Philip Rosseter
Encyclopedia
Philip Rosseter was an English
composer and musician, as well as a theatrical manager. From 1603 until his death in 1623 he was lutenist
for James I of England
. Rosseter is best known for A Book of Aires which was written with Thomas Campion
. Some literary critics have held that Campion wrote the poems for Rosseter's songs; however this seems not to be the case. It is likely that Campion was the author to the book's preface, which criticized excessive madrigalisms and complex counterpoint. The two men had a close professional and personal relationship; when Campion died in 1620, he named Rosseter his sole heir.
Rosseter's lute song
s are generally short, homophonic, with a minimum of repetition, and sparing in text expression, while at the same time being rich in musical invention. Rosseter's next book was Lessons for Consort (1609) for a broken consort
of bandora, cittern
, lute
, flute
, and treble and bass viol
, which contained arrangements of his own and others' music.
Rosseter also had a somewhat checkered and generally unsuccessful career in the Jacobean theatre
. In 1609 he and Robert Keysar took over a company of boy actors, the Children of the Chapel
. Rosseter was able, through his Court connections, to get the company's royal patronage restored, so that they again became the Children of the Queen's Revels (a distinction they had earlier lost). The company endured for a few years; but their lease on the Whitefriars Theatre
expired at the end of 1614. Rosseter attempted (1615-17) to establish a new theatre for the company at Porter's Hall, near the Blackfriars Theatre
; but the venture failed due to local opposition. The company was disbanded in 1617.
A piece entitled Rosseter's Galliard by Giles Farnaby
is included in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book
(no. CCLXXXIII), probably a setting of one of Rosseter's compositions.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
composer and musician, as well as a theatrical manager. From 1603 until his death in 1623 he was lutenist
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
for James I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
. Rosseter is best known for A Book of Aires which was written with Thomas Campion
Thomas Campion
Thomas Campion was an English composer, poet and physician. He wrote over a hundred lute songs; masques for dancing, and an authoritative technical treatise on music.-Life:...
. Some literary critics have held that Campion wrote the poems for Rosseter's songs; however this seems not to be the case. It is likely that Campion was the author to the book's preface, which criticized excessive madrigalisms and complex counterpoint. The two men had a close professional and personal relationship; when Campion died in 1620, he named Rosseter his sole heir.
Rosseter's lute song
Lute song
The lute song was a generic form of music in the late Renaissance and very early Baroque eras, generally consisting of a singer accompanying himself on a lute, though lute songs may often have been performed by a singer and a separate lutenist...
s are generally short, homophonic, with a minimum of repetition, and sparing in text expression, while at the same time being rich in musical invention. Rosseter's next book was Lessons for Consort (1609) for a broken consort
Broken consort
A broken consort in English early Baroque musical terminology refers to ensembles featuring instruments from more than one family, for example a group featuring both string and wind instruments...
of bandora, cittern
Cittern
The cittern or cither is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is descended from the Medieval Citole, or Cytole. It looks much like the modern-day flat-back mandolin and the modern Irish bouzouki and cittern...
, lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, and treble and bass viol
Viol
The viol is any one of a family of bowed, fretted and stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 15th century and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The family is related to and descends primarily from the Renaissance vihuela, a plucked instrument that preceded the...
, which contained arrangements of his own and others' music.
Rosseter also had a somewhat checkered and generally unsuccessful career in the Jacobean theatre
English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre, refers to the theatre of England, largely based in London, which occurred between the Reformation and the closure of the theatres in 1642...
. In 1609 he and Robert Keysar took over a company of boy actors, the Children of the Chapel
Children of the Chapel
The Children of the Chapel were the boys with unbroken voices, choristers, who formed part of the Chapel Royal, the body of singers and priests serving the spiritual needs of their sovereign wherever they were called upon to do so....
. Rosseter was able, through his Court connections, to get the company's royal patronage restored, so that they again became the Children of the Queen's Revels (a distinction they had earlier lost). The company endured for a few years; but their lease on the Whitefriars Theatre
Whitefriars Theatre
The Whitefriars Theatre was a theatre in Jacobean London, in existence from 1608 to the 1620s — about which only limited and sometimes contradictory information survives.-Location:...
expired at the end of 1614. Rosseter attempted (1615-17) to establish a new theatre for the company at Porter's Hall, near the Blackfriars Theatre
Blackfriars Theatre
Blackfriars Theatre was the name of a theatre in the Blackfriars district of the City of London during the Renaissance. The theatre began as a venue for child actors associated with the Queen's chapel choirs; in this function, the theatre hosted some of the most innovative drama of Elizabeth and...
; but the venture failed due to local opposition. The company was disbanded in 1617.
A piece entitled Rosseter's Galliard by Giles Farnaby
Giles Farnaby
Giles Farnaby was an English composer and virginalist of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.-Life:Giles Farnaby was born about 1563, perhaps in Truro, Cornwall, England or near London. His father, Thomas, was a Cittizen and Joyner of London, and Giles may have been related to Thomas Farnaby , the...
is included in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book
Fitzwilliam Virginal Book
The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book is a primary source of keyboard music from the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean periods in England, i.e., the late Renaissance and very early Baroque. It takes its name from Viscount Fitzwilliam who bequeathed this manuscript collection to Cambridge University in 1816...
(no. CCLXXXIII), probably a setting of one of Rosseter's compositions.