Edmund Hooper (c.1553-1621): a contextual study of selected anthems

Edmund Hooper (c.1553–1621), onetime Master of the Choristers and later Organist of Westminster Abbey, was one of the most respected composers of his time. Yet, apart from one or two settIngs of service music that are occasionally sung in cathedrals and university chapels, his work is generally unknown today. This study seeks to reinstate Hooper through the presentation of new, scholarly editions of a selection of his anthems.

Chapter 1 provides a biographical sketch of Hooper’s life and work in the context of the political turmoil of the Reformation, the emergence of Westminster Abbey as a collegiate church and the music within it. Little is known of Hooper’s personal life but, through re- visiting sources, an extra piece or two has been found to add to the jigsaw.

Chapter 2 sets out the rise of the English post-Reformation anthem and the resulting new polyphonic landscape, along with sections on sources and texts. This is by way of introduction to an evaluation in Chapter 3 of seven of Hooper’s anthems, both ‘full’ and ‘verse’ and including an attempted reconstruction of a verse anthem that exists only in a single organ source. A full anthem of doubUul authorship is also examined. Critical editions of these works, along with some variants and textual commentaries, are presented in Part 2.

Chapter 4 looks at the surviving sources, most of which are in manuscript form; a list of those consulted and some information about each is included as part of the edition. Chapter 5 considers aspects of performance practice, including pertinent questions about voices, organs, choirs and pitch, looking at the work of Hooper and others in the context of how they might be heard; some reflections on how the works have been met by modern-day performers are also included.