1575

Giovanni Coprario (ca.1575-1626) - Fantasia VIII Today we are exploring music for the viol consort, featuring a seldom-heard composer, Christopher Simpson. Simpson was born between 1602 and 1606, at Egton, Yorkshire. He was the eldest son of the manager of a theatre company patronized by wealthy Yorkshire Catholics. Very few of Simpson's musical compositions appeared in print during his lifetime except those included as examples in his books. A small number of his compositions also survive in manuscript form, such as two sets of fantasias entitled The Monthes and The Seasons, which both consist of one treble and two bass viol parts. All his surviving instrumental works are for viol ensembles or for the solo viol, an instrument about which he wrote, "a viol in the hands of an excellent viol player may no doubt be reckon'd amongst the best of musical instruments. To play extempore to a ground is the highest perfection of it". Performing is the Viol Consort: Liam Byrne, Joelle Morton and Erica Rubis.ArsAntiguaPresents.com, directed by Jerry Fuller, is a series free video web cast programs of music from the Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical eras performed on period instruments.Video production by Phillip W. Serna for ArsAntiguaPresents.com.Copyright 2010 Jerry Fuller. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial Share Alike 3.0 License. Jason Heath, podmaster Phillip W. Serna, Youtube channelmaster ArsAntiguaPresents.com is edited and mixed by <b>...</b>