Life
Thomas Morley was an English composer, theorist, and organist born around 1557 in Norwich and died in 1602 in London, celebrated as the leading figure of the English Madrigal School. A pupil of William Byrd, he served as master of choristers at Norwich Cathedral before moving to London, where he became organist at St Paul’s Cathedral and, from 1598, held a royal monopoly on music printing. Inspired by Nicholas Yonge’s 1588 anthology Musica Transalpina, Morley began publishing his own English madrigals and balletts, adapting the Italian style he especially admired in Luca Marenzio into a lighter, distinctly English idiom. He also wrote instrumental consort music and the influential treatise A Plain and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke (1597).
Impact
Morley almost single-handedly grafted the Italian madrigal onto English soil, launching the brief but brilliant flowering of the English Madrigal School. His treatise became the standard English-language guide to Renaissance music theory and performance for two centuries, and his own light, singable madrigals such as “Now Is the Month of Maying” remain core repertory. As a music publisher he also helped shape the wider dissemination of English music in print.
Repertoire
April Is in My Mistress’ Face, 1594
A concise four-voice madrigal contrasting the beauty of a beloved’s face with the coldness of her heart, one of Morley’s earliest madrigal publications.
April is in my mistress face – Thomas Morley (1557 – 1602) — Performed by La Ménestraudie · Vocal ensemble recording
April is in my mistress face – Thomas Morley — Performed by Choral Society of Durham · Live concert recording
Now Is the Month of Maying, 1595
A bright, dance-like five-voice ballett celebrating springtime, among the most famous and enduring English madrigals.
The King’s Singers perform Thomas Morley’s “Now is the Month of Maying” — Performed by The King’s Singers · Live concert performance
Now is the month of maying – Thomas Morley, John Rutter, Members of the Cambridge Singers — Performed by Members of The Cambridge Singers · Directed by John Rutter