Thomas Lupo (c.1571 – c.1627) was an English composer
and viol player of the late Elizabethan and Jacobean
eras. Along with Orlando Gibbons, John Coprario, and
Alfonso Ferrabosco, he was one of the principal
developers of the repertory for viol consort. He was
part of a distinguished family of musicians, who
included several generations. His father was Joseph
Lupo, a string player and composer from Venice who had
come first to Antwerp, and then to London; Thomas was
probably born there. In 15...(+)
Thomas Lupo (c.1571 – c.1627) was an English composer
and viol player of the late Elizabethan and Jacobean
eras. Along with Orlando Gibbons, John Coprario, and
Alfonso Ferrabosco, he was one of the principal
developers of the repertory for viol consort. He was
part of a distinguished family of musicians, who
included several generations. His father was Joseph
Lupo, a string player and composer from Venice who had
come first to Antwerp, and then to London; Thomas was
probably born there. In 1588 he joined the violin
consort at the court of Queen Elizabeth I – he was
only 16 – but evidently he was not paid for his
service until 1591. Thomas retained this position, or
variants thereof, for his entire life. During the
Jacobean era, he served both in the households of
Prince Henry (after 1610) and Prince Charles (after
1617).
A surviving record from 1627 indicates that he was in
financial trouble, and had to sign away £100 of his
future income to pay off his creditors: the report goes
on to state that his wife violently attempted to
prevent him from doing so. He died in London, probably
in December 1627.
Lupo was one of the principal figures in the
development of the viol consort repertory. In addition,
he was a significant composer of sacred vocal music. He
probably wrote a considerable quantity of music for the
court violin ensemble, however almost none of it
survives; it has been hypothesised that much of the
anonymous repertory for this group is by Lupo.
Most of the music for viols which Lupo wrote, for two,
three, four, five, and six parts, dates from his
employment in the household of Prince Charles. Many of
the pieces use a contrapuntal and textural style
reminiscent of the Italian madrigal, especially the
pieces for five and six voices: in particular he
imitated the style of Marenzio, whose works were well
known in England, having made up a large part of
Nicholas Yonge's 1588 Musica transalpina, which started
the vogue for madrigals in England.
His consort music for three and four parts is more
experimental, often using combinations rare in other
composers of the time, such as three basses together,
or three trebles together. Some of the consort music
was designed to be accompanied by organ.
Specific types of instrumental compositions by Lupo
include fantasias (12 for six parts, 35 for five parts,
13 for four parts, and 24 for three parts); pavanes,
galliards, and Almands (allemandes). Some of the
fantasias are direct transcriptions of Italian
madrigals.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Lupo_the_elder).
Although originally written for 3 Bass Viols, I created
this Arrangement of Fantasia for Viola Trio.
SHEET MUSIC