William Cornysh facts for kids

William Cornysh the Younger (also spelled Cornyshe or Cornish) lived from 1465 to October 1523. He was a talented English composer (someone who writes music), dramatist (someone who writes plays), actor, and poet.

About His Life

William Cornysh faced a difficult time. In a poem he wrote while in Fleet Prison, he said he was unfairly accused of something. We don't know what the accusation was.

There is some confusion about his music. Some people think the music found in the Eton Choirbook might have been written by his father, who was also named William Cornysh and died around 1502.

The younger William Cornysh had a very important job at the royal court. He was the Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal. This meant he was in charge of the music and plays for the king's court. He also helped with big events, like the famous Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520. He also helped when visitors came from France or the Holy Roman Empire. He kept this important job until he died in 1523. We don't know his exact birth date.

His Musical Works

William Cornysh wrote many different kinds of music.

Sacred Music

Many of his religious songs are found in old music books.

• The Eton Choirbook (put together around 1490–1502) has several of his works. These include Salve Regina, Stabat mater, Ave Maria mater Dei, and Gaude virgo mater Christi. One piece, Gaude flore virginali, is now lost.
• The Caius Choirbook (around 1518–1520) contains his Magnificat.
• Other old records mention lost works, like three Masses, another Stabat mater, another Magnificat, Altissimi potentia, and Ad te purissima virgo.
• He also wrote a well-known English religious song called Woefully arrayed.

Other Music

Cornysh also created non-religious vocal music. He wrote an interesting instrumental piece called Fa la sol. This piece was based on musical scales. Another untitled instrumental piece is also known. These non-religious works are found in a book called the Fayrfax Book (copied in 1501).

Who Wrote What?

If all the early religious music and the non-religious music were written by the same William Cornysh (the younger one), it shows he was a very versatile composer. His Magnificat (which sounds like the music in the Eton book) was written almost 20 years after his father died. This makes it very likely that the younger William Cornysh wrote it. He was one of the most important musicians in England at that time.

The music by Cornysh in the Eton Choirbook seems quite modern for its time. While it kept an older, flowing melody style, it also used new ideas. For example, in his Stabat mater, he set words like "clamorosa" (noisy) or "crucifige" (crucify) in a way that made them sound more dramatic, almost like a mini-play. This shows his skill as a dramatist.

Another composer, John Browne, also had important works in the Eton manuscript. It seems Cornysh might have learned from Browne's style.

Most people today believe that the younger William Cornysh wrote all the works attributed to "Cornysh" in the Eton Choirbook. His style seems more like a young, original composer. However, some people, like music expert David Skinner, suggest that the older religious music might have been written by the father. Skinner thinks the son wrote the English songs and court music.