William Lawes (baptised 1 May 1602 – killed 24 September 1645) was an English composer at the court of Charles I and brother of the composer Henry Lawes. He was killed fighting for the Royalist side during the English Civil War, at the Battle of Rowton Heath, and was posthumously honoured by the King as the “Father of Musick.”

Lawes is best known for his harmonically adventurous consort music for viols, including the Royall Consort, which pushed English chamber music in strikingly original directions just before the Civil War disrupted court musical life.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lawes