John Blitheman facts for kids
John Blitheman (born around 1525 – died May 23, 1591) was an important English composer and organist. A composer writes music, and an organist plays the organ, a large musical instrument often found in churches. Blitheman lived during a time when music was changing and developing in England.
Who Was John Blitheman?
You might find his name spelled in different ways, like Blithman or Blythman. There was once some confusion about his first name. An old music book called the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book listed him as William. However, official records from the Chapel Royal (a group of musicians who served the King or Queen) always called him John. So, we are quite sure his real name was John Blitheman.
His Early Life and Career
We don't know much about John Blitheman's childhood. We do know that he started his career in the church.
- In 1555, he became a chaplain at Christ Church, Oxford. A chaplain is a priest or minister who serves a specific institution.
- By 1564, he became the master of the choristers at Christ Church. This meant he was in charge of training the choir boys.
Organist at the Chapel Royal
Blitheman became very famous for his organ playing.
- From 1585 until he died, he was the main organist at the Chapel Royal. This was a very important job!
- He took over this role from another famous composer, Thomas Tallis.
- Another well-known musician, John Bull, was Blitheman's student. John Bull later took Blitheman's place as organist after he passed away.
John Blitheman died in London in 1591. He was buried at a church called St Nicholas Olave in Queenhithe.
His Music
Most of John Blitheman's music that we still have today is found in a collection called The Mulliner Book. This book contains fifteen of his musical pieces.
One of his pieces, called an In nomine, is very special. It was written before 1591 and shows the earliest known use of "triplet figuration" in English keyboard music. Triplet figuration is a musical pattern where three notes are played in the time usually taken by two. This made his music sound more lively and complex for its time.
