Thomas Morley and the Business of Music in Elizabethan England

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Thomas Morley and the Business of Music in Elizabethan England THOMAS MORLEY AND THE BUSINESS OF MUSIC IN ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND by TERESA ANN MURRAY A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Music College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham September 2010 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT Thomas Morley’s family background in Norwich and his later life in London placed him amongst the educated, urban, middle classes. Rising literacy and improving standards of living in English cities helped to develop a society in which amateur music-making became a significant leisure activity, providing a market of consumers for printed recreational music. His visit to the Low Countries in 1591 allowed him to see at first hand a thriving music printing business. Two years later he set out to achieve an income from his own music, initially by publishing collections of light, English-texted, madrigalian vocal works. He broadened his activities by obtaining a monopoly for printed music in 1598 and then by entering into a partnership with William Barley to print music. Unfortunately Morley died too soon to reap the full financial benefit of what appears to have been a profitable business. Whilst Morley’s personal ambitions were curtailed by his early death, his publishing activities and the model he provided for contemporary composers led to the creation of a substantial body of nearly one hundred and seventy editions and reprints of music suitable for domestic performance, many of which continued to be used for many years. For David ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS When I decided to return to academic research after a gap of some years it was clear that it would be impractical to continue my previous work on seventeenth-century Italian instrumental music alongside what was then a full-time job in London. Having in the meantime taken up the viol and the lute and become immersed in the English consort repertory of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it was natural to look for a British-based research subject from that period. The seed was sown in a conversation with Professor Colin Timms and Professor John Whenham in Birmingham; the result has been an enjoyable and satisfying project. Professor Timms’ encouraging, enthusiastic and, on occasion, challenging supervision has been invaluable. His thoughtful approach has provided an essential counterbalance to my tendency to assume that what is evident to me will also be so to my readers, and helped me to ensure that my evidence and arguments are well aligned. It is, perhaps, unusual to single out a publisher for thanks. However, the steady replacement since 2003, by ProQuest LLC, of Early English Books 1475-1640 (a set of nearly the two thousand reels of microfilmed images of early printed books) with an online resource, Early English Books Online, has enabled me to take a much more comprehensive and analytical approach to the examination of the corpus of music published in England around 1600 than I could otherwise have hoped to achieve. There is no substitute for seeing and handling original prints, though, and I have been fortunate to be able to consult the holdings of a number of libraries (listed in the bibliography) in the United Kingdom and abroad. I am most grateful for the help provided by staff everywhere I have visited. Archives have been very important, too, and I would particularly like to thank the archivists of Christ Church Oxford, Trinity College Cambridge, and the Norfolk Record Office, along with their teams, as well as the staff of the National Archives, Cambridge University Archives, the Guildhall Library and London Metropolitan Archives, and the Manuscript Room at the British Library. Hilary Marshall, an expert in palaeography, taught me to read and interpret the types of document I have encountered; she also provided translations of key Latin documents to a standard I could not have achieved myself without many hours of effort. David Butterfield, of Christ’s College Cambridge, helped by producing an accurate transcription of Thomas Morley’s patent for the post of master of the children at Norwich Cathedral. Working away from the university on a part-time basis could have been rather a solitary experience, but I have been extremely fortunate in the support and enthusiasm of many friends who have been happy both to listen to me and to engage in debate. My particular thanks go to Peter Cox for