John Bull’s “Walsingham”
Throughout September, the Daily Classical Music Post celebrates the music of 15th-, 16th-, and 17th-century England. https://youtu.be/QfcvlnDBX7k John Bull ( 1562/1563–1628) was known particularly for his music for the virginals, a small type of harpsichord common in England during the 16th and 17th centuries. He was known for his skill as a keyboard performer as well as a composer, but also for his less-than-abstemious lifestyle. Apparently, the then Archbishop of Canterbury said of Bull, “the man hath more music than honesty and is as famous for marring of virginity as he is for fingering of organs and virginals.” That pretty much says it all. Although according to contemporary accounts Bull was prolific as a composer, a good deal of his music was lost when he left England. He most likely left before being charged with adultery, although he later claimed that he was trying to avoid religious persecution. David Schulenberg says, “In the case of Bull we have a composer whose biography ...