Orlando Gibbons

From court refinement to London street cries, Gibbons's music captures the very essence of early-Stuart England,

- Simon Heighes

With one foot in the Renaissance and one in the Baroque, Orlando Gibbons united two golden ages of English music. While building on the polyphonic riches of William Byrd and Thomas Tallis, he also helped lay the foundations for the expressive new style of the 17th century, preparing the ground for his most distinguished successor: Henry Purcell. Gibbons was a musical thoroughbred. Born into a musical family in Oxford in 1583, he was introduced to the cut-and-thrust of local music-making by his father who ran the City Waits in both Oxford and Cambridge. His elder brother, Edward, who sang at King's College, Cambridge, then smoothed a path for the young Orlando to join the choir in 1596. The Gibbons brothers prospered: Edward was master of the choristers, and in 1598 Orlando was old enough to enter the University. When Edward left the choir late in 1598, we lose sight of Orlando too. But whatever he did, he certainly broadened his musical education and must have networked hard, for in 1603, at the age of just 19, he re-emerged fully formed - with an impressive court job under his belt. Well, almost.

Perhaps because he was so young for a prestigious post with the Chapel Royal, he initially had to serve an unpaid, probationary term. It wasn't until 1605 that he was finally sworn in as a 'Gentleman' of the Chapel Royal - a position which might have gone up in smoke after just a few months had Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators succeeded in their explosive ambitions. But he and King James I survived unscathed, and the only fireworks which penetrated the royal walls were musical ones - with young Orlando seated at the organ. Or at least we think so.

Record keeping was a bit hit-and-miss, and the first confirmation we actually get of Orlando's new job description - as a 'royal organist' surfaces in the credentials he supplied for his Cambridge degree in 1606.