Composer. He was one of the foremost creators of English madrigals, or consort-songs. Weelkes' style is marked by an original approach to word-setting and a willingness to experiment with unusual harmonies. His best songs include "The Andalusian Merchant," "O Care, Thou Wilt Dispatch Me," "On the Plains," and "Cease Sorrows Now." Weelkes was born in Elsted, Sussex, and studied music at Oxford. He was organist at Winchester College from 1598 to 1602, and at Chichester Cathedral from 1602 until his death. Most of his madrigals were written when he was still a student and published in three books between 1597 and 1600. "Madrigals for 5 and 6 Parts" (1600) is considered the best collection of the series. A fourth and final volume, "Airs or Fantastic Spirits for Three Voices," appeared in 1608. After that he focused on church music and produced such sonorous anthems as "Hosanna to the Son of David," "Alleluia, I Heard a Voice," and "Gloria in excelsis Deo." Weelkes was notorious for his temper and hard-partying ways (a number of his songs celebrate wine, sex, and smoking), and al! coholism stymied his career. Although he received musical commissions from the Chapel Royal, which might have led to a position at the King's Court, he failed to capitalize on this valuable connection. In 1617 he was relieved of his post at Chichester Cathedral for drunkeness and profanity during religious services, but was soon reinstated. He died in London, at the home of a friend, apparently after a last binge. Composer Gustav Holst said of him, "Weelkes is the true English artist. He is an individualist as opposed to the Latin artist who tends to be a member of a school and as opposed to the inartistic Englishman whose thinking and feeling are arranged for him by convention."
Composer. He was one of the foremost creators of English madrigals, or consort-songs. Weelkes' style is marked by an original approach to word-setting and a willingness to experiment with unusual harmonies. His best songs include "The Andalusian Merchant," "O Care, Thou Wilt Dispatch Me," "On the Plains," and "Cease Sorrows Now." Weelkes was born in Elsted, Sussex, and studied music at Oxford. He was organist at Winchester College from 1598 to 1602, and at Chichester Cathedral from 1602 until his death. Most of his madrigals were written when he was still a student and published in three books between 1597 and 1600. "Madrigals for 5 and 6 Parts" (1600) is considered the best collection of the series. A fourth and final volume, "Airs or Fantastic Spirits for Three Voices," appeared in 1608. After that he focused on church music and produced such sonorous anthems as "Hosanna to the Son of David," "Alleluia, I Heard a Voice," and "Gloria in excelsis Deo." Weelkes was notorious for his temper and hard-partying ways (a number of his songs celebrate wine, sex, and smoking), and al! coholism stymied his career. Although he received musical commissions from the Chapel Royal, which might have led to a position at the King's Court, he failed to capitalize on this valuable connection. In 1617 he was relieved of his post at Chichester Cathedral for drunkeness and profanity during religious services, but was soon reinstated. He died in London, at the home of a friend, apparently after a last binge. Composer Gustav Holst said of him, "Weelkes is the true English artist. He is an individualist as opposed to the Latin artist who tends to be a member of a school and as opposed to the inartistic Englishman whose thinking and feeling are arranged for him by convention."
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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