Thomas Tallis is my chosen composer from chapter 9. His music career dates back to the trouble days of King Henry VIII reign, the protestant regime, and the Catholicism re-establishment under Queen Mary as well under the Queen Elizabeth rule. During this period, religious and political upheavals greatly influenced the music created by Thomas Tallis. He secured the first job as an organist at the Benedictine Dover and Waltham Abbey mission parishes. He later joined the Canterbury Cathedral mission church and in 1543, he was appointed a royal man in the chapel. Thomas retained the position until he met his death. He developed Latin Church music and having a senior post in the Church environment really supported his music work (Boer). However, the composer was restricted to composing secular songs, but he composed a few. Tallis is well remembered through his psalm tune “Tallis’s Canon” that is still popular today.
George Frideric Handel is my chosen composer from chapter 10. George made his first opera music debut with Almira. He developed several operas with the Royal England Academy before he formed his own new royal music company in 1727. When the operas went out of fashion, George started composing oratorios for his fans and an example is the famous “Messiah” oratorio. From his early life, George longed to study music, but his father would not let him. When he was a young boy, he met Zachow, who invited George to become his music pupil. This marked the starting point of his music career, and he started composing church cantatas. His father forced him to join Halle University, which he later left and dedicated his life to music. George Handel had to find his own way in the music career, and he really struggled at first in the music career as he lacked a stable source of income. His father never believed in his music career, but he received little support from his mother. Handel is still remembered today for his unique music.
Franz Joseph Haydn is my chosen composer from chapter 11. The music composed and sang by Franz purpose was for the prince household. Franz was a musician hired by the royal prince, and he wrote songs that served the needs of his patron. An example of a song composed by Haydn is the string Emperor Quartet. With a steady paycheck from the royal prince household, Franz was able to develop good sophisticated musical styles in a quite enabling environment that was set up to support his work. Franz enjoyed a lot of freedom while composing his music and as a result, he was able to write a lot of music while also trying new ideas (Boer). This made him to be known and quite respected all over Europe. When the prince who had hired him died, Franz was forced to move to London where he continued writing songs. If I was a composer, the patronage that I would love to be in is that of Franz Joseph Handel.
Van, Boer B. H. Historical Dictionary of Music of the Classical Period. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press, 2012. Print.
