Thomas Tomkins

Thomas Tomkins (* 1572 in St Davids, Wales, † 1656 in Martin Hussingtree, Worcestershire ) was a British composer.

Life and work

Thomas Tomkins is regarded as the most famous member of a well-known English family of musicians. Presumably he was a chorister at St. David in 1578 in Pembroke in the year. Later he received his musical education at William Byrd. In 1596 he became organist and choirmaster at the Cathedral of Worcester, to the Puritans in 1646 all musical spiritual institutions joined and partly destroyed. Tomkins had to watch even the destruction of his precious organ with which he himself had built in 1614. From 1621 Tomkins was then organist at the Chapel Royal. This office he held until his death in 1656.

Thomas Tomkins lived and worked in the "Golden Age" of England, in the "cultural flowering of the Elizabethan ". For even if the policy grappling with Spain and the Netherlands - the culture in England did not diminish. Shakespeare went with his plays to the public, the English madrigal developed a new style and created a counterpoint to the Italian madrigal. Tomkins scored while the main masters along with William Byrd, Thomas Morley, John Dowland, Orlando Gibbons.

Compared with the Italian madrigal, the English Madrigal became more popular, it became an expression of the emerging English middle. While in the English madrigals is the Italian origin not to hear, but the English Madrigal shows yet highly unique, powerful and melodic, national trains. However, it does not know the Italian penchant for chromaticism, refinement, differentiation. It is much more rooted in a positive attitude towards life. At the high literary standard of the Italians, the English madrigal can not match in their texts.

Thomas Tomkins died in 1656 in Martin Hussingtree ( county of Worcestershire ) and left numerous madrigals as well as sacred music, chamber music and virginal.