Elizabeth is said to have made
the "rebus":-
"The word of negation and letter of fifty
Is that gentleman's name who will never be thrifty."

It was to his memory that Morley wrote his fine " Hark Alleluia "
(" Canzonets to five and six voices," No. 21). * Weelkes included
three of these Elegies in his published sets, all of which are finely
written, and all for six voices. The first of these was printed
as No. 24 of his Set of Ballets and Madrigals, and was written
in memory of a certain Lord Borough. The Borough Elegy is
of considerable length and full of fine feeling, but is chiefly
remarkable for its constructive interest, which is worked out
elaborately.
The Noel Elegy is perhaps the finest of the three, and is of
great length; it has in it more variety of texture than the other
two, and shows a good deal of dramatic interest. The six beats
of silence that follow the words " when thou in dust art laid"
are most impressive, succeeded as they are by a beautiful passage
to the lines, "Bedew, my notes, his death-bed with your tears."
At the conclusion of this same passage there occur as many as
three examples of those harsh dissonances which are to be found
elsewhere in the work of Weelkes, as well as in that of some of
the other Tudor madrigalists, which involve the simultaneous
employment of the major and minor third of the chord. Weelkes
introduces at least one such discord in each of his Elegies. The
harshness of the effect, which is of course considerably less severe
when heard in the voices than upon a modern pianoforte tuned
on the principle of equal temperament, can be greatly lessened
by thoughtful treatment; for instance, in this passage in the Noel
Elegy, if the C natural, falling on the word "death-bed" is
attacked sforzando with much emotion while the C sharp on the
word "with" is not specially emphasised, the composer's intention
will be adequately realised in the expression of poignant grief.
While speaking of discords employed by Weelkes in these
Elegies, reference may be made to a most impressive piece of
harmonic treatment of the words, "Now thou art dead," in the
Noel Elegy:-

r I^ 1_ __

. __r- *F17- . . ..

'
A - \ --__
--_ '- t
 Thomas Weelkes. I35

The whole of the concluding section of this Elegy is full of

unexpected and beautiful effects which will well repay close study,
and which illustrate forcibly the daring originality and imagination
which are so characteristic of Weelkes's genius.
The third of these Elegies was in memory of Thomas Morley,
and was published at the end of Weelkes's "Airs or Fantastic
Spirits." The Morley Elegy is much shorter than the other two;
it also falls short of them in actual beauty, but there are in it
some remarkably interesting dramatic points, and the final passage
is extremely beautiful. The words of this piece were originally
written by John Davies of Hereford, in 1590, as a "Dump
upon the death of the most noble Henry, late Earl of Pembroke."
" Dump" is here used in its meaning of Dirge, and in that sense
has survived in the expression "down in the dumps." The
word "dump" is occasionally used to signify a species of dance,
but it has no reference to that meaning here. Davies's lines
contain no personal allusion to Lord Pembroke, so that Weelkes
was able to adopt them for his purpose just as they stood.
Without commenting in complete detail on this composition,
attention may be drawn to a few points in it: for example, the
effect produced by the employment of the first inversion of the
chord of E flat immediately following a full close in G major, at
the words " My dearest friend is dead"; again, the impressive
chord in the low register of the voices sustained for two whole
bars on the word "grave." A few bars later an extraordinary
passage occurs which was undoubtedly intended by the
composer to represent the crack of doom. A reminiscence of
this phrase in augmented form is introduced in the next line
at the words " all things must have an end." The composition
ends with a very beautiful passage on a dominant pedal, and
with a lovely phrase for the tenor in the final cadence.
[The Elegy on Thomas Morley ("Airs or Fantastic Spirits,"
No. 26), was then sung.]
Weelkes was not more than about twenty-five years of age
when he published his splendid Winchester Sets of madrigals,
and it is more than strange that, though he lived for nearly a
quarter of a century afterwards, he should have published
nothing further in this class of composition except the volume
entitled "Airs or Fantastic Spirits," almost all of which were
of a very light character, and for no more than three voices-
the Morley Elegy, already mentioned as having been included
in this volume, being of course an exception.
Yet it is a mistake to regard this volume, which was published
in 16o8, as having no real artistic value, for there is much in it
that is first-rate art of its kind, albeit in quite a light vein.
"The nightingale the organ of delight" (No. 25) is too well
known to call for comment here to-day: it is certainly the most
 136 Thomas Weelkes.

attractive thing in the Set. "Strike it up, Tabor" (No. i8) and
" Jockey, thine hornpipe's dull" (No. 2) are bright and attractive.
The latter opens with a charming phrase:-

Jock - ey, thine horn - pipe s dull, Give wind, man. at . .

full, fie up - on such a sad gull.

