Micrologus; O Clap Your Hands

83-10 O CLAP YOUR HANDS: ORLANDO GIBBONS

Of the three major composers of early music who have centenaries this year, Orlando Gibbons is certainly the least known, after Rameau and Frescobaldi. In his lifetime, however, he received unusual fame and honor as a musician.

He was born at Oxford in 1583 into a musical family. When he was only four years old, his family moved to Cambridge, where Orlando's eldest brother Edward was about to become Master of the choirboys at King's College. Orlando sang in the King's choir until 1598 when he entered the college as a student. He seems to have broken off his studies about 1603 to become a gentleman of the Chapel Royal, and by 1605 he was appointed to the highly prestigious position of organist of the Chapel Royal.

King James seems to have admired mightily the playing of Gibbons, and in 1611 gave him the first of two substantial cash gifts. A year or so later, Gibbons shared a publication with the two most revered musicians in England at that time: William Byrd and John Bull. Byrd was 68 years old and Bull was nearly 50. Gibbons was only 28. The publication entitled Parthenia, was in honor of King James' daughter, Elizabeth, who was marrying Frederick V, Elector Palatine.

We are going to hear two pieces from that collection. The first is "The Queen's Command," and the second is a galliard. Both are performed by Christopher Hogwood on a small Italian spinet which bears the coat of arms of James' predecessor as monarch of England, Elizabeth I. The instrument is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

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The opening of Parthenia, the publication in which those works appeared, contains a poem in praise of Gibbons, which musters only a somewhat awkward figure: "Yet this Orlando parallels di Lasso; whose triple praise would tire a very Tasso." Indeed, it is unfortunate that Gibbons' contemporaries never seemed to do justice to the elegance of his skill in their expressions of his praise. His prowess at the organ engendered such memorable phrases as "the best finger of the age," and "the best hand in England." His skill as a performer was beyond question, and even by the age of 28, he showed remarkable seriousness and maturity as a composer. This next selection is also from Parthenia--the "Fantazia of foure parts." It is performed by Colin Tilney on another instrument of historical interest: the early 17th-century chest organ in Knole House, the ancestral home of the Sackville family in Kent. This is probably the oldest playable keyboard instrument of English construction.

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Gibbons wrote fantasies not only for organ, but for 2-6 voices in a viol consort, as well. A few of the 3-voice pieces are remarkable in that they make use of the just-emerging Trio-Sonata texture of two equal upper parts with a bass below. Such a work is "Fantasy V," which we hear performed by Jordi Savall and Christophe Coin, treble viols, and Sergi Casademunt, bass viol, with Johannes Sonnleitner, organ.

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It has been suggested that because of the trio-sonata texture, violins are perhaps more appropriate than viols here, but certainly the English taste argues for performances such as this one using treble viols.

I suppose that Gibbons' most famous work is "The Silver Swan," which was published in 1612 in a collection entitled: First Set of Madrigals and Motets, apt for Viols and Voices. In fact, the collective title is somewhat misleading since there are no sacred works, and no light-hearted "fa-la-la" madrigals. The texts are serious and somewhat old-fashioned. Indeed, one of the works which we are about to hear begins: “O that the learned poets of this time, who in lovesick line so well can speak, would not consume good wit in hateful rhyme, but with deep care some better subject find." The phrase "apt for viols and voices" suggests that many of the pieces can be sung either a cappella or as consort songs with solo voice and viols. Reflecting that discretionary practice, the Consorte of Musicke under Anthony Rooley here performs "The Silver Swan" as a consort song, and “O that the learned poets" as a madrigal.

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Continuing the tale of Gibbons' life, in 1619 he became "one of his Majesty's musicians for the Virginalle to attend in his highnes privie chamber," a position of great prestige and considerable remuneration. In 1622 he took the Degree of Doctor of Music at Oxford, and the following year was appointed organist of Westminster Abbey. This, in addition to his continuing appointment at the Chapel Royal. In March of 1625, he played for the funeral of King James, and on June 5th of that year, while awaiting the arrival of the bride of the new King, Charles I, Orlando Gibbons died suddenly of a stroke, at Canterbury. True to form, the words of his hastily assembled epitaph do no justice to the precision of his performer's and composer's art: the Latin syntax is wretched and to top it off, his age is omitted.

But the preservation of Gibbons' reputation was ensured through the centuries following by his choral works. Among them is an eight-voice anthem entitled: “O Clap Your Hands."

When Gibbons received his doctorate from Oxford University, another of his colleagues from the Chapel Royal received an honorary doctorate in music, the same day. This man, William Heyther, endowed the first Professorship in Music at Oxford, but he was no composer; so, in order to satisfy the rule which required submission of an 8-voice composition, Gibbons formally submitted “O Clap Your Hands" on behalf of his friend. You may be interested to know that the Heyther Professorship of Music still exists at Oxford University. Here is Orlando Gibbons' “O Clap Your Hands," sung by the Clerkes of Oxenford, under David Wulstan.

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You’ve been listening to a program commemorating the 400th anniversary of the birth of Orlando Gibbons.