reading and commenting on my entire first draft, despite being in the final stages of producing a book of his own. I would like to record my gratitude to my parents, Kathleen and Alan Bailey, for their constant encouragement, my sister, Hilary Tattersall, for her practical and moral support, and especially my husband, David, who has been steadfast in his belief that I could, and should, devote my time to this project. Without his commitment, it would have foundered long ago. CONTENTS List of Figures x List of Tables xi A Note on Sources and Editorial Policy xiii Introduction 1 Chapter 1 – Thomas Morley and the Urban Middle Class 5 Thomas Morley’s Family 6 Identifying Thomas’s family; Thomas Morley’s family background; Francis Morley, middle-class trader; Francis Morley’s children Thomas Morley’s Education and Early Career 25 A chorister’s upbringing; a grammar school education; musical training; Thomas Morley and William Byrd Master of the Children at Norwich Cathedral 33 Life at the cathedral; city life Departure from the Cathedral 41 Chapter 2 – New Directions 47 An Alternative View of Morley’s Career, 1587-1591 48 Morley’s Religion 53 Catholicism and politics; early influences on Morley; Morley’s Latin music; how committed a Catholic was Morley? Morley’s Politics 64 Morley’s Visit to the Low Countries in 1591 69 The intelligence background; Morley’s role; the timing of Morley’s visit; Morley’s connection with Charles Paget Music Publishing in Antwerp 79 The Impact of Morley’s Trip Abroad 88 vii Chapter 3 – The Market for Recreational Music 95 Traditional Consumers of Music 96 Major households; the universities New Consumers of Music 103 A growing population; the distribution of wealth; social aspiration and the rise of consumerism; a more literate and educated population; musical literacy; book ownership; ownership of instruments and music Music to Sing and Play 132 Printed music; manuscript music; acquiring music A Market for Recreational Music 144 Chapter 4 – Morley’s Music Business 146 The Control of Printing in London 147 The Music Monopoly 150 Tallis’s and Byrd’s monopoly; revitalisation of the music monopoly; the end of Byrd’s monopoly; Morley’s response; Morley’s monopoly The Business of Publishing 171 The composer’s income; the economics of publishing Morley’s Publishing Business 185 Morley’s patrons; the psalter Morley’s Printing Business 189 Setting up a print shop; the printing process; financial returns from printing; thwarted ambition?; a return to working with East and Short; the end of the Little St Helens operation Morley’s Financial Position 209 Chapter 5 – Morley’s Triumphs 214 Morley’s Publications 215 Morley’s ‘madrigals’; lute ayres; instrumental ensemble music Morley’s Impact on Music Publishing 230 The Music Publishing Business after Morley 238 Unpublished genres; the control of music publishing in the early seventeenth century; composers and publication Morley’s Legacy 258 Contemporary reprints and new editions; ownership and use of music viii Conclusion 271 Appendices 1.1: A Patent of the Office and the Reversion of the Master and 275 8 Children granted to Thomas Morley 1.2: The Probate Inventory of Francis Morley 283 2.1: Charles Paget’s Location, 1590-1593 287 2.2: Non-liturgical Music published in Antwerp, 1581-1591 290 3.1: Hengrave Hall Household Records 293 3.2: Instruments and Music mentioned in Cambridge 297 Inventories, 1540-1614 3.3: Musical Expenditure at Trinity College, Cambridge, 1585- 302 1597 3.4: Books mentioned in Norwich Consistory Court Inventories, 304 1584-1625 3.5: Instruments and Music mentioned in Norwich Wills and 310 Probate Inventories, 1584-1625 4.1: Thomas Morley’s Music Printing Patent 313 4.2: Retail Prices for Music in England c. 1600 318 4.3: Conjectural Lifetime Income for Morley from Publishing 321 his Works 4.4: Dedicatees of Morley’s Music Publications 324 5.1: Editions of Music printed in England, 1588-1639 326 5.2: Early Lute Ayre Publications 362 5.3: Music printed in England, 1588-1620, showing each 364 Monopoly Period 5.4: British Library Holdings of Editions of Morley Vocal 365 Pieces, 1770-1899 ix Bibliography 367 A. Manuscript Sources 368 B. Printed Music 371 C. Books, Articles and Online Resources 372 LIST OF FIGURES 1.1: Thomas Morley’s Apparent Ancestors 13 1.2: Francis Morley’s Children 23 3.1: Percentage of Norwich Probate Inventories including Books, 119 1584-1625 3.2: Nature of References to Books in Norwich Probate Inventories, 121 1584-1625 5.1: Number of Editions of Music printed in England, 1588-1620 231 5.2: First Editions of Madrigals and
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