The Triumphs of Oriana

The Triumphs of Oriana is a book of English madrigals, compiled and published in 1601 by Thomas Morley, which first edition[1] has 25 pieces by 23 composers (Thomas Morley and Ellis Gibbons have two madrigals). It was said to have been made in the honour of Queen Elizabeth I. Every madrigal in the collection contains the following couplet at the end: “Thus sang the shepherds and nymphs of Diana: long live fair Oriana” (the word "Oriana" often being used to refer to Queen Elizabeth).

Title page of The Triumphs of Oriana, from the original 1601 publication

Recently, the attribution of "Oriana" to Elizabeth has come into question. Evidence has been presented that "Oriana" actually refers to Anne of Denmark, who would become Queen of England alongside James VI of Scotland (later James I of England) in an apparently failed early attempt to remove Elizabeth in order to restore England to Catholicism.[2] In his book 'The English Madrigalists', Edmund Fellowes, the most prolific of madrigal editors of the earlier 20th century, disapproved of the theory.

Contents
order composer piece
1 Michael East Hence Stars
2 Daniel Norcombe With Angel's Face
3 John Mundy Lightly she whipped o'er the dales
4 Ellis Gibbons Long live fair Oriana
5 John Bennet All Creatures now are Merry‐minded
6 John Hilton Fair Oriana, beauty's Queen
7 George Marson The Nymphs and Shepherds danced
8 Richard Carlton Calm was the Air
9 John Holmes Thus Bonnyboots
10 Richard Nicholson Sing shepherds all
11 Thomas Tomkins The Fauns and Satyrs
12 Michael Cavendish Come gentle Swains
13 William Cobbold With Wreaths of Rose and Laurel
14 Thomas Morley Arise, awake
15 John Farmer Fair Nymphs
16 John Wilbye The Lady Oriana
17 Thomas Hunt Hark, did ye ever Hear so Sweet a Singing?
18 Thomas Weelkes As Vesta was from Latmos Hill descending
19 John Milton Fair Orian
20 Ellis Gibbons Round about her Chariot
21 George Kirbye With Angel's Face
22 Robert Jones Fair Oriana
23 John Lisley Fair Cytherea
24 Thomas Morley Hard by a Crystal Fountain
25 Edward Johnson Come blessed Bird

Choral Songs in Honour of Her Majesty Queen Victoria (1899)
Main article: Choral Songs in honour of Her Majesty Queen Victoria

In 1899, at the instigation of Sir Walter Parratt, Master of the Queen's Music, 13 British composers contributed songs to a collection modeled on The Triumphs of Oriana, entitled Choral Songs in Honour of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, published on the occasion of Victoria's 80th birthday.[3]

A Garland for the Queen (1953)

A Garland for the Queen, a compilation along similar lines, containing pieces by eight composers, was published to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Recordings

See also

References
  1. http://eebo.chadwyck.com/search/full_rec?SOURCE=pgimages.cfg&ACTION=ByID&ID=V173820&PAGENO=2
  2. Jeremy L. Smith, "Music and Late Elizabethan Politics: The Identities of Oriana and Diana." Journal of the American Musicological Society, vol. 58, pp 508-558 (Fall, 2005).
  3. Jeffrey Richards Imperialism and music: Britain, 1876-1953 2001 p359

Sources
Books
  • Fellowes, Edmund H. (1951). Orlando Gibbons and His Family: The Last of the Tudor School of Musicians (2nd ed.). United States: Archon Books. ISBN 978-0-208-00848-0.
  • Harley, John (1999). Orlando Gibbons and the Gibbons Family of Musicians. London, England: Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-1-840-14209-9.
  • Kerman, Joseph (1962). The Elizabethan Madrigal: A Comparative Study. New York, New York: American Musicological Society. ISBN 978-1878528063.
Journals and articles


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