Posted by Tor Ingar on November 08, 19103 at 15:29:53:

In Reply to: Byrd and Elizabethen England posted by steve on July 07, 19102 at 07:53:38:

: I am doing a report on the music that was provided for Shakespeare's plays in his day. I have heard that Byrd wrote some music for Shakespeare, and I have a recording of several chamber pieces grouped together under the title "Music for a Shakespeare play", by an 'anonymous' author. The first piece in this group is the famous La Volta by Byrd, followed by a Canzona and Morisca which I am not familiar with and which Byrd may also have written. Was Byrd aware of Shakespeare and his plays? Was Shakespeare aware of any musicians such as Byrd, Gibbons, Dowland and Bull? Is there evidence or at least stories that show this? If so, did Byrd specifically provide or arrange music for any of Shakepeare's plays? Please reply as soon as possible as I have to finish this report very soon. Please reply on the board as I lack an e-mail address: I am but a vagrant of the net. Many thanks in advance.

In my dissertation on William Byrd's M for voices I have tried to find answers on your questions. When I meet one of our best experts on Byrd, David Skinner (professor at Magdalen College), he told me that we do not know so much about these things. We can only guess that Byrd must have been aware of Shakespeare, since artists was interested in knowing about their "colleauges" around them! Even if we can't prove it, Byrd, as the greatest Elizabethan composer, must have known the greatest masters in the Elizabethan literature, Shakespeare. But I'm afraid you will not find any evidence about this any places (in letters etc.)!?

Yours sincerely,
Tor Ingar

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