Giles Farnaby

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Giles (also: Gilles) Farnaby (* around 1563; † November 25, 1640 in London ) was an English composer and one of the most important virginalists .

Life

Little is known about Giles Farnaby's life, nor is his exact date of birth known. It is commonly believed that he was born in Truro, Cornwall or London around 1560 or 1563 . His father Thomas was a "citizen of London and a carpenter" by profession. Giles also had a cousin Nicholas Farnaby (c. 1560–1630) who also worked with wood because he was a “ virginal maker ” and built all kinds of keel instruments: harpsichords , virgins and perhaps also clavichords . Giles is also said to have trained as a carpenter, maybe he built virginals himself? We don't know for sure.

On May 28, 1587, he married Katherine Roane. They initially lived in St. Helen's Bishopsgate, London, and later in neighboring St. Peter's, Westcheap. On August 8, 1591, their first daughter was baptized Philadelphia, but she died early. They had four other children: Richard (1594), a son Joy (1599), a daughter Philadelphia (1602), and Edward (1604).

Giles Farnaby studied music at Oxford and graduated with a bachelor's degree on July 7, 1592 at Christ Church , Oxford - the same day that John Bull, who was about the same age, received his doctorate.

In 1602 the Fernabys moved to Aisthorpe , Lincolnshire , where Giles accepted a position as music teacher in the household of Sir Nicholas Saunderson of Fillingham; he also worked as a sexton. In 1614 they were back in London. Giles Farnaby died in 1640 and was buried on November 25th.

His son Richard Farnaby (1594–1623) also became a virginalist, but unfortunately he died long before his father when he was under 30 years old.

plant

In the foreword to his “ Canzonets for foure voices ” (1598, “Vierstimmige Canzonetten ”) Farnaby described himself as “a foolish sparrow who dares to chirp in the presence of the melodic nightingale”.

There is some truth in this humorous and humble self-assessment, although on the other hand it is a completely understatement. Alongside Byrd and Bull, Farnaby is one of the most important English virginalists, and the number of 52 pieces that he has recorded in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book speaks for itself. However, this is almost his complete work, consisting of variations, 8 fantasies, 7 pavans, 2 galliards, masques, toys, a grounde and various other miniatures, dances and individual pieces.

Particularly characteristic of Farnaby are his variations on well-known contemporary songs, some of which, interestingly, are also contained in Jacob van Eyck's Fluyten Lusthof (1644–1656) ( Daphne , Tell me Daphne , Mal Sims, etc.). So it was a matter of melodies that, so to speak, 'whistled the sparrows from the roofs', but only one of them was also treated by Byrd ( Bony sweet Robin ). Many of these well-known templates are already of great lyrical beauty and memorable, often touching, sometimes funny. Farnaby's variations are actually all good. Particularly beautiful and demanding are z. B. Daphne , Woody-Cock , Why ask you . The Up Tails All head motif was used by Thomas Tomkins as the ostinato theme of his Ground in G.

Miniatures such as Giles Farnaby's Dreame , His Rest , His Humor ("Farnaby's dream, his recovery, his moods") and others are also very well-known and pretty . a.

Farnaby was perhaps the most original virginalist stylistically. Since he was apparently not an organist, he apparently felt even less tied to traditional counterpoint rules than his colleague and contemporary John Bull. So Farnaby developed a very individual style, which is often characterized by broken chords and large jumps, virtuoso and at least sometimes on paper bizarre. Such figures also existed in traditional Tudor organ music, and they were also used by Bull in gorgeous and virtuoso ways. But with Farnaby the traditional counterpoint almost seems to dissolve, and sometimes something emerges that could be described as a kind of openwork sentence, an early and very idiosyncratic premonition of the later style luthé or brisé. Examples of what has been said are e.g. B. his version of the Pavana Lachrimae or various masques (e.g. Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, No. CXCIX, p. 265, or CCIX, p. 273). Some of his pieces have been handed down with an extremely large number of embellishments (e.g. Pawles Wharfe , Quodlings Delight ), and it could be that other of his pieces were sometimes played with more embellishments.

In addition to his keyboard music, Farnaby also wrote vocal music, especially madrigals and the above-mentioned canzonets (1598), but also some sacred works.

The 4 pieces that have been handed down by Farnaby's son Richard in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book are stylistically fully in keeping with his father's style, most of them are song variations.

Literature and notes

  • Willi Apel, “Farnaby”, in: History of Organ and Piano Music , hrs. and with an afterword by S. Rampe, Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1967/2004.
  • Giles & Richard Farnaby: Keyboard Music ( Musica Britannica XXIV), London: Stainer & Bell, 1965, rev. 1974.
  • The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book ( Revised Dover Edition ), 2 vols., Ed. By JA Fuller Maitland and W. Barclay Squire, Leipzig 1899; repub. New York: Dover Publications, 1979-1980

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Willi Apel, “Farnaby”, in: History of the Organ and Piano Music up to 1700 , Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2004, p. 295
  2. ↑ " Cittizen and Joyner of London"
  3. ↑ Anthony à Wood, Athenae Oxonienses: an exact history of all the writers and bishops who have had Their education in the most ancient and famous University of Oxford, from the fifteenth year of King Henry the Seventh, Dom. 1500, to the end of the year 1690 representing the birth, fortune, preferment, and death of all those authors and prelates, the great accidents of their lives, and the fate and character of their writings: to which are added, the Fasti, or, Annals, of the said university, for the same time (London, 1691), 767.
  4. ↑ "... a sparrow who sely presumeth to chirpe in presence of the melodious Nightingale," Willi Apel, "Farnaby," in the history of organ and piano music to 1700 , Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1967/2004, p 295
  5. ↑ on this the piece Kempes Morris , in Lynar A 1 (see Willi Apel, 1967/2004, p. 295. See also Musica Britannica 24, 1965, r. 1974).
  6. ↑ I would also like to point out the possibility that some of the numerous small anonymous pieces in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book could also be by Farnaby, e.g. B. if they are right before or after one of his pieces.
  7. ↑ a b In any case, according to current knowledge, he did not have an important organ position, like the other great virginalists, several of whom worked at the Royal Chapel (Byrd, Bull, Gibbons, Tomkins; Peter Philips was also organist at the Brussels court). On the other hand, Farnaby's fantasies seem suspiciously organic, and it could be that he had at least one small spot, e.g. B. during his time as a 'sexton' in Aisthorpe.
  8. ^ French: broken style, lute style; a setting that is reminiscent of lute and harp music, and is typical of the music of the French clavecinists since Chambonnières .
  9. ↑ The general strokes used as symbols for trills or mordent in England.
  10. ↑ Nobodyes Gigge , Fayne would I wedd , Hanskin .
personal data
SURNAME Farnaby, Giles
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Farnaby, Gilles
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English composer
DATE OF BIRTH around 1563
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH November 25, 1640
Place of death London