Several of the pieces in this book can be sung by female

voices alone, and the majority are even more suitable for male
voices if sung an octave lower.
There are two pretty settings of Italian words, Nos. 17 and 24,
each of which lies within a vocal range of two octaves. Certain
songs in this Set are of the nature of skits either of a personal
or political kind: for instance, " Ha, ha, this world doth pass most
merrily " (No. 19), " Since Robin Hood, Maid Marian" (No. 20),
"The Ape, the Monkey, and Baboon" (No. o), and others.
This latter carries with it a definite reference to the Mermaid
Tavern in Friday Street, famous as the resort of Shakespeare,
Ben Jonson, and many another among the distinguished literary
men of that day. Though we cannot now identify the characters
of this madrigal, there is no doubt that they would have been
easily recognized in Weelkes's own time. " Since Robin Hood "
(No. 20) refers directly by name to Will Kemp, the famous
comedian and dancer. Kemp was the original creator of
Dogberry and other similar parts in Shakespeare's plays, but
he was more famous as a dancer. How he danced the Morris
from London to Norwich, and his tremendous reception in that
city, is described in his own words in a most delightful manner
in his "Nine Days' Wonder." His fame as a dancer was also
well known on the Continent, a fact that is alluded to in this
madrigal in the couplet:-
"He did labour after the tabor
For to dance then into France."
Another interesting couplet in the same song runs:-
"The hobby-horse was quite forgot
When Kemp did dance alone."

The hobby-horse was of course the buffoon in a troupe of

Morris-dancers, and it is quite possible that he is the direct lineal
ancestor of the horses of the merry-go-roundsin modern fairs. The
 Thomas WUeekes. 137
word is derived from the old French Hobin, of which Hobbin
or Dobbin was the English equivalent. The line as it stands
suggests that Kemp's dancing was so attractive as even to divert
attention from the antics and rough comedy of the hobby-horse.
Whether this circumstance was the origin of it cannot be
determined with certainty, but it is a fact that the line became a
popular catchword, and is used at least twice by Shakespeare as
if it were in everyone's mouth at the time. Thus in the play-
scene in Hamlet the Prince says: ". . . Then there's hope a
great man's memory may outlive his life half-a-year: But by'r
lady, he must build churches then; or else shall he suffer not
thinking on, with the hobby-horse, whose epitaph is For 0, for 0,
the hobby-horse is forgot." Again, in "Love's Labour's Lost,"
Act 3, Scene i :-
Armado. How hast thou purchased this experience ?
Moth. By my penny of observation.
Armado. But 0-but O-
Moth. -the hobby-horse is forgot.
[Here was sung "Since Robin Hood" ("Airs or Fantastic
Spirits," No. 20); but the singing of "The Nightingale" ("Airs
or Fantastic Spirits," No. 25) was omitted for lack of time.]
Weelkes must, in fact, be regarded as one of the greatest
of the English madrigalists, surpassed only by Wilbye. Wilbye
undoubtedly wrote in a more polished style and with a greater
delicacy of expression; he also showed a rather more subtle sense
of beauty than Weelkes. In the latter's work there is nothing
quite so beautiful as Wilbye's "Oft have I vowed" (Set II.,
No. 20) or so graceful as "Adieu, sweet Amaryllis " (Set I., No. 12),
and Wilbye was unrivalled in that kind of madrigal of which
"Happy, O happy he" (Set II., No. 16) is a typical example.
On the other hand, Weelkes certainly surpassed all his
contemporaries in wealth of imagination and in originality, and the
whole of his work reaches a wonderfully high level of excellence.
It is impossible to close this paper without an expression of
regret that far more of Weelkes's very attractive madrigals should
not be made popular favourites; however, there is good ground for
confidence that since the people of this country are at last learning
to fall back on their own resources in music as in other things,
they will not be slow to recognize the priceless heritage left them
by those great musicians of our own nation who at the Tudor
period made English music to stand in the forefront of the music
of Europe.

11 Vol. 42
 I38 Thomas Weelkes.

DISCUSSION.

THE CHAIRMAN: You will agree with me that Mr. Fellowes is a

model lecturer. First of all, he has really kept to time. We
all appreciate deeply the immense amount of research that
Mr. Fellowes has undertaken, and the result of which is shown
in this very remarkable piece of work. We know what he has
done in connection with Wilbye, and he has now given us a
further contribution to our musical history. Although the love
of madrigal singing has been kept alive a good deal by the old
Madrigal Society of London, yet we know perfectly well-those
who have had the opportunity.of engaging in antiquarian work-
that unfortunately for a long period there was very great lack of
really careful editing; there was too much desire on the part
of those editing to make the music fit in with what they
considered the right thing and not with what the composer
thought right. They could not believe their own eyes, let alone
their own ears. It is, for instance, extraordinary the alterations
made in Purcell's sacred plays. We must speak with respect of
Oliphant, because no one can have had to do with the Madrigal
Society without being conscious of the immense amount of
trouble he took! There were certain chords he could not under-
stand, but then he was not alone in that. You have only got
to look into Bumey's "History of Music," and there you find
the. most extraordinary mis-statements about people: there is, for
instance, a mis-statement about Lawes which makes me savage
every time I read it. He could not understand why Lawes was
praised by Milton and others, and speaks about his music as not
having any particular interest in it. It was too much the fashion
for madrigal writers of the last century to suggest that a madrigal
must be essentially of a church-like nature: that there must not
be anything of the chromatic in it. Then there is another
remarkable composer, Richard Dering. Burney dismisses
Dering in a most perfunctory manner, he does not know
anything at all about him. Yet I have found no less than forty
splendid motets written in five and six parts published in I 6 7-1 8.
I have had most of them done at my Gresham Lectures, and have
published eight or ten. And I do not believe a single note
of Dering had been heard for many years till I launched some
 Thomas Weelkes. 139

of his work; yet it is full of the most surprising chromatic

harmonies and devices. This Weelkes music we have been
hearing reminds me of Dering's. Of course Dering came later,
in 1617-x8, whereas Weelkes published his work in i6o8.
Dering took his degree at Oxford in 6 1o. We have only lately
found out that our writers of instrumental music were not such fools
as we thought. There were a lot of Fancies written about that
period full of extraordinary things. Sir Alexander Mackenzie is
going to lecture at the Royal Institution, and he is going to
perform two or three Fancies; he has borrowed copies from me,
copies which filled him with astonishment and delight. But at
one time I was amongst those who thought the instrumental
music of that time was represented by the Fancies of Gibbons, an
imitation of dull church music. I have praised them often,
but I do not do so now, because I have got more sense.
We have learnt much this afternoon, and I am glad that we have
had such an epoch-marking paper in connection with this
Society. I am sure that those who love madrigals, and those
who perform madrigals, only desire to do the right thing. The
job is to get hold of the right thing. If the Madrigal Society
would only get the real thing put in a convenient form, then we
could get rid of spurious imitation.
Dr. SOUTHOATE: When our Lecturer spoke about dealing
with the secular music of Weelkes, apart from his sacred music,
I thought he was going to say something about his instrumental
music. Of course one knows that madrigals were composed for
voices and as commonly played upon viols. Last year Mr.
Fellowes had his illustrations played on stringed instruments, and
I remember Dr. Cummings, who was in the Chair at the time,
said, " I had often seen this announcement on the title-page of
madrigals, but I had never heard one played before. I am
delighted to hear them so rendered." But there is some purely
instrumental music of Weelkes', if I remember rightly, at the
British Museum in the Manuscript Music Department. This
gives me the opportunity of saying that Sir Frederick Bridge has
brought forward many of the instrumental Fancies and Suites by
our old composers. Perhaps he might look at any such work of
Weelkes, and see whether it is possible to let us hear that. If such
should prove so extraordinarily modern in tone, as are some of
the examples we have heard this evening, I think it would be a
revelation to let those of this generation listen to them. I was
a little surprised to hear the Lecturer say that a Dump
was originally a doleful piece, a dirge. No doubt he has good
evidence for that, but I had regarded the word as referring to a
rather bright dance. Shakespeare in one place speaks of " some
merry dumps."
Mr. OSCAR STREET (Secretary of the Madrigal Society).-
May I add something to what has been said about the late
140 Thomas Weelkes.

