- Thomas Ravenscroft
Thomas Ravenscroft (c. 1582 or 1592 until 1635) was an English
composer , theorist and editor, notable as acomposer of rounds and catches, and especially for compiling collections of Britishfolk music .He probably sang in the choir of
St. Paul's Cathedral from 1594, when a "Thomas Raniscroft" was listed on the choir rolls; likely he remained there until around 1600, under the directorship ofThomas Giles . He probably received his bachelor's degree in 1605 from Cambridge.Ravenscroft's principal contributions are his collections of
folk music , including catches, rounds,street cries , vendor songs, "freeman's songs" and other anonymous music, in three collections: "Pammelia" (1609), "Deuteromelia" (1609) and "Melismata" (1611). Some of the music he compiled has acquired quite extraordinary fame, though his name is rarely associated with the music: for example "Three Blind Mice" first appears in "Deuteromelia." He also published ametrical psalter ("The Whole Booke of Psalmes") in 1621. As a composer his works are mostly forgotten, but they include 11anthem s, 3motet s for five voices and four fantasias forviol s.In addition to his activities as a composer and editor, he wrote two treatises on
music theory : "A Briefe Discourse of the True (but Neglected) Use of Charact'ring the Degrees ..." (London, 1614), and "A Treatise of Musick", which remains in manuscript (unpublished).External links to his works
* [http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/ravenscroft "The Music of Thomas Ravenscroft"] : site by Greg Lindahl containing modern editions, commentary, bibliography, and facsimiles, including:
** [http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/ravenscroft/pammelia/ Pammelia]
** [http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/ravenscroft/deuteromelia/ Deuteromelia]
** [http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/ravenscroft/melismata/ Melismata]
** [http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/ravenscroft/brief/ Brief]
** [http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/ravenscroft/psalter/ Psalter]
*ChoralWiki
*IckingArchive|idx=Ravenscroft|name=Thomas Ravenscroft
*IMSLP|id=Ravenscroft%2C_Thomas|cname=Thomas Ravenscroft
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