Robert White (composer) facts for kids
Robert White (also spelled Whyte; around 1538 – 1574) was an English composer from the Tudor era. He was likely born in Holborn, a part of London. White was famous for his beautiful church music, especially pieces written with Latin words. Some of his music that still exists includes songs called Lamentations and music for instruments like the viol, which is similar to a cello.
A famous composer named Thomas Morley wrote in 1597 that Robert White was one of the greatest English composers, just as good as the well-known Orlando di Lasso. Morley admired White's bold and interesting harmonies. He even listed White among seven top composers of the time, including Fayrfax, Taverner, Sheppard, Parsons, and Mr Byrd. Old music books from around 1581 also praised White, saying, "You, O White, the greatest glory of our muses, may pass away, but your music lives forever."
About His Life
Robert White's father built organs. White himself started as a choirboy and later became an adult singer at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was there from 1554 to 1562. In 1560, he earned a music degree from Cambridge University.
In 1562, White moved to Ely. There, he took over from his father-in-law, Christopher Tye, as the Master of the Choristers (the person in charge of the choirboys). White married Christopher Tye's daughter in 1565.
His reputation for training choirs was so good that in 1566, he got a similar job at Chester Cathedral. He also helped with the Chester Whitsuntide pageants, which were big public shows, from 1567 to 1569. By 1570, he was appointed organist and master of the choristers at Westminster Abbey in London.
Sadly, Robert White and his family died in 1574 during a serious outbreak of the plague in Westminster. He was only about 36 years old. Even though he worked mostly in the north of England, his will (a legal document about his wishes) said he owned land in Sussex. He asked to be buried in St. Margaret's, Westminster, "near unto my children." White was buried on November 11, 1574.
Even though Robert White was very important among musicians in the mid-1500s, his music was mostly forgotten until a musician named Charles Burney rediscovered it much later.
About His Music
Luckily, many of Robert White's musical pieces have survived. Several of them were found in old music collections called the Dow Partbooks. He wrote 17 Latin motets (church songs), one Latin Magnificat (a song of praise), two sets of Lamentations (sad songs), and eight anthems (another type of church song). All these works show he was one of the best English composers during the time of Queen Elizabeth I.
He also wrote music for instruments, not just choirs. This includes a piece called In nomine for viols and a hexachord fantasia for keyboard instruments.
Many of his motets are settings of the Psalms (songs from the Bible). They often feature a style where musical ideas are passed from one voice to another, like a musical conversation. His Lamentations, written for five voices, and his motets Peccatum peccavit Jerusalem and Regina Coeli sounded very advanced for his time.
White's music can be split into two main types. Some pieces could have been used in church services under Queen Mary I. Other pieces, like his psalm-motets and Lamentations, were probably written during Queen Elizabeth I's reign.
One of his well-known pieces is the evening hymn Christe qui lux es et dies (Christ, who art light and day). He wrote four different versions of this hymn. It follows a common pattern where plainchant (simple, single-line singing) verses alternate with more complex, polyphonic (many-voiced) verses that include the chant melody. This hymn is a prayer for peaceful rest at night, full of images of light and darkness.
List of Works
- Ad te levavi oculos meos
- Appropinquet deprecatio mea
- Christe qui lux es I, II, III & IV
- Deus, misereatur nostri
- Domine quis habitabit I, II, III
- Exaudiat te
- Exaudiat te Dominus
- Fantasias III & IV
- In Nomine V a 5
- Justus es, Domine
- Lamentations 5vv
- Lamentations 6vv
- Libera me, Domine de morte aeterna
- The Lord Bless Us and Keep Us
- Lord, who shall dwell
- Miserere mei, Deus
- Magnificat
- Manus Tuae Fecerunt Me
- Mr White his song
- Mr White's Trumpet Tune
- O Praise God
- Portio mea
- Precanur sancta, Domine
- Regina caeli
- Six Organ Fantasias
- Tota pulchra es
