Music for the privy chamber : studies in the consort music of William Lawes (1602-45)

The first half of the seventeenth century was one of the most vibrant periods in English music. William Lawes is arguably one of the finest English composers of the period, and indeed, ranks with the best of his Continental contemporaries. He gained a post among the private musicians of Charles I in 1635, a group known as the Lutes, Viols and Voices (LVV). Much of his surviving consort music appears to have been written for performance by members of LVV; nevertheless, little is known of the internal workings of this elite group. Thus, this dissertation first considers the evidence available from court records in attempting to understand the structure and activities of the LVV. The remainder of the dissertation primarily deals with William Lawes the composer. First, a detailed survey is provided of the autograph sources of Lawes's music. This provides an analysis of the sources and their functions, and offers evidence for their chronology; the development of Lawes's hand throughout the sources is also considered. Second, several studies of Lawes's consort music are presented. The studies generally focus on areas of Lawes's consort music that have received the least scholarly attention: the lyra viol trio, the Royall Consort, the harp consorts, and the pieces for two bass viols and organ. A common theme throughout these studies is Lawes's revision of existing pieces and collections of pieces in order to incorporate elaborate divisions, suggests that this was a growing consideration for Lawes in the mid-to late 1630s. The main aim of this dissertation is to understand better William Lawes as a composer, and to understand the court environment in which he composed during an increasingly turbulent political time.