Nathaniel Giles facts for kids
Nathaniel Giles (born 1558 – died 1633 or 1634) was an English musician during the Renaissance period. He was a talented organist and a composer, known for writing church music called Anglican anthems. He lived during the time of famous figures like William Shakespeare.
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Nathaniel Giles: A Renaissance Musician
Nathaniel Giles had an important career in music. He worked as an organist at Worcester Cathedral. An organist is someone who plays the organ, a large musical instrument often found in churches.
Important Music Roles
Giles held several key positions in English music. He was the master of the Choir of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. This meant he was in charge of training and leading the choir singers there. He also served as an organist at Westminster Abbey, a very famous church in London.
Master of the Chapel Royal Children
One of Giles's most significant roles was being the Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal. This was a special job where he was responsible for finding and training talented young boys to sing in the King's own choir. He had a special permission, called a royal warrant, that allowed him to recruit children for this important choir service.
Theatre and Legal Issues
While he was the Master of the Chapel Royal Children, Nathaniel Giles became involved with the Blackfriars Theatre. He worked with a producer named Henry Evans and the famous writer Ben Jonson to create a children's acting company.
Giles allowed others to use his special royal permission, which was meant for recruiting choir boys, to instead bring children into the theatre. In 1600, when they recruited the son of a nobleman for the theatre, it caused a big legal problem. This event led to a famous court case known as the Clifton Star Chamber Case.
His Musical Works
Nathaniel Giles also composed music. One of his pieces is a Te Deum, which is a type of Christian hymn. In this piece, he included special instructions for the organist to play some parts an octave lower than written. This was likely to create a deeper, richer sound, different from the usual bright sound of organs back then. Another one of his works, Vestigia mea dirige, was included in a collection of music called the Dow Partbooks.
His Son
Nathaniel Giles had a son, also named Nathaniel Giles. His son followed a different path and became a Canon of Windsor, which is a type of priest in the Church of England.