Thomas Oliphant, whose place I have now the honour to fill. I was
rather surprised to hear what Mr. Fellowes said about Oliphant
being such a dreadful malefactor. I happen to have here a book
he gave to my father called "La Musa Madrigalesca," and the
very madrigal which Mr. Fellowes says Oliphant altered, viz.,
"Cold winter's ice is fled and gone," I see is given here exactly
as we have heard it xead this evening. I followed each line
carefully, expecting to come across some dreadful alteration, but
it is given here word for word, And not only that, Oliphant was
so pleased with the words that he went on to say, "What
would not a Cockney sonneteer give to be able to write anything
like the first four lines of this ditty! How far superior is such a
sketch to all the trash about 'mermaids' and 'grottoes' in the
'deep, deep sea,' or about
'Two little birds that whistled thirds
Behind my father's house.'"
The Rev. E. H. FELLOWES.-Oliphant published two editions
of these words. In his other edition, which is given with the
music, you will find the version which I quoted. It is strange he
should have made this subsequent alteration. What could have
been his purpose ? "La Musa Madrigalesca " was published ten
years before his version of the music and words together. But I
am not by any means the first to draw attention to the serious
literary defects of "La Musa Madrigalesca" or to criticise
Oliphant's taste in this matter. As long ago as 1847 Dr. Rimbault,
in the preface to his " Bibliotheca Madrigaliana,"wrote thus of it:
"It is to be regretted that the editor has so frequently modernised
and interpolated his text as almost to destroy its character as a
collection of Elizabethan poetry. The remarks and annotations
contain some valuable matter, but are too frequently disfigured by
frivolity unworthy of the subject." As an example of Oliphant's
"alterations in the poetry," take Campion's well-known tune,
"'There is a garden in her face"; Oliphant altered this
to "A garden is my lady's face." I could quote numbers of
such instances. But I am glad to be reminded that the particular
lines I mentioned are given in the correct form in "La Musa
Madrigalesca," albeit the allusion to the Cockney sonneteer, and
the general tone of his criticism, argue a lack of serious appre-
ciation; while even that is limited to the first four lines of the
lyric: the final couplet was exempted from Oliphant's approval,
and he followed up this exemption by substituting entirely new
material for it in his subsequent version ten years later. As I
remarked to Mr. Street in the tea-room just now, I do not wish
to impute too great blame to Oliphant personally, for he only
represented the taste of many musicians of his own time; and,
as I said in my paper, we all admire the enthusiasm with which
Oliphant tried to work up a love for madrigals eighty years or
 Thomas Weelkes. 14I

