# Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623)



## clavichorder

I recently attended a choral concert by Pacific Lutheran University, an amazing performance. They performed two pieces by Thomas Weelkes, a name I had previously heard only in passing. One of the pieces they performed had this moment at the end that brought a tear to my eye, it was about a King's loss of his son. I didn't really have the program in mind when listening, the music and live musicians literally worked me over, it was powerful. My mind was essentially blown. I think it was "When David Heard." But I am not sure and I somehow lost my program in the shuffle while leaving.

Anyone else have any experience with his music? Am I thinking of the right piece? Whatever it was, it was astounding.

Edit: part of the reason I was confused about the identity of the piece is that some youtube videos were labeled "When David Heard"-Thomas *Tompkins*. I know that composer as well, and is this a mistake or is there some debate over the authorship of this piece?


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## KenOC

A beautiful thing about live performances! If you'd heard it on the radio, it might have made no impression at all.

But how could you lose the program? Arghhhh! Never heard of Weelkes, but I'm gonna check up on him...


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## clavichorder

I am assuming this was the piece:





You are right about live music, especially with a high energy group like this. It still sounds lovely to me, but I can't exactly recall the same sensation I felt.

Edit: yes, I remember hearing some of those harmonic patterns. It struck me as extraordinary when I heard it live. Do you hear it? There are some very interesting things, I can tell even with this recording, but that impact I felt live, its just not the same...

Still, I recommend you listen for how the pieces wraps up(how the major triad sound breaks through at the conclusion). There are some really heart wrenching things, and trust me, its serious business live. It was a big concert, and there was music of contemporary composers, Brahms, Poulenc, Martin Luther hymns, and plenty of 19th and 20th century arrangements of spiritual music. The Brahms was very brilliant(the second piece especially), the Poulenc was unlike anything I had ever heard, and the world premier pieces were well done and exciting to witness. But this "When David Heard" was the rawest emotional highlight of the night for me. A lot of the audience like the neo romantic sounding commissions, which I liked too, but this old stuff is not only another style, but another league.


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## KenOC

Wow. I'm looking for a reply, a Purcell piece about a swan that makes a sound only when it dies...can't find it!

Quite a few very impressive composers in those days in England. Try this:


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## PetrB

KenOC said:


> Wow. I'm looking for a reply, a Purcell piece about a swan that makes a sound only when it dies...can't find it!
> 
> Quite a few very impressive composers in those days in England. Try this:


But surely you mean the Gibbons "The Silver Swan" which you posted, and not Purcell?
The Gibbons is remarkable, the text often attributed to the composer. A lovely feature is that the melody is in the Alto.


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## clavichorder

PetrB said:


> But surely you mean the Gibbons "The Silver Swan" which you posted, and not Purcell?
> The Gibbons is remarkable, the text often attributed to the composer. A lovely feature is that the melody is in the Alto.


That piece is wonderful. Also, "What is our Life" is another wonderful song by Gibbons accompanied by viol consort.


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## KenOC

PetrB said:


> But surely you mean the Gibbons "The Silver Swan" which you posted, and not Purcell?
> The Gibbons is remarkable, the text often attributed to the composer. A lovely feature is that the melody is in the Alto.


Indeed, Gibbons! I remembered it as being by Purcell, and turned up only the Gibbons. It was my memory that was bad (I'm not very knowledgeable about this period). A beautiful piece.


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## Manxfeeder

Weelkes tends to get buried among his contemporaries, the biggest of which is William Byrd. His church music in general is more concerned with its sound than in emphasizing particular words. 

Jeremy Summerly and the Oxford Camerata has a nice CD of Thomas Weelkes' works, including a sensitive reading of When David Heard.


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## clavichorder

Manxfeeder said:


> His church music in general is more concerned with its sound than in emphasizing particular words.


In my book, this theoretically sounds like a good thing. And after hearing the "When David Heard" piece, I can see it, but I remember certain words being lined up very nicely with stunning writing as well. No doubt it is a gem.


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## MagneticGhost

I came across Weelkes' name whilst reading the liner notes if my Holst Cd. Apparently he was one of Holst's favourite composers and they are buried in the same graveyard. 

I am going to go and listen to some of his music now.


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## Orpheus

What I've heard of Weelkes suggests that he was, at his best, one of the most formidable composers for voice of his time. In addition to his sacred vocal works, he's probably behind only Wilbye as a madrigalist in the English school, though of course there are a few other talented composers of that period who run him close.

This anthem seems very typical of Weelkes' rugged, chromatically expressive style to me:






This madrigal is one of my favourites by anyone; I can't imagine a richer and more jubilant tribute to the Age of Discovery and its associated sense of wonder:





The text is so striking in itself that it bears repeating too. Apparently Weelkes was no mean poet himself if he is the author (as appears to be the case). What a first verse, especially!

Thule, the period of cosmography,
Doth vaunt of Hecla, whose sulphureous fire
Doth melt the frozen clime and thaw the sky;
Trinacrian Etna's flames ascend not higher:
These things seem wondrous, yet more wondrous I,
Whose heart with fear doth freeze, with love doth fry.

The Andalusian merchant, that returns
Laden with cochineal and china dishes,
Reports in Spain how strangely Fogo burns
Amidst an ocean full of flying fishes:
These things seem wondrous, yet more wondrous I,
Whose heart with fear doth freeze, with love doth fry.


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