John Coprario facts for kids

John Coprario (born around 1570, died in 1626) was an important English composer and viol player. He was also known as Giovanni Coprario or Coperario.

Who Was John Coprario?

John Coprario lived a long time ago, during a period called the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was a talented musician who wrote many pieces of music. He was also known for playing the viol, which is an old string instrument similar to a cello.

Changing His Name

Some people from his time, like John Playford and Roger North, said that John Coprario actually changed his name. They believed his original name might have been Cowper or Cooper. He changed it to Coperario around the early 1600s.

Why did he change it? Another historian, Anthony Wood, thought he changed it after visiting Italy. At that time, Italian music and musicians were very popular in England. So, changing his name to sound more Italian might have been a way to be more fashionable. However, there is no clear proof that he ever visited Italy, though he did travel to the Low Countries in 1603.

Working for Royalty

John Coprario was a musician who worked for important people. From 1622, he served the Prince of Wales. This prince later became King Charles I. Coprario continued to work for him even after he became king. It's possible that Coprario also taught the young prince music.

He also had a long-time supporter, called a patron. This was Edward Seymour, the Earl of Hertford. According to a book written in 1662 by Thomas Fuller, Coprario even taught music to another famous composer, William Lawes, who worked for the Earl.

His Amazing Music

Coprario wrote many different kinds of music. He created pieces called fantasias and suites. These were often written for viols and violins.

He also published two collections of songs. One was called Funeral Teares (published in 1606). The other was Songs of Mourning: Bewailing the Untimely Death of Prince Henry (published in 1613). This second collection was written to express sadness about the early death of Prince Henry.

Besides composing, John Coprario also wrote a book about how to write music. It was called Rules how to Compose. This shows he was not just a performer and composer, but also a teacher and a thinker about music.

What Are Fantasias?

A fantasia is a special type of musical piece. It often sounds like the composer is making it up on the spot, even though it's carefully written down. Many of Coprario's fantasias were for three to six different voices or instruments playing together.

Music experts like Ernst Hermann Meyer have studied Coprario's music. They found that many of his longer fantasias (for five or six parts) were actually based on his madrigals. Madrigals are a type of song, usually for several voices, popular in the Renaissance. However, his shorter fantasias (for three or four parts) were often very original and interesting in their own way.

Coprario's music is still studied and enjoyed today, giving us a glimpse into the sounds of England's royal courts long ago.