so ago. In a certain old Madrigal Society in the Provinces, when

one of these alterations was pointed out by their conductor
in connection with the version in my own edition, some members
said at once: "How is that? What is Mr. Fellowes working
from? Surely the books we've got are old enough-they are
more than seventy years old"': But what about the age and
value of the original editions? I was asked just before the
lecture this afternoon: "What did I work from in producing my
edition?" I replied: "I worked of course from the original
editions of these composers published in their own time, in the
last decade of the i6th century and the first of the z7th." We
are a conservative people, but surely the conservatism is misplaced
of those who stick to a text of seventy years ago as if that text
were gospel, when the original text is three hundred years old and
more and is still extant. It is the original editions that we must
go to in these matters; and let us stand by the originals alone.
Dr. J. F. Read has sent me a message to say that he was not able
to remain for the Discussion, but that when he was organist
at Chichester Cathedral they did one anthem by Weelkes at
Christmas-time every year. Some years ago I tabulated the
music sung at all the Cathedrals and the principal College
Chapels of the United Kingdom in order to see what was being
done; and I may say, incidentally, that the result shown was
deplorable. I do not think I can recollect anything by
Weelkes being included in the returns sent in from any
choir, but it is satisfactory to hear now from Dr. Read,
the successor of Weelkes as organist of Chichester, that at
least one anthem of his is remembered at his own Cathedral.
In regard to the word "dump," I would refer Dr. Southgate
to what I have already said on this point in my paper, although I
may add that it is perfectly true that Shakespeare uses it in the
sense of a dance; but it is also used in the sense of a dirge. The
word was used in both senses in Tudor literature. With
reference to Weelkes's instrumental music-as well'as his church
music-one would of course like to deal with this at full length,
but one must confine oneself within the limits of a subject
as well as of time, for it would require another hour or two
to deal with what Dr. Southgate has suggested. However, I
hope someone will choose such a subject for a future paper
before the Musical Association. Weelkes is among our greatest
men, yet of him we know almost nothing. Weelkes stands
amongst those in the forefront of European music in his own
day, and it is a disgrace to musicians of the present time that we
should be so ignorant of Tudor music as a whole, whether
sacred, secular, or instrumental. I would certainly not have
spoken of it otherwise, but Sir Frederick having led the way,
perhaps I may be pardoned if I follow with a few remarks about
my own edition. Do let us make up our mind to have the
 I42 Thomas Weelkes.

complete original text of these works in modem editions,

whoever will edit them. Sometimes I feel on the border of
absolute despair in trying to bring out the English madrigal
school series. I have thirteen volumes already in print, and
three more are finished and ready to be published when the war
is over; but thirty-six volumes will be needed in all. Whatever
else we do, or don't do, why cannot we arrange to have complete
editions of our English madrigalists textually correct ? Personally,
I only want to get enough support to enable the thing to be paid
for without any questiort of profit; yet even for this purpose
I cannot get enough people sufficiently interested. Do let us
make an effort to render accessible in modern and practical form
the work of these splendid old English musician-poets so that it
may be secure for the use of future generations.
Dr. SOUTHGATE:Why not approach the Madrigal Societies
of such places as Manchester and Bristol, where they claim to
know more about madrigals than we do in London ?
Sir FREDERICKBRIDGE: 1 sometimes think the Discussion is
even better than the paper that preceded it. Certainly it is of
value in bringing out the points of an address. And in this case
it has given us the advantage of a few more words from
Mr. Fellowes. I feel strongly about this matter also. When I
come across the work, for instance, of such a composer as Dering,
I feel angry that I cannot have the whole of his compositions
in print. But what is one to do? I prevailed upon a publisher
to give us nine or ten before the war: but now there is war he
says he will see me somewhere else before he will publish
another. But after all, we have to remember that these people
have their living to get, and they cannot afford to publish things
unless there is some chance of profit. What we want are correct
copies of these masterpieces, of these'madrigals, these motets of
Weelkes, Dering, and so on. But I think something could be
done if we only put our back into it. Of course we cannot
expect a private firm, or a great firm like Novello's, to take the thing
up at its own risk. But if wemade a great fuss we might get the
trustees of certain funds to help. For instance, there is one old
City Company, the Musicians' Company; they have done a great
deal to help on modem chamber music-why not suggest that
they find the money to produce the work of this great English
composer who lived in London 300 years ago? I have talked to
the Mercers' Company, I have talked to the Corporation that
administers Gresham College, and explained: " I have produced
these things at your College, cannot you let me publish them for
the benefit of tHe country?" Something, then, might be done to
secure the support of these old Companies, for of course we
cannot expect ordinary musical publishers to take the work up
and perhaps be out of pocket by it. I feel more strongly than
ever about Dering after what we have heard this evening from
 Thomas Weelkes. 143

Mr. Fellowes; I had no idea till this afternoon that Weelkes was
so great a man. I was educated in the old-fashioned madrigal
style, and in those days people would have been horrified to hear
of madrigals containing such harmonies as those we have heard
to-day. However, we are going to do what we can in that matter
that has been brought before us by Mr. Fellowes. It only
remains for us to thank Dr. Terry and those who have rendered
these difficult things so beautifully.
Votes of thanks to the Rev. E. H. Fellowes, and to Dr. Terry
and the Choir, were then passed.