John Farmer
John Farmer (disambiguation) John Farmer (c. 1601) was an important composer of the English Madrigal School. He was born in England during the Elizabethan period, and was also known by his skillful settings for four voices of the old church psalm tunes.
John Farmer
New York Public Library · from the New York Public Library · CC0
- Born
- 1570 · England.
- Died
- 1601
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Occupation
- composer · organist
- Fields
- English Madrigal School
- Movements
- Baroque music
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
John Farmer (disambiguation) John Farmer (c. 1601) was an important composer of the English Madrigal School. He was born in England during the Elizabethan period, and was also known by his skillful settings for four voices of the old church psalm tunes.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
John Farmer (1570–1601) was a British composer and organist. The composer was born in England. John Farmer was associated with Baroque music.
Genres include English Madrigal School. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for John Farmer. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q510683
In this article
Selected works
Selected works
His exact date of birth is not known – a 1926 article by Grattan Flood posits a date around 1564 to 1565 based on matriculation records. Farmer was under the patronage of the Earl of Oxford and dedicated his collection of canons and his late madrigal volume to his patron. In 1595, Farmer was appointed organist and master of children at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, and also, at the same time, organist of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. In 1599, he moved to London and published his only collection of four-part madrigals, which he dedicated to Edward de Vere. His Lord's Prayer is performed widely throughout many churches and cathedrals, mostly in Britain. It is included in Volume 2 of Oxford Choral Classics, published by Oxford University Press. Giles Farnaby dedicated a pavan to him, included in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book as Farmer's Paven (no. Farmer's Divers & Sundry Waies was the source of the fugues in Michael Maier's book, Atalanta Fugiens.
• Fair Phyllis I Saw Sitting All Alone • Fair Nymphs, I Heard One Telling • A Little Pretty Bonny Lass • Take Time While Time Doth Last
Identity
Identity
John Farmer is recorded as composer and organist.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1601
John Farmer died in 1601.
Literature
Literature
Literature
Farmer, John, Benezit Dictionary of Artists, 2011
Farmer, John (i), Oxford Music Online, 2001
Farmer, John (ii), Oxford Music Online, 2001
Farmer, John (1835–1901), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2018
Farmer, John (fl 1591–1601), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2017
Scholarly footprint
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Unger, Melvin P. Historical Dictionary of Choral Music. Scarecrow Press. 295. 2010. 9780810873926.
- 2.Grove, Sir George. Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians. McMillan. 2. 11. 1908.
- 3.Flood, W. H. Grattan. New Light on Late Tudor Composers: XV. John Farmer. The Musical Times. 67. 997. 219–220. 1926. 10.2307/912508.
- 4.Hutton, William Holden. 18.
- 5.Boydell, Bara. A History of Music at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. Boydell Press. 2004. 978-1843830443.
- 6.Farmer, John. 10.1093/ref:odnb/9168.
- 7.Byram-Wigfield, Ben. Tudor Settings of the Lord's Prayer. www.ancientgroove.co.uk. 2021.
- 8.Oxford University Press. English Church Music, Volume 2: Canticles and Responses. group.oup.com. 2024.
- 9.Ludwig, Loren. "John Farmer's Sundry Waies: The English Origin of Michael Maier's 'Alchemical Fugues . Furnace and Fugue: A Digital Edition of Michael Maier's "Atalanta fugiens" (1618) with Scholarly Commentary. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2020.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,832 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- John EvanPerson
- John EversonPerson
- John FaheyPerson
- John Fane, 11th Earl of WestmorlandPerson
- John FarnhamPerson
- John FarrarPerson
- John FeldmannPerson
- John FernströmPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by John Farmer?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.