Edmund Hooper: A Study of His Style Compared to Orlando Gibbons and Prevailing Tudor Polyphony

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Edward William Allred II (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Welborn Young

Abstract: Edmund Hooper (1553-1621) held a prominent place among church musicians of his generation. He became Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey in 1588 and organist of the Chapel Royal in 1615, holding both positions until his death in 1621. Additionally, most of the surviving manuscript sources of pre-Restoration English liturgical music contain his compositions. Twentieth- and twenty-first-century reception of his music, however, is limited, published editions of his anthems are rare, and choirs seldom perform his music. The main focus of the study is a comparative analysis of an anthem by Hooper and another by Orlando Gibbons, the leading composer of that generation. This study includes a description of the prevailing characteristics of Tudor polyphony, providing a point of reference for comparison to Hooper's style of composition. Additionally, the document addresses the issues pertaining to the editing of Tudor church music and includes a reference score of Hooper's anthem, I will magnify Thee O Lord. Hooper's method of text setting, his harmonic language, and his contrapuntal part writing is consistent with the characteristics common to other anthems of the Tudor period. The style analysis of his anthem revealed Hooper's advanced control of dissonance and rhythm in middle and large dimensions which parallels that of his contemporary, Gibbons.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2008
Keywords
Edmund Hooper, church musicians, pre-Restoration, English liturgical music, Tudor period
Subjects
Music--16th century--History and criticism.
Music--17th century--History and criticism.
Sacred vocal music--16th century--England.
Sacred vocal music--17th century--England.
Choral music--16th century.
Choral music--17th century